Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Neptune

Rowing: Commercial won the Division One coxed and coxless fours and the Division One pairs (through intermediates Charlie Cunningham and Lorcain Cameron), while 17-year-old Jack Dorney took the men’s Division One single sculls at the refixed Metro regatta at Blessington today.

The day could hardly have been better for rowing, but the entry was thin because of clashes with exams and other events. Young competitors shone: the women’s Division One pair A Final was made up entirely of junior 18 crews, with Castleconnell the clear winners; the New Ross’s junior 18 crew of Shona Tierney and Lara Brown were the top women’s double scull and Tristan Orlic of Neptune, who is 16, won Division Two of the men’s single single sculls.

Metropolitan Regatta, Blessington, Saturday

Men

Eight – Div Two: Neptune (club two) 5:40.496.

Four – Div One: Commercial A (sen) 5:36.26. Four, coxed – Div One: 1 Commercial (sen) 5:55.01, 2 Shandon (jun 18A) 5:55.99, 3 Commercial (inter) 5:56.41; 5 UCD (club one) 6:02.82.

Pair – Div One: Commercial (inter) 6:07.65, 2 Commercial (sen) 6:14.6. B Final: 2 Castleconnell 6:25.78; 4 Belfast RC (club one) 6:43.92.

Sculling, Single – Div One: Shandon (J Dorney; jun 18A) 6:34.78, 2 St Michael’s (D O’Connor; sen) 6:37.81. B Final: Three Castles (T McKnight; inter) 6:47.52; 5 Commercial (J Casey; club one) 7:11.88. Div Two: Neptune (T Orlic; jun 16) 6:47. 76, 2 Clonmel (O’Donnell; club two) 6:49.48, 3 St Michael’s (O’Gorman; jun 18B) 7:00.84

Women

Four, coxed – Div Two: Neptune (club two) 6:56.77.

Sculling, Quadruple – Div Two, coxed: Commercial (jun 16) 6:51.87, 2 Neptune (club two) 6:54.06, 3 Fermoy (nov) 6:54.57; 6 Commercial (jun 18B) 7:49.09.

Double – Div One: New Ross (jun 18A) 6:43.13; 3 Neptune (club one) 6:48.66; 4 St Michael’s (sen) 7:05.97. Div Two: Carlow (jun 16) 7:11.58, 2 Neptune (club two) 7:36.47.

Single – Div One: 1 Castleconnell (jun 18) 7:14.24.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Philp Doyle of Queen’s and Ronan Byrne of UCC won the Championship Double and Sam McKeown of Queen’s the Championship Single on the second day of London Metropolitan Regatta at Dorney Lake today. Doyle and Byrne form part of the Ireland training group at the National Rowing Centre. Tristan Orlic of Neptune also took the junior 18 singles at Dorney. Commercial competed in the Challenge Eight and won a trophy.

London Metropolitan Regatta, Dorney Lake (Irish interest; selected results, winners unless stated)

Saturday

Men

Eight – Championship: 1 Leander 5:49.90, 2 Commercial 5:52.74.

Four – Championship: 3 Commercial 6:12.20. Tier Two: Shandon.

Four, coxed – Tier Three: Tribesmen 6:32.26. Academic, Tier Two: NUIG.

Pair – Tier Two: UCC 7:14.93.

Double Sculls – Championship: 2 UCC (R Byrne, H Sutton) 6:32.50. Tier Two: Castleconnell 6:42.50.

Single Sculls – Championship: 2 UCC (R Byrne) 7:03.99. Tier Two: Univ of Limerick (K Mannix) 7:18.36. Tier Three: St Michael’s (D O’Connor).

Women

Eight – Club, Tier Two: NUIG/Tribesmen 6:50.64. Academic, Tier Two: Trinity 6:57.77.

Four – Academic, Tier Two: Trinity 7:08.62.

Four, coxed – Championship: NUIG/Tribesmen 7:20.88. Tier Four: Univ of Limerick.

Pair – Championship: 2 Commercial (H O’Neill, R Morris) 7:46.57. Tier Two: NUIG 7:39.84.

Double Sculls – Championship: 3 London/Skibbereen (M Jackson, N Long) 7:28.48.

Sunday

Men

Four – Tier Four: UCC 6:47.80. Four, coxed – Tier Two: UCC 6:55.08.

Double – Championship: UCC/Queen’s (R Byrne, P Doyle) 6:28.43. Tier Two: UCC/Queen’s (Byrne, Doyle) 6:37.50.

Single – Championship: Queen’s (S McKeown) 7:11.67. Tier Three: Castleconnell (S Haugh) 7:29.95. Jun 18: Neptune (T Orlic) 7:53.76.

Women

Four, coxed – Tier Two: NUIG/Tribesmen 7:45.07. Tier Three: Univ of Limerick 7:49.44.

Pair – Tier Two: Cork 7:22.18.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Portadown Regatta enjoyed almost perfect conditions today. A packed programme was run in bright, warm sunshine and on flat water. RBAI beat the host club in one of the top events of the day, the men’s junior 18 eights final, reversing the decision of last year.

Shauna Murtagh of Carrick-on-Shannon beat Kate Crawford of Portadown in the women’s junior 18 single sculls – a first win in a regatta for the 16-year-old daughter of Ireland great Frances Cryan.

The men’s junior 18 single was won by Hugh Moore of Coleraine Grammar School.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Trinity won the men’s senior eight at Commercial Regatta at Islandbridge today. Commercial had divided their Championships winning eight into two crews. The rain came – at almost exactly the same time as in Saturday’s Neptune Regatta, but the full set of races were held. Neptune beat Commercial in the women’s club one eight, one of the last of a long day.

Commercial Regatta, Islandbridge, Sunday (Selected Results)

Men,

Eight – Senior: Trinity bt Commercial, 2l. Club One: UCD bt Commercial 1l. Novice: UCD B bt Trinity A 1l. Jun 18A: Neptune beat Coláiste Iognáid 1l. Jun 15: Athlone bt Coleraine GS 4l.

Four – Inter, coxed: Trinity bt Commercial 2l. Club One, coxed: Commercial B bt Neptune, canvas. Jun 18A: Col Iognaid bt New Ross 3l.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club One, coxed: Neptune bt Commercial, scratched. Novice: Commercial bt Neptune 1l. Jun 18A, coxed: Col Iognaid bt Blackrock ½ l. Jun 16, coxed: Blackrock A bt Coleraine GS 1 ½ l.

Double – Senior: Commercial/Neptune bt Neptune ½ l. Club One: King’s Hospital bt Neptune distance. Jun 18A: Neptune C bt Three Cstles B 2l. Jun 16: Blackrock bt Carlow B 3l.

Single – Inter: Sligo (G Patterson) bt Offaly (C Brady) 3l. Club One: Lagan (N Darby) bt Carrick-on-Shannon (E Djeribi) 5l. Jun 18: Carrick (F Early) bt Neptune (S Byrne) 1l.

Women

Eight – Inter: Commercial bt Trinity 3l. Club One: Neptune bt Commercial 1 ½ l. Nov: UCD A bt UCD B distance. Jun 18A: Col Iognaid bt Commercial 3l. Jun 16: Coleraine Grammar School bt Commercial 1 ½ l.

Four – Senior, coxed: Commercial A bt Commercial B 1l. Inter: Commercial B bt Commercial A, distance. Club One, coxed: UCD D bt UCD B 3l. Jun 18A, coxed: Col Iognaid bt Commercial ½ l.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club One, coxed: Neptune A bt Athlone ¾ l. Nov, coxed: Neptune bt Trinity 2l. Jun 18, coxed: Col Iognaid bt Sligo 4l. Jun 16, coxed: Commercial bt Neptune 2l.

Double – Club One: King’s Hos A bt King’s Hos B, 3l. Jun 18A: Commercial A bt Carrick-on-Shannon 3l. Jun 16: Commercial bt Athlone A 3l.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Head of the Shannon enjoyed good weather and an appreciative crowd at Carrick-on-Shannon on Saturday. The timing system encountered some difficulties. Neptune’s junior 18 quadruple were the fastest crew in the first head. The pennant for this class was granted in the second head and Enniskillen took it. The Fermanagh club had a set of wins at junior level, as did Coláiste Iognáid of Galway. Commercial’s junior 16 women’s eight also came out on top.  

Head of the Shannon, Carrick-on-Shannon, Selected Results (Category winners)

Head One

Men

Eight – Jun 16: Col Iognáid. Masters: Neptune (d)

Four – Jun 18, coxed: Enniskillen

Pair – Sen: Galway. Jun 18: Enniskillen

Sculling

Quadruple – Jun 16, coxed: Sligo. Masters: Galway (e). Masters, coxed: Athlone (e).

Double – Sen: Portadown. Masters: City of Derry (d). Jun 18: Enniskillen

Single – Jun 16: Athlone (Carroll)

Women

Eight – Jun 18: Col Iognáid

Four – Club, coxed: Athlone

Sculling, Quadruple – Jun 18: Enniskillen

Double – Club: Carrick-on-Shannon. Jun 16: Commercial

Single – Club: Carrick-on-Shannon (Early). Jun 18: Enniskillen (Fee)

Head Two

Men

Eight, Jun 18: Portadown

Four – Masters, coxed: Athlone (b)

Sculling

Quadruple – Jun 18: Enniskillen

Double – Club: Enniskillen. Jun 16: Enniskillen

Single – Sen: Sligo (G Patterson). Jun 18: Carrick-on-Shannon (Early). Masters: Athlone (Gallen, f)

Women,

Eight

Club: Galway. Jun 16: Commercial. Masters: Tribesmen B (e)

Four – Jun 18: Col Iognáid.

Pair – Jun 18: Col Iognáid

Sculling

Quadruple – Jun 16, coxed: Sligo.

Double – Jun 18: Enniskillen

Single – Club: Carrick-on-Shannon (T Duggan). Jun 16: Carrick-on-Shannon (Murtagh).

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The C coxed four of Rob Forde, Patrick Fowler, Oisin McGrath, Gary O’Neill and Tony Corcoran won their heat. The Commercial, Clonmel and Neptune crew beat a Monmouth crew from Britain by almost two seconds.  

 Milo and Patrick Murray from Cappoquin brought Ireland’s win tally on the day to three when they won in the F Pair.

 Earlier an Irish composite eight had won in the E class.

World Masters Regatta, Bled, Slovenia, Day Four (Selected Results; Irish interest; all heats of 1,000 metres, winners only)

Men

Eight ‘E’ (Avg 55 or more) – Heat Three: Waterford, Neptune, Commercial, Belfast BC (A Penkert, J Hudson, D Crowley, G Murphy, M Heavey, C Dickson, C Hunter, F O’Toole, D McGuinness) 3:07.88.

Four, coxed ‘C’ (Avg 43 or more) – Heat Four: Commercial, Clonmel, Neptune (T Corcoran, R Forde, P Fowler, O McGrath, G O’Neill) 3:19.51.

Pair ‘F’ (Avg 60 or more) – Heat Five: Cappoquin (P Murray, M Murray) 3:46.64.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: One of the leading Irish boats at the World Masters Regatta in Bled in Slovenia clocked up a notable win today. The E eight made up of competitors from Belfast Boat Club, Commercial, Neptune and Waterford beat Dynamo of Russia, who have been their constant rivals of recent years. The margin was extremely tight – just .26 of a second.

World Masters Regatta, Bled, Slovenia, Day Four

Men

Eight ‘E’ (Avg 55 or more) – Heat Three: Waterford, Neptune, Commercial, Belfast BC (A Penkert, J Hudson, D Crowley, G Murphy, M Heavey, C Dickson, C Hunter, F O’Toole, D McGuinness) 3:07.88.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Irish composite crews had good wins on the first day of the World Masters Regatta in Bled in Slovenia. The Irish B eight (average age 36 or more), which is formed from six clubs won. Two fours in the E class (average age 55 or more) also won – the Galway/Neptune combination by just .26 of a second. The decision was initially given to their German opponents.

World Masters Regatta, Bled, Slovenia, Day One (Selected Results; Irish interest; all heats of 1,000 metres, winners only)

Men

Eight, B (avg 36 or more) – Heat Five: Galway, Commercial, Shandon, Clonmel, Neptune, Cork 3:05.51.

Four, E (avg 55 or more) – Heat One: Galway, Neptune 3:26.26.

Heat Four: Waterford, Neptune, Commercial, Belfast BC 3:28.1

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Skibbereen/UCC composite won the women’s eights with the final few strokes at the Cork Grand League Regatta today. NUIG led them coming up to the line, but the winners finished faster to win by three tenths of a second. Cork were the best junior 18 eight.

UCD won the men’s eights by holding off NUIG. The finish was close, but UCD had led down the course and refused to yield. Neptune took the junior 18 honours by holding off St Joseph’s of Galway in the B Final.

Cork Regatta, National Rowing Centre, Cork, Day Two (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Division One – A Final: 1 UCD (N Farrell, R Thompson, E O’Connor, C O’Riada, E Gleeson, A Griffin, T Doherty, M Murphy; cox: O Reid; senior) 5:51.05, 2 NUIG (sen) 5:51.91, 3 UCD (inter) 6:05.098; 4 Cork (club one) 6:05.46. B Final: 4 Neptune (Jun 18A) 6:13.69.

Four – Div One – A Final: 1 NUIG (sen) 6:16.41. Four, coxed – Div Two – A Final: 1 Queen’s B (club two) 6:53.69, 2 St Michael’s (jun 18B) 6:56.53; 6 Presentation, Cork (jun 16) 7:33.61.

Sculling,

Quadruple, Div Two, coxed – A Final: 1 Carlow (jun 18B) 6:43.70; 3 Castleconnell (jun 16) 6:53.53; 4 Shandon (club two) 6:54.67.

Double – A Final: 1 Skibbereen (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan; sen) 6:25.51, 2 Commercial, UCD (N Beggan, A Goff; sen) 6:27.62, 3 Skibbereen (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll; sen) 6:37.997; 5 Three Castles A (jun 18A) 6:49.76. B Final: St Michael’s (inter) 6:51.20.

Single – Div Two – A Final: 1 Three Castles (A Keogh; jun 16) 7:29.64, 2 Cappoquin (S Landers; club two) 7:35.39; 6 Killorglin (J McCarthy; Jun 18B) 7:52.86.

Women

Eight – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen/UCC (O Hayes, F O’Keeffe, A Casey, E McCarthy A Keogh, E Hegarty, N Casey, D Walsh; cox C O’Connell; senior) 6:37.94, 2 NUIG (sen) 6:38.30; 5 NUIG (club one) 6:58.38. B Final: 1 Cork (jun 18A) 7:00.93; 2 Shandon (inter) 7:02.79.

Four – Div One – A Final: 1 Skibbereen, UCC (N Casey, E Hegarty, A Keogh, D Walsh; sen) 6:59.0. B Final: Col Iognaid (jun 18A) 7:39.68. Div Two, coxed – A Final: Trinity (club two) 7:41.79.

Sculling, Double – Div One – A Final: 1 Cork (inter) 7:19.591, 2 Lee (jun 18A) 7:23.45. B Final: 2 Carlow (club one) 7:40.31. Div Two – A Final: 1 Neptune (J Poh; club two) 8:40.47, 2 Kenmare (E Crowley; jun 18B) 8:42.76; 3 Neptune (N Clarke; jun 16) 8:46.62.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Claire Feerick and Ava Clarke beat a Carlow-Kenmare composite in a tight finish of the women’s senior double at Lough Rynn Regatta today. The men’s four was also a tight race with NUIG beating a junior four which may represent Ireland at the Coupe de la Jeunesse.

Lisa Dilleen of Cork Boat Club won the women’s senior single sculls and Hannah Scott won the women’s junior 18 single. A re-row was called for the first two crews in the the men’s junior single. A launch stalled in the lane of Aaron Christie of Bann, who was in contention for first.

Tailwind conditions strengthened in late morning at the venue, but rowing continued on the impressive course.

Lough Rynn Regatta, Leitrim (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Jun 15: Col Iognaid. Masters: Athlone (f).

Four – Senior: 1 NUIG, 2 Enniskillen, Cork. Inter, coxed: 1 NUIG A, 2 Commercial, 3 Skibbereen. Club, coxed: 1 NUIG A, 2 NUIG B, 3 Enniskillen.

Pair – Jun 18: 1 Commercial B, 2 Commercial A, 3 Commercial C.

Sculling, Quadruple – Jun 16, coxed: 1 Castleconnell.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club, coxed: 1 Carlow, 2 Enniskillen, 3 Col Iognaid.

Double – Jun 16: Three Castles.

Single – Intermediate: 1 Skibbereen (Mannix), 2 Carlow (Murphy), 3 Shandon (O’Sullivan).

Women

Eight – Jun 16: St Michael’s. Masters: Belfast BC (e). Jun 15: Enniskillen A.

Four – Sen: 1 Cork, 2 Commercial, 3 NUIG. Inter, Club, Jun 16, coxed: NUIG (inter).

Sculling, Quadruple – Nov, coxed: 1 Neptune, 2 Galway, 3 King’s Hospital. Club, coxed: 1 Methodist, 2 King’s Hos, 3 Commercial. Jun 18: 1 Clonmel, 2 Belfast BC, Portadown, Bann (sen). 3 Comercial.

Double – Sen: 1 Neptune, 2 Carlow/Kenmare, 3 Garda/NUIG. Club: 1 Bann, 2 St Michael’s, 3 Carlow. Jun: 1 Castleconnell, 2 Commercial, 3 Portadown. Masters: Tribesmen A (d).

Single – Sen: 1 Cork (L Dilleen), 2 Skibbereen (L Heaphy), 3 Queen’s (O Blundell). Inter: 1 Bann (A O’Donovan), 2 Neptune (C Feerick), 3 Skibberee (L Heaphy). Jun 18: 1 Bann (H Scott), 2 Carlow (C Nolan), 3 Col Iognaid (Nic Dhonncha).

Published in Rowing
Tagged under
Page 2 of 4

Irish Olympic Sailing Team

Ireland has a proud representation in sailing at the Olympics dating back to 1948. Today there is a modern governing structure surrounding the selection of sailors the Olympic Regatta

Irish Olympic Sailing FAQs

Ireland’s representation in sailing at the Olympics dates back to 1948, when a team consisting of Jimmy Mooney (Firefly), Alf Delany and Hugh Allen (Swallow) competed in that year’s Summer Games in London (sailing off Torquay). Except for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Ireland has sent at least one sailor to every Summer Games since then.

  • 1948 – London (Torquay) — Firefly: Jimmy Mooney; Swallow: Alf Delany, Hugh Allen
  • 1952 – Helsinki — Finn: Alf Delany * 1956 – Melbourne — Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1960 – Rome — Flying Dutchman: Johnny Hooper, Peter Gray; Dragon: Jimmy Mooney, David Ryder, Robin Benson; Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1964 – Tokyo — Dragon: Eddie Kelliher, Harry Maguire, Rob Dalton; Finn: Johnny Hooper 
  • 1972 – Munich (Kiel) — Tempest: David Wilkins, Sean Whitaker; Dragon: Robin Hennessy, Harry Byrne, Owen Delany; Finn: Kevin McLaverty; Flying Dutchman: Harold Cudmore, Richard O’Shea
  • 1976 – Montreal (Kingston) — 470: Robert Dix, Peter Dix; Flying Dutchman: Barry O’Neill, Jamie Wilkinson; Tempest: David Wilkins, Derek Jago
  • 1980 – Moscow (Tallinn) — Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson (Silver medalists) * 1984 – Los Angeles — Finn: Bill O’Hara
  • 1988 – Seoul (Pusan) — Finn: Bill O’Hara; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; 470 (Women): Cathy MacAleavy, Aisling Byrne
  • 1992 – Barcelona — Europe: Denise Lyttle; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; Star: Mark Mansfield, Tom McWilliam
  • 1996 – Atlanta (Savannah) — Laser: Mark Lyttle; Europe: Aisling Bowman (Byrne); Finn: John Driscoll; Star: Mark Mansfield, David Burrows; 470 (Women): Denise Lyttle, Louise Cole; Soling: Marshall King, Dan O’Grady, Garrett Connolly
  • 2000 – Sydney — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, David O'Brien
  • 2004 – Athens — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, Killian Collins; 49er: Tom Fitzpatrick, Fraser Brown; 470: Gerald Owens, Ross Killian; Laser: Rory Fitzpatrick
  • 2008 – Beijing (Qingdao) — Star: Peter O’Leary, Stephen Milne; Finn: Tim Goodbody; Laser Radial: Ciara Peelo; 470: Gerald Owens, Phil Lawton
  • 2012 – London (Weymouth) — Star: Peter O’Leary, David Burrows; 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; Laser Radial: Annalise Murphy; Laser: James Espey; 470: Gerald Owens, Scott Flanigan
  • 2016 – Rio — Laser Radial (Women): Annalise Murphy (Silver medalist); 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; 49erFX: Andrea Brewster, Saskia Tidey; Laser: Finn Lynch; Paralympic Sonar: John Twomey, Ian Costello & Austin O’Carroll

Ireland has won two Olympics medals in sailing events, both silver: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson in the Flying Dutchman at Moscow 1980, and Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial at Rio 2016.

The current team, as of December 2020, consists of Laser sailors Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon, 49er pairs Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle, and Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, as well as Laser Radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins.

Irish Sailing is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland.

Irish Sailing’s Performance division is responsible for selecting and nurturing Olympic contenders as part of its Performance Pathway.

The Performance Pathway is Irish Sailing’s Olympic talent pipeline. The Performance Pathway counts over 70 sailors from 11 years up in its programme.The Performance Pathway is made up of Junior, Youth, Academy, Development and Olympic squads. It provides young, talented and ambitious Irish sailors with opportunities to move up through the ranks from an early age. With up to 100 young athletes training with the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway, every aspect of their performance is planned and closely monitored while strong relationships are simultaneously built with the sailors and their families

Rory Fitzpatrick is the head coach of Irish Sailing Performance. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and was an Athens 2004 Olympian in the Laser class.

The Performance Director of Irish Sailing is James O’Callaghan. Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. A Business & Economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a Level 3 Qualified Coach and Level 2 Coach Tutor. He has coached at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes. He is also a member of the Irish Sailing Foundation board.

Annalise Murphy is by far and away the biggest Irish sailing star. Her fourth in London 2012 when she came so agonisingly close to a bronze medal followed by her superb silver medal performance four years later at Rio won the hearts of Ireland. Murphy is aiming to go one better in Tokyo 2021. 

Under head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, the coaching staff consists of Laser Radial Academy coach Sean Evans, Olympic Laser coach Vasilij Zbogar and 49er team coach Matt McGovern.

The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.

The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with other nations, a further €2 million is required annually to realise the ambitions of our talented sailors. For this reason, the Irish Sailing Foundation was formed to seek philanthropic donations. Led by a Board of Directors and Head of Development Kathryn Grace, the foundation lads a campaign to bridge the financial gap to provide the Performance Pathway with the funds necessary to increase coaching hours, upgrade equipment and provide world class sport science support to a greater number of high-potential Irish sailors.

The Senior and Academy teams of the Performance Pathway are supported with the provision of a coach, vehicle, coach boat and boats. Even with this level of subsidy there is still a large financial burden on individual families due to travel costs, entry fees and accommodation. There are often compromises made on the amount of days a coach can be hired for and on many occasions it is necessary to opt out of major competitions outside Europe due to cost. Money raised by the Irish Sailing Foundation will go towards increased quality coaching time, world-class equipment, and subsiding entry fees and travel-related costs. It also goes towards broadening the base of talented sailors that can consider campaigning by removing financial hurdles, and the Performance HQ in Dublin to increase efficiency and reduce logistical issues.

The ethos of the Performance Pathway is progression. At each stage international performance benchmarks are utilised to ensure the sailors are meeting expectations set. The size of a sailor will generally dictate which boat they sail. The classes selected on the pathway have been identified as the best feeder classes for progression. Currently the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway consists of the following groups: * Pathway (U15) Optimist and Topper * Youth Academy (U19) Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 * Development Academy (U23) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX * Team IRL (direct-funded athletes) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX

The Irish Sailing performance director produces a detailed annual budget for the programme which is presented to Sport Ireland, Irish Sailing and the Foundation for detailed discussion and analysis of the programme, where each item of expenditure is reviewed and approved. Each year, the performance director drafts a Performance Plan and Budget designed to meet the objectives of Irish Performance Sailing based on an annual review of the Pathway Programmes from Junior to Olympic level. The plan is then presented to the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) where it is independently assessed and the budget is agreed. The OSG closely monitors the delivery of the plan ensuring it meets the agreed strategy, is within budget and in line with operational plans. The performance director communicates on an ongoing basis with the OSG throughout the year, reporting formally on a quarterly basis.

Due to the specialised nature of Performance Sport, Irish Sailing established an expert sub-committee which is referred to as the Olympic Steering Group (OSG). The OSG is chaired by Patrick Coveney and its objective is centred around winning Olympic medals so it oversees the delivery of the Irish Sailing’s Performance plan.

At Junior level (U15) sailors learn not only to be a sailor but also an athlete. They develop the discipline required to keep a training log while undertaking fitness programmes, attending coaching sessions and travelling to competitions. During the winter Regional Squads take place and then in spring the National Squads are selected for Summer Competitions. As sailors move into Youth level (U19) there is an exhaustive selection matrix used when considering a sailor for entry into the Performance Academy. Completion of club training programmes, attendance at the performance seminars, physical suitability and also progress at Junior and Youth competitions are assessed and reviewed. Once invited in to the Performance Academy, sailors are given a six-month trial before a final decision is made on their selection. Sailors in the Academy are very closely monitored and engage in a very well planned out sailing, training and competition programme. There are also defined international benchmarks which these sailors are required to meet by a certain age. Biannual reviews are conducted transparently with the sailors so they know exactly where they are performing well and they are made aware of where they may need to improve before the next review.

©Afloat 2020