Wonderful event for Arklow rowers
Super performances in Bantry
ALL roads led to Bantry for Arklow Rowing Club members last week, September 4, for the first regatta of the 2020 season, which was held on the Bantry Aerodrome.
It was a great day for all the club members with some great results and a it was great to see all the competitors from all the other clubs, predominantly from Cork and Kerry, with crews from the East coast such as Kilulurin and Dublin also taking part.
Arklow Rowing Club’s junior members started off the day with a strong start. The junior under-18 women’s double, comprising of Kayla Reid and Rosie Doyle, were the first race out and finished with a bronze medal.
This was the girls’ first race in a double together and they showed great navigation around the 2km course.
The girls were followed shortly after by the club’s junior under-18 men’s double, Adam Neill and Adam Shanley, who finished strongly to claim first place. It, too, was the guys first time racing together and they put on a great display against the other competitors on the water.
Later in the day, they also competed in the 4km senior men’s double to finish in fourth position.
Next it was the turn of Arklow Rowing Club’s senior men’s single with Cormac Kelly representing the club.
He finished fifth in a strong field of competitors with challenging weather conditions, where rowers were rowing into the wind for a lot of the course while also having to deal with navigating around a 4km course on their own.
This race was followed by the senior women’s singles where the Co. Wicklow club fielded four strong crews in a race of 13. Síonna Healy finished second, trailing only by 10 seconds behind a Killorglin international rower.
Closely following Síonna was Xena Jordan, taking third place. Mary Ann Kent finished in fifth place while Patricia Doyle finished in ninth position.
The under-18 women’s quad, comprising of Roisin Doyle, Maeve Shortall, Una McBride and Rosie Doyle, coxed by Xena Jordan, pulled in a great performance against strong competition to come in third place.
The Arklow men’s quad, made up of Gavin Walker, Colin and Padraig Kinsella and Sean O’Leary were out next in the senior quad race, where they were coxed by Cormac Kelly around the 4km course.
Following a dramatic clash with another boat at the final turn as they were heading for home, they finished out the race with seven oars and finished strongly in sixth position.
While still recovering from the events of the senior race, the crew of four had a quick turnaround for their under-18 junior quad race, and coxed by Mary Ann Kent, had a battle all the way around the 2km course to finish first.
It was the closest race of the day and made for an exciting watch from the beach where other competitors could see the action.
Debbie Reid and Tilly Jordan were out representing Arklow in the senior women’s double. After a great race, the two were pipped at the line to take fourth place.
The best was saved for last however, where Síonna Healy and Cormac Kelly competed in the senior mixed double, where they finished in firt place, bringing home gold in great fashion where they left the rest of the field far behind.
A great day was had by all, especially for the club’s junior members who all came home with medals on the day.
‘We would like to thank all the parents who brought our junior members down and who lent a hand on the day and to the boat handlers, Eamonn Kavanagh and Jason Reid, who the competitors were very grateful to for all the help they provided. Many of these crews are now looking forward to take part in the 2020 Rowing Ireland Offshore Rowing Championships which are due to take place on September 26 in Portmagee, Co. Kerry,’ said Arklow Rowing
Club’s Mary Ann Kent.
‘Like for many sports this year, the rowing season was disrupted for all members with the Covid-19 pandemic, with the first regatta of the season due in March the weekend lockdown began. It has also seen the cancellation of the much-anticipated annual World Rowing Coastal Championships, which was due to take place in Oeiras, Portugal at the beginning of October.
‘With the times we are living in, the location of the regatta in Bantry allowed for ample space for social distancing and clubs were kept in segregated areas making sure clubs did not mix. It was also strictly no spectators with only competitors and boat handlers allowed.
‘Our skiff boat season was also greatly disrupted this year with the cancellation of the entire East Coast Rowing series of skiff regattas which usually take place in various clubs from Dublin and Wicklow throughout the summer. Despite this, the skiff boats are still on the go and already preparing for the 2021 season.
If you are interested in learning how to row, whether it is to get fit, meet new people or to get involved in all the exciting things we get up to throughout the year, don’t hesitate to call down to the clubhouse where our members train every Sunday at 9 a.m. and get in on all the action,’ added Mary Ann.