It’s an exciting weekend of racing coming up with the second Grand League event in Lough Rinn and Ghent Regatta overseas.
Lough Rinn Regatta
Lough Rinn’s annual regatta takes place this Saturday, May 6th. 238 crews from 29 clubs from around the country will be racing on the world class 2km course in Leitrim. Due to weather, last years event unfortunately had to be called off but all fingers are crossed for this weekend.
There are large entries in from Athlone BC, Commercial RC, Galway RC, Enniskillen Royal BC and Neptune RC. Commercial are currently leading the Men’s Division 1 table and will be looking to increase their lead, Neptune are just three points behind Cappoquin in the Men’s Division 2 table. Will they take the lead or will another club break through?
The overall table is all up for grabs as two clubs from that are currently in the top three are away at Ghent International Regatta; Castleconnell RC and Skibbereen RC. Lough Rinn Grand League Regatta has 12 clubs entered that did not race in the first event of the league, now is their opportunity to get their points up on the table. The leading overall club, University of Limerick RC, have entered a small contingency undoubtably in an attempt to retain their lead despite college exams currently being carried out.
A few clubs worth highlighting are Ring RC, Loughros Point RC and Donegal Bay RC. These primarily coastal clubs are testing out the flat water scene and putting their mark on the Grand League. Both Ring and Loughros Point raced in the first event, Skibbereen Regatta, so it will be exciting to see how they fare on the points table at the end of the season.
It’s all to look forward to on Saturday!
Ghent International Regatta
In the scenic Belgian city of Ghent, 12 Irish clubs will go head to head with other clubs from across Europe.
In recent years, Gent International Regatta has become increasingly popular among clubs from Ireland. Each year the entry from Ireland becomes larger and larger, with this year hitting a new record. Skibbereen Rowing Club have a huge entry in with 96 crews set to race over the two days, the largest entry of any club attending the event. St Michael’s Rowing Club aren’t far behind with the second largest entry of 72 crews.
The weekend of racing is split into two separate events on the Saturday and Sunday. The man-made 2k course specifically made for rowing, will see over 3000 athletes from 53 clubs over the course of the two events.
Best of luck to all of the clubs and athletes from Ireland taking part!
Fun fact: In the summer of 2000, the Home International Regatta was hosted by Welsh Rowing but was held in Ghent and Ireland won the Junior Women’s trophy!
Clubs racing from Ireland
- Castleconnell Boat Club
- Colaiste Iognaid Rowing Club
- Commercial Rowing Club
- Cork Boat Club
- Graiguenamanagh Rowing Club
- Killorglin Rowing Club
- King’s Hospital Rowing Club
- Methodist College Rowing Club
- Neptune Rowing Club
- New Ross Boat Club
- St Michael’s Rowing Club
- Skibbereen Rowing Club
