Blessington facilities face long-overdue upgrading

ROWING: Rowing can sometimes be dubbed a snobbish sport, but in Ireland rowers don't do it for the salubrious surroundings. Boom or no boom, even top Irish oarsmen and oarswomen are used to spartan conditions when they train and compete in this country.

In Dublin, where most of the top competitors are based, the clubhouses at Islandbridge are being spruced up and are expanding, but the facilities at Blessington Lakes consist of little more than a concrete shell with very basic shower and toilet facilities.

The umbrella body for the clubs which use Blessington, the Metropolitan Regatta committee, believes the time has come for change. They are working with an architect on plans for a second storey to be added to the clubhouse and for a separate building to be constructed which would house Metropolitan equipment.

Committee secretary Kieran Hynes hopes a submission to Wicklow County Council will be made within the next few months, if agreement can be reached with all the clubs involved.

The Government and the Sports Council seem well disposed to such schemes in recent years. One wonders whether the face of Irish rowing might be very different if the plans for a National Rowing Centre had not been locked into place in the 1990s.

If the debate was taking place now, would Lough Rinn, which seemed to have endless potential but was a potentially expensive proposition, be favoured over the present site at Inniscarra Lakes in Cork?

Erne Head of the River tomorrow features a good line-up, with four men's open eights, Neptune, Queen's University, Trinity and UCD. In the women's open eight, Neptune take on Queen's University. Conditions are likely to be cold but calm, according to organiser Robert Northridge.

Newry have cancelled their event next weekend, but the Cork head tomorrow week provides the launching pad to the giant Tribesmen head in Galway the following Saturday, March 18th. Ireland coach Harald Jahrling has organised a junior camp around the event.

Meanwhile, on the island of Antigua, Paul Gleeson and Tori Holmes are enjoying their few days of peace after their own bit of coast-to-coast rowing. "We're just taking it easy," said Gleeson yesterday.

"It's great not to have an agenda. Our biggest thing today is to go down to the shore and inquire about diving. When you think of the worries (we had) about the watermaker. Everything here is just chilled out. It's horizontal it's so laid back."

The ocean rowers intend to return to Ireland early next week. Holmes will spend just a few weeks here before returning to Canada to study.

National Junior Rowing Camp (Galway, March 17th to 19th): Invitees - Men, Sweep: P Rae, J McDonald, Graham Sheehan, Gavin Sheehan, N Kenny, E Fitzgerald, F Manning, V Manning, J Wall, A McEvoy, K Beckles, P Hennigan (and three coxes). Sculling: J Currivan, B O'Mahony, K Clarke, P Moore, M O'Donovan, D O'Sullivan, D Duggan, B Lyons. Women, Sweep: S Sumption, S Ní Fhatharta, L Colclough, K Oliver. Sculling: L Gannon, E Feerick, L D'Urso, K Morris, C O'Riordan, C O'Connor, C Lambe, C Grogan.