Newry test will give coaches a flavour of what lies ahead

ROWING ROUND-UP:ONE-HUNDRED-and-forty of Ireland's top rowers head for Newry this weekend – not to shop, but to prove themselves capable of representing Ireland in the season ahead.

The national 5km assessment on Newry canal is structured to give performance director Martin McElroy and his team a view of where our best rowers stand early in a new cycle.

Some may not even last until Sunday. An ergometer test tomorrow will rate the athletes, and those deemed not up to standard will not compete in Sunday’s time trial.

While over half the entry are juniors, there will be a strong interest in the performances of our under-23 men, on whom McElroy has pinned strong hopes.

“We’re quite pleased with how the under-23s are shaping up – the men’s lightweight group particularly,” he opines.

Another notable entry is Eugene Coakley. The 30-year-old Skibbereen man has silver (2005) and bronze (2006) medals at World Championship level and represented Ireland at the Athens Olympics in 2004. He missed out on Beijing, but has continued to have strong links with the sport and coaches in Blackrock College.

The recent flooding in Cork had surprisingly little effect on activities at the National Rowing Centre (NRC), on Inniscarra Lake, and a “dry row” (indoor) event scheduled there went ahead.

McElroy, an engineer, was sanguine about the weather. “The NRC – the building itself – is at a higher level than the top of the dam. If it (floodwater) gets into the building, then I’m afraid Cork is gone.”

Conditions on the lake were often flat calm, even as the city dealt with flooding.

Meanwhile, what might have been a serious incident in Lough Mahon in Cork on Sunday was averted without injury. A UCC novice eight took on water after the winds came up quickly. The crew of nine were taken into the coaching launch, manned by UCC coach Mike Fogarty and club captain Billy Ryan. A passing RNLI Rib was hailed and took the nine men to the slip at Shandon.

Ryan denied yesterday “in no uncertain terms” that any of the crew had been “floundering in the water”, as some reports had it. He thanked the RNLI and all involved in helping out on the day.

The Atlantic Rowing Race looks set to be delayed again, perhaps until Monday week, December 21st, because of bad weather.

The race was due to start last Sunday from La Gomera in the Canary islands. But the build up of bad weather on the Atlantic has led to postponement, at the very least until next Monday, as the Spanish authorities want to take no chances of being responsible for a rescue operation.

Seán McGowan, who hopes to become the first Irishman to row solo across the Atlantic, will fly into Dublin this afternoon to spend time with his family while he awaits the start.