€1.25m boost for Wexford during rowing challenge
WEXFORD town will host the All Ireland Coastal Rowing Championships this August boosting the town’s economy by an estimated €1.25million.
Last week the Irish Coastal Rowing Federation launched the championships at the Riverbank House Hotel.
Victor Bridges of the Maudlintown Rowing Club and chairman of the national body said it was a great coup for the town to secure the championships.
‘ The launch went really well last week and the Mayor, Jim Moore, attended. We had clubs come from Antrim, Kerry, Dublin and Wicklow as well as representatives from the local Wexford rowing clubs too.
‘ This year the championships will take place in August for three days and we are working closely with Wexford County Council to ensure they are a great success.
‘ The All Ireland Coastal Rowing Championships have been taking place for the past 26 years and this is the second time they will be held in Wexford town. They were previously held in Rosslare on two occasions as well.
‘Basically we submitted a request to the national body and they examined the venue so that’s how we were chosen. It is estimated that the three day event will be in a revenue of €1.25 million to the local economy.
‘Over 500 crews from all over Ireland will take part in the competition and it is the biggest regatta in Ireland and one of the biggest in Europe.
‘On Friday we will have the traditional boats taking part and on Saturday and Sunday all crews will be using universal boats. There will be 35 categories ranging from under 10s all the way up to masters.’
The competition is also expected to draw a number of spectators.
The All Ireland Coastal Rowing Championships will take place in Ferrybank on August 17, 18 and 19.