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#Rowing: July 2017 was one of the most successful months for Irish rowing. There were multiple medals at international regattas: the World Cup in Lucerne, gold and bronze; the Under-23 World Championships, two bronze medals; Coupe de la Jeunesse, five gold medals; six wins at the Home International Regatta; a good showing by the Clonmel junior quadruple at Henley Royal Regatta.

 The Irish Rowing Championships regatta was the biggest ever. NUIG took nine titles. Enniskillen won the junior women’s and men’s eights (and fours) and the junior 16 women’s and men’s eights. Three Castles, with two wins, and UCC with a breakthrough win at novice level, had reasons to celebrate. Cork Boat Club and Bann could boast the champion junior single scullers as part of their three wins.

 Skibbereen’s top-rank rowers, usually ruled out by the international programme which sees them bring glory to their country, came to the show and helped the club to seven titles. Two Olympians, Sanita Puspure and Claire Lambe, took titles for Old Collegians and also helped UCD/Old Collegians to take the women’s senior eights crown. UCD had also won the women’s senior pair and the men’s intermediate eight.

 Year after year, the men’s senior eights final is the highlight of the Championships. This time out the Skibbereen eight could call on some of the best lightweight rowers in the world. The race was magnificient. In the closing stages, NUIG looked like they might revive the days of their domination; Skibbereen charged to the line. Commercial won. A crew of club rowers had put everything on the line and gained their reward.

 They are the Afloat Rowers of the Month.

Rower of the Month awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times, and David O'Brien, editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2017 champions list grow.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The big crowds saw a close and exciting senior men’s eight final at the Irish Rowing Championships. Commercial carved out a small lead early on, and despite pressure from NUIG and Skibbereen, they held on to win.

In the women’s senior eights final, UCD/Old Collegians had to wait until the middle stages to take over in the lead, but once they did they built and built on it. They had over three seconds at the finish over Skibbereen/UCC.

winners of senior men’s eights (Commercial)Winners of senior men’s eights (Commercial)

UCD/Old CollegiansWinners of senior women’s eights (UCD/Old Collegians – Claire Lambe not included)

NUIG took their ninth title as they lifted the women’s club eight, while Enniskillen brought a very successful end to a good regatta for them by taking the men’s junior pair through Aaron Johnston and Nathan Timoney.

Three Castles also had a fruitful Championships and their junior quadruple won.

Lee and Clonmel won the women’s junior quad and the men’s intermediate double respectively and Bann’s Hannah Scott took the women’s intermediate single sculls title.

 

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Day Three (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Senior: 1 Commercial 5:46.04, 2 Skibbereen 5:47.95, 3 NUIG 5:48.39. Novice: Queen’s 6:21.56.

Four – Club, coxed: NUIG A 6:43.38.

Pair – Inter: NUIG 6:56.09. Junior: Enniskillen B 6:52.04.

Sculling, Quadruple – Junior: 1 Three Castles 6:21.53, 2 Shandon 6:22.75, 3 Clonmel 6:23.05.

Double – Inter: Clonmel 6:37.17. Junior: Three Castles A 6:50.22.

Single – Lightweight: Skibbereen (G O’Donovan) 7:22.32. Inter: Clonmel (D Lynch) 7:10.25.

Women

Eight – Senior: 1 UCD/Old Collegians 6:24.84, 2 Skibbereen/UCC 6:27.96, 3 NUIG/Cork 6:33.67. Club: NUIG 6:46.97.

Four – Inter, coxed: NUIG 7:23.65.

Pair – Senior: UCD (A Crowley, E Lambe) 7:37.41. Junior: Fermoy 7:53.37.

Sculling, Quadruple – Junior: Lee 6:54.96.

Single – Senior: Old Collegians (S Pupsure) 8:02.64. Lightweight: Skibbereen (D Walsh) 8:09.96. Inter: Bann (H Scott) 7:55.58. Club One: Carlow (C Nolan) 8:15.22.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Commercial made their exit from Henley this morning in a tightly fought quarter-final of the Wyfold Cup for club fours. The Dublin crew took a lead early over Thames and retained it to beyond halfway. The English crew pushed past them and led, but were warned by the umpire and had to adjust their steering. Commercial came back and looked like they might have done enough. It was not to be. Thames were given the decision by one foot.   

Henley Royal Regatta, Day Three (Irish interest)

Wyfold Cup (Club Fours): Thames bt Commercial by 1 foot; 6 min 48 sec.   

 

Published in Rowing
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#Rowing: Commercial won again at Henley Royal Regatta today. Their Wyfold club four beat Curlew with plenty to spare to progress to Friday’s competition. The London crew veered markedly towards Commercial at the start, and Commercial also crabbed to their right. Commercial then took control and were able to paddle home past the Enclosures and still win by four and a quarter lengths.  

Henley Royal Regatta, Day Two (Irish interest)

Diamond Sculls (Open Single Sculls): J Stimpson bt N Kenny 3¼ l.    

Temple Cup (College Eights): University of California, Berkeley bt Trinity 2½ l.

Wyfold (Club Fours): Commercial bt Curlew 4 ¼ l.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Commercial had an easy win in the first round of the Wyfold Cup for club fours at Henley Royal Regatta today. Their opponents, Molesey B, made a mess of the start, veering across towards the Dublin crew and being warned. Commercial’s experienced crew of Mike Corcoran, Fionnán Groome, Colm Dowling and Shane Mac Eoin dealt with it all calmly. They moved into the lead and won, easing up, by one and a half lengths.

 They are set to take on Curlew on Thursday.   

Henley Royal Regatta, Day One (Irish interest)

Temple (College Eights): Trinity bt Pembroke College, Oxford by 2/3 l; 6 mins 29 sec.

Wyfold (Club Fours): Commercial bt Molesey B by 1½ l; 7:16.

Prince Albert (College Coxed Fours): Deerfield Academy (United States) bt Trinity by 5ft; 6:59.

Fawley (Under-18 Boys’ Quadruples): Clonmel bt Malvern Preparatory School B, United States by 2½ l; 6:55.

Published in Rowing
Tagged under

#Rowing: Commercial won the men’s senior eights at the Metropolitan Regatta at Blessington today. The champions of Ireland had eight seconds to spare over UCD’s senior eight. Killorglin’s Monika Dukarska, who will also compete at London Metropolitan Regatta, won the women’s single sculls with a big margin to spare.

 

Metropolitan Regatta, Blessington Lakes, Saturday

Men

Eight – Division One – A Final: 1 Commercial (sen) 5:44.371; 3 UCD (intermediate) 5:57.184; 5 Neptune (junior 18A) 6:12.357. Div Two – A Final: Neptune (club two) 5:32.007; 3 UCD (nov) 5:50.023; 5 Blackrock (jun 18B) 6:27.915. Masters – A Final: St Michael’s C.

Four – Div One – A Final: Commercial (sen) 5:28.2o7.

Four, coxed – Div One – A Final: UCD (sen) 5:52.904; 2 Commercial (inter) 6:00.904; 3 St Michael’s (club one) 6:04.576; 4 Methodist (jun 18A) 6:07.373. Div Two, coxed – A Final: Methodist (jun 18B) 7:02.318; 2 Univ of Limerick (club two) 7:14.084. Masters, coxed – A Final: Galway (d)

Pair – Div One – A Final: Castleconnell (sen) 7:01.158, 2 Three Castles (jun 18A) 7:02.83; 3 Portadown (Club One) 7:03.236. B Final: Offaly (inter) 7:19.0. Div Two: Commercial (sen) 6:15.667; 5 Neptune (inter) 6:34.371; 6 Clonmel (club one) 6:43.012.

Sculling, Quadruple – Div One – A Final: Three Castles (jun 18A) 6:32.051. Div Two, coxed: Castleconnell (jun 16) 7:00.976; 2 Carlow (jun 18B) 7:04.32; 3 Shandon (club two) 7:04.913. B Final: Neptune (nov) 7:58.889.

Double – Div Two – A Final: Three Castles (jun 16) 7:09.056; 2 Carlow (jun 18B) 7:18.963; 4 Shandon (club two) 7:37.214.

Single – Div One – A Final: Castleconnell (F Crowley; sen) 6:43.47; 2 Carlow (J Keating; jun 18A) 6:49.642; 3 Castleconnell (S Haugh; inter) 6:52.799. C Final: 6 Clonmel (O McGrath; club one) 7:11.017.

Div Two: Carlow (A O’Toole; Jun 18B) 6:52.709; 3 Cappoquin (S Landers; Club Two) 6:56.991; 4 Castleconnell (R O’Neill; jun 16) 7:04.710. Masters – A Final: Carlow (N O’Brien).

Women

Eight – Div One – A Final: Commercial (sen) 6:05.32; 2 Commercial (jun 18A) 6:28.524. Div Two – A Final: Shandon (club two) 7:33.916; 2 St Michael’s (jun 16) 7:41.478; 3 Neptune (nov) 7:52.245.

Four – A Final: 1 UCD B (sen) 7:33.677; 4 Commercial (jun 18A) 7:55.24. Div One, coxed: Shandon (Club One) 7:28.331; 3 Commercial (inter) 7:40.237. Div Two, coxed– A Final: UCD (Club Two) 7:07.281.

Pair – Div One – A Final: UCD A (sen) 8:26.503; 4 UCD (inter) 8:54.035; 5 Lee (jun 18A) 8:55.394. B Final: 2 Commercial (club one) 9:33.839.

Sculling, Quadruple – Div One: New Ross (jun 18A) 6:44.305. Div Two, coxed - A Final: Lee (club two) 6:56.124, 2 Castleconnell (jun 16) 6:59.39; 5 Commercial (nov) 7:27.266. B Final: 2 Graiguenamanagh (jun 18B) 7:34.306.

Double – Div One – A Final: Neptune (inter) 6:57.084, 2 Carlow (Club one) 6:58.85. Div Two – A Final: New Ross A (jun 18B) 7:10.012; 3 Garda (club two) 7:36.044; 4 Neptune (jun 16) 7:36.7.

Single – Div One – A Final: Killorglin (M Dukarska; sen) 8:52.378; 2 Carlow (A Byrne; inter) 9:37.974; 3 Carlow (C Nolan; jun 18A) 9:43.755.

Div Two – A Final: Neptune (E Power; club two) 9:48.198; 2 Castleconnell (L O’Brien; jun 16) 9:51.167.

– Masters – A Final: Graiguenamanagh (M Cummins).

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Neptune won the men’s junior 18 eight and Commercial were second at the Ghent International May Regatta in Belgium. Commercial’s Gillian Crowe and Hazel O’Neill won the women’s senior pair.

Commercial crews finished 1-2-3 of the eight crews which competed in the junior women’s pair.

Aaron Keogh of Three Castles won the junior 16 single sculls – first of 39 competitors and Jack Butler of Neptune was third of 28 in the junior 18 singles.

Cork took second in the women’s junior eight, while New Ross were third in the women’s junior quadruple.

Ghent International May Regatta, Belgium (Irish interest; selected results, finals)

Men

Eight: 1 Neptune 6:04.89, 2 Commercial 6:07.61.

Four, coxed – Jun 18: 1 Commercial 7:00.29 (two crews).

Pair – Sen: 2 Commercial (D Joyce, M Maher) 6:57.08. Under-23: 1 St Michael’s (T McKeon, D O’Byrne) 7:14.20, 3 St Michael’s (B McKeon, C Garvey) 7:15.78. Jun 18: 3 St Michael’s (T McKeon, D O’Byrne) 7:11.18.

Sculling

Quadruple – Jun 18: 2 Three Castles 6:21.19.

Double – Jun: 3 Three Castles (R Quinn, O Clune) 6:48.19.

Single: 3 S McKeown 7:25.96. Lightweight: 2 St Michael’s (D O’Connor) 7:21.71. Jun 18: 3 Neptune (J Butler) 7:42.19. Jun 16: 1 Three Castles (A Keogh) 7:38.98.

Women

Eight – Junior: 2 Cork 7:05.83, 3 Commercial 7:20.22.

Four – Jun: 2 Commercial 7:42.63.

Pair – Sen: 2 Commercial (G Crowe, H O’Neill) 7:50.48. Jun: 1 Commercial (A Keogh, S Maxwell) 8:14.43, 2 Commercial (G McNamara, K Dolan) 8:23.96, 3 Commercial (C Ryan, A O’Rourke) 8:39.88.

Sculling, Quadruple – Jun: 3 New Ross 7:22.57.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Irish clubs had some excellent placings on Saturday at the Ghent International May Regatta in Belgium. Commercial and Neptune finished first and second in the junior men’s eight and Commercial also finished second in the women’s junior eight and four, and second and third in the junior women’s pair. The Three Castles junior double of Rory Quinn and Oisin Clune took silver – second of 47 crews which competed. New Ross were the second-placed crew in the junior quadruple.

In the adult events, which generally had smaller entries, St Michael’s had wins through Declan O’Connor, Ben McKeon and Colm Garvey, while Skibbereen’s Orla Hayes won the lightweight women’s single. Sam McKeown of Queen’s University finished second to Dave Bell of Molesey in the senior single sculls.

Ghent International May Regatta, Belgium (Irish interest; selected results; Saturday)

Men

Eight – Junior: 1 Commercial 6:42.02, 2 Neptune 6:47.0.

Four – Junior: 2 Commercial 7:01.64. Four, coxed – Junior: 2 Neptune 7:13.78.

Pair – Senior: 1 Commercial (D Joyce, M Maher) 7:45.01 Under-23 (Two Crews): 1 St Michael’s (B McKeon, C Garvey) 8:22.06, 2 St Michael’s (T McKeon, D O’Byrne) 8:23.88. Lightweight Pair: 1 St Michael’s (B McKeon, C Garvey) 8:09.34. Junior: 2 St Michael’s (T McKeon, D O’Byrne) 7:36.89.

Quadruple – Junior: 2 Three Castles 6:48.14.

Double – Junior: 2 Three Castles (R Quinn, O Clune) 7:18.24.

Single – Senior: 2 Queen’s (S McKeown) 8:03.56. Lightweight: 1 St Michael’s (D O’Connor) 7:05.24. Under-23 Lightweight: 3 Queen’s (M Taylor) 8:13.94.

Women

Eight – Junior: 2 Commercial 7:52.67, 3 Cork BC 8:04.40.

Four – Junior: 2 Commercial 8:18.63, 3 New Ross 8:27.38.

Pair – Senior: 3 Commercial (H O’Neill, G Crowe) 9:06.60. Junior: 2 Commercial (A Keogh, S Maxwell) 8:57.17, 3 Commercial (G McNamara, K Dolan) 9:03.31.

Sculling – Quadruple – Junior: 2 New Ross 7:52.00.

Lightweight Single: 1 Skibbereen (O Hayes) 8:52.88.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Afloat Rowers of the Month for April are the UCD men’s senior eight. The crew, stroked by David O’Malley, beat Commercial, the champions of Ireland, at Skibbereen Regatta. They went on to Trinity Regatta and beat the hosts with another fine performance.

The winning crew at Skibbereen Regatta was: Sam Bolger, Shane O’Connell, Tiarnan Doherty, Max Murphy, Shane Mulvaney, Andrew Griffin, Eoin Gleeson, David O’Malley, Orlagh Reid (cox). James O’Sullivan replaced Shane O’Connell in the crew for Trinity.

Rower of the Month awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times, and David O'Brien, editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2017 champions list grow.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Commercial beat Trinity in the women’s senior eights at Trinity Regatta today. Commercial were the more powerful crew and once they took the lead the held it to win by three and a half lengths. UCD’s senior men’s pair came out on top, while Jack Butler of Neptune was the top junior single sculler.

Trinity Regatta, Islandbridge (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Club: Trinity bt UCD did not finish. Inter: UCD bt Cork BC row over. Masters: Neptune bt Commercial ½ l.

Four – Club, coxed: Neptune bt UCD A disq. Masters, coxed: Neptune bt Graiguenamanagh easily. Junior, coxed: Commercial bt Neptune row over.

Pair – Senior: UCD bt KSRV Nord easily

Sculling,

Quadruple – Nov, coxed: Commercial bt Sligo easily. Jun 18B, coxed: Commercial bt Blackrock easily. Jun 16: Commercial bt Three Castles 2l.

Single – Inter: Sligo (Patterson) bt Commercial (Casey) easily. Jun 18: Neptune (J Butler) bt Commercial (K Brown) 4l.

Women

Eight – Senior: Commercial bt Trinity 3 ½ l Club, coxed: Commercial bt Trinity 2l. Nov: Trinity A bt KSRV Njord 2l. Jun 16: Graiguenamanagh bt Athlone easily.

Four – Inter, coxed: Trinity B bt Trinity A 1l. Junior, coxed:

Sculling – Double - Senior: Neptune bt KSRV Njord easily.

Single – Inter: Neptune (Feerick) bt Athlone (Curley) easily. Club: Neptune (A Clark) bt Garda (J Ryan) 3l. Jun 16: Neptune (Clarke) bt Neptune (Daymon) 2l.

Published in Rowing
Page 5 of 9

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

Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition

Where is the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition being held? Sailing at Paris 2024 will take place in Marseille on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea between 28 July and 8 August, and will feature Kiteboarding for the first time, following a successful Olympic debut in 2018 at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. The sailing event is over 700 km from the main Olympic Games venue in Paris.

What are the events? The Olympic Sailing Competition at Paris 2024 will feature ten Events:

  • Women’s: Windsurfing, Kite, Dinghy, Skiff
  • Men’s: Windsurfing, Kite, Dinghy, Skiff
  • Mixed: Dinghy, Multihull

How do you qualify for Paris 2024?  The first opportunity for athletes to qualify for Paris 2024 will be the Sailing World Championships, The Hague 2023, followed by the Men’s and Women’s Dinghy 2024 World Championships and then a qualifier on each of World Sailing’s six continents in each of the ten Events. The final opportunity is a last chance regatta to be held in 2024, just a few months before the Games begin.

50-50 split between male and female athletes: The Paris 2024 Games is set to be the first to achieve a 50-50 split between male and female athletes, building on the progress made at both Rio 2016 (47.5%) and Tokyo 2020 (48.8%). It will also be the first Olympic Games where two of the three Chief roles in the sailing event will be held by female officials,

At a Glance -  Paris Olympics Sailing Marseille

July 28th – August 8th Paris Olympics Sailing Marseille

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