This weekend Skibbereen Regatta kicks off the first Grand League event of the 2023 regatta season. With a huge entry of over 750 crews, it’s going to be an event not to be missed!
The Grand League is made up of four events; Skibbereen Regatta, Lough Rynn Regatta, Dublin Metropolitan Regatta and Cork Regatta. These events differ from regular regattas as the events are grouped in two divisions, allowing rowers to compete against crews of similar speed rather than just being confined to their age or points category.
Division 1 is made up of Senior, Lightweight, Intermediate, Club 1 and Junior 18A grades and Division 2 is made up of Club 2, Junior 18 B, Novice and Junior 16 grades.
At each of the Grand League events, clubs will win points depending on the finishing position of each of their crews. After all four events, the points for each club will be added up and a prize will be presented to the overall top club and the top clubs for Division 1 Men, Division 1 Women, Division 2 Men and Division 2 Women. In the event of a draw, the club with more 1st place finishes will win. The winning clubs will be presented with their awards at the Rowing Ireland Awards in December.
The points allocation can be seen in the below table:
| Position | 1x | 2x/2- | 4x/4 | 8+ |
| 1st | 34 | 43 | 54 | 65 |
| 2nd | 27 | 36 | 46 | 56 |
| 3rd | 22 | 30 | 39 | 50 |
| 4th | 18 | 25 | 33 | 44 |
| 5th | 15 | 21 | 28 | 36 |
| 6th | 13 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| 7th | 12 | 16 | 21 | 26 |
| 8th | 11 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| 9th | 10 | 14 | 19 | 24 |
| 10th | 9 | 13 | 18 | 23 |
| 11th | 8 | 12 | 17 | 22 |
| 12th | 7 | 11 | 16 | 21 |
| 13th | 6 | 10 | 15 | 20 |
| 14th | 5 | 9 | 14 | 19 |
| 15th | 4 | 8 | 13 | 18 |
| 16th | 3 | 7 | 12 | 17 |
| 17th | 2 | 6 | 11 | 16 |
| 18th | 1 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
