Let's Do It Galway are making a final push for volunteers for the Round Ireland Powerboat race. The race begins and ends in Galway, starting on June 7 and ending June 12. The organisers have issued an appeal for 200 local volunteers to help out with the staging of the event, which they hope will bring up to 140,000 people to Galway City and Salthill during the week.
The final volunteer registration and briefing session will take place tonight, Tuesday 1st June at 7pm in the Hotel Meyrick. All are welcome to attend.
The purpose of the evening is to talk volunteers through what volunteering for the Galway Powerboat Festival will involve, to discuss your availability and areas of interest and to answer any questions you may have about joining the team!
Galway will host a complete powerboat festival around the event, with PI Powerboat Grand Prix of Galway on the bay 05-07 June, the start of the Around Ireland Powerboat Race on 07 June and the P750 Zapcat Challenge in the Bay 12-13 June.
Alongside the activity on the bay, Galway will yet again host a major festival in the Race Village at Galway Harbour and in Salthill with free concerts, amusements, bars, food and crafts. This onshore spectacle will be modelled on the Volvo Ocean Race stopover, which took over the city last year.
Britain’s most exciting new motorsport, the Powerboat P1 SuperStock Championship, is the newest addition onto the heavyweight bill for the Around Ireland Offshore Powerboat Race, beginning in Galway Bay on 5 June. Kick-starting the bank holiday weekend celebrations, round two of the 2010 SuperStock Championship will see some of the UK’s biggest thrillseekers tackle the challenging elements of the Atlantic Ocean, which is certain to provide an unforgiving racecourse for the Irish powerboat racing festival.
The first round of the championships kicked off in Penzance, Cornwall last weekend and the teams are expected to begin to arrive in Galway from the middle of next week.
"The event will showcase the beauty of the Irish coastline and present our teams with a fantastic opportunity to race in the heart of an effervescent city, watched by thousands of powerboat racing fans.” Stated SuperStock Championship spokesman, Sam Feasey
Bringing additional coverage to Galway, the Powerboat P1 SuperStock Championship will be screened on British Eurosport, further highlighting Galway’s credentials to host world class events.
Following on from the success of the Volvo Ocean Race’s stopover in Galway in 2009, Feasey added that Powerboat P1 is confident that its racing fleet will augment Galway’s
passion and pride for its maritime activity.
Consisting of two race classes, 150 and 300, up to twenty identical powerboats measuring between 21 and 27 ft respectively, will entertain locals, tourists and motorsports fans for three enthralling races on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
On Bank Holiday Monday 07 June 2010 at 0900, offshore powerboats will leave Galway Bay in pursuit of the Around Ireland Offshore Powerboat title. The race will circumnavigate the entire coast of Ireland and will be the toughest endurance powerboat race on the International circuit.
The 5 days of racing will be a true test of man and machine and there will be 5 stages with events at each of the stopovers:
Galway to Killybegs (07 June)
Killybegs to Belfast (08 June)
Belfast to Waterford (09-10 June)
Waterford to Fenit (11 June)
Fenit to Galway (12 June) Fenit Sea Breeze Festival will run Friday 11- Sunday 13 June
Onshore in Galway a festival programme of music and entertainment, and food and craft markets will ensure fun for all the family against the backdrop of the programme on the water. Likewise at each of the stopover stages similar festival programmes will greet the race on arrival and ensure excitement and drama for each re-start.
The Galway Race Village will open from 1000 -2230 daily and there is a full programme of entertainment including the now famous Crystal Swing on the main stage on Sunday 06 June at 1730. In total over 20 acts are scheduled to perform over the 8 day festival including - the Cartoon Thieves, the Timber Tramps, Joe Furey and The Hayride and Emmet Scanlan and What the Good Thought
For the finale on 12 June, prepare to be amazed and in awe at the P750 Cross Border Championship and make sure you are at the dock to welcome back the winner of the Around Ireland Powerboat Challenge on Saturday 12 June.
