We are looking forward to welcoming all of our clubs and members back to the National Rowing Centre as soon as it’s safe to do so and in line with Government, HSE and COVID guidelines. The National Rowing Centre is the home of our High-Performance athletes that have originated in your clubs. In addition, we welcome all our clubs around the country too for events, trials, coach education courses and other events in non-COVID times.

It will be an exciting summer for Rowing, and we endeavour that the National Rowing Centre will be a hub of activity over the coming months. We are observing current guidelines, and have arranged a webinar for clubs on Wednesday, 26th May. It is intended that this webinar will equip your club with the information to begin initial local training events. As we embrace the summer, our events will begin to increase in capacity in line with government guidance gradually.

We do not get any advance notice of Government announcements, and therefore as soon as we have the information analysed, we will pass it onto you, our clubs. At times the information needs clarification, and this can take time. We are also looking forward to the Government announcement on Friday regarding sporting events. 

Competitions/Regattas

The Championships Committee is meeting this week to look at options for hosting the event. No decision has been made on the safest venue or date, but we will communicate this to you all immediately as soon as we have a decision. The Championships Committee is committed to providing the resources needed to organise this year’s Championships in a safe and competitive environment while staying aligned with Government guidelines. It is likely a ‘Wave System’ will be in place, controlling numbers of people.

We will also be working with Coastal for Irish Championships and are aiming to host these events in the National Rowing Centre. Our Events Team is currently looking at hosting a regatta for our Junior members. More information on this will follow in the coming weeks.

Course Update

Since the hard snow of 2011, the course at the NRC has been in disarray, and in 2018, we secured funding to upgrade it. As you know, the course often became unusable after strong winds and storms. This Spring, the course was repaired at a sizable investment by Rowing Ireland with cross wires every 500m ensuring seven operational straight lanes along the 2km course. The plans for the NRC are to have new launching pontoons installed and a new Albano course installed in the coming year once civil and engineering specifications have been met. 

Membership

Don’t forget that it’s really beneficial for your club members also to be registered members of  Rowing Ireland. Having your members registered with Rowing Ireland offers protection to clubs and personal accident insurance for your members. Having your coaches registered as a coach with Rowing Ireland offers coaches professional indemnity insurance also. In recent years we have seen some accidents in our sport, and we want our clubs and members to be protected fully.

The benefits of Rowing Ireland membership go beyond racing and include access to webinars, live event, online training, coach education, and our Rowing Ireland accident insurance costs less than €1 a week for senior members and .50c a week for Junior members. This insurance ensures that your members, committees, and events are covered in the unlikely event of an accident. 

Coach Education Update

Rowing Ireland has put over 200 new coaches from 53 clubs through the online section of its new hybrid Introduction to Coaching course. With the opening up of sports, we are now rolling out the on-site practical sessions for these coaches. These assistant coaches will be a huge asset to their clubs, especially as we expect an upsurge in membership in the coming months.

The finishing touches have been put to the Level 1 Club Coach Course, and registration will open this week.

A new Level 2 Course is in development and will available later in the summer. We will host these courses in the National Rowing Centre once we are able to do so.

Contact Us

If your club is interested in holding a regatta or event in the National Rowing Centre this year, please contact us:

For bookings, contact our National Rowing Centre, Valerie Hely valerie.hely@rowingireland.ie

Events Queries: events@rowingireland.ie.