Plenty in contention as European Championships team to be named

That rarity in Irish international rowing this season has come to pass: all six crews locked in for the European Championships at the end of the month are fit and ready for action.

The team is set to be finalised on Saturday when lightweight scullers Sinéad Jennings and Siobhán McCrohan shoot it out for the seventh berth. They will race one time over 2,000 metres and if the winner is fast enough she travels to Poznan.

Gary and Paul O'Donovan, who will form the lightweight men's double, can take some encouragement from the results of the first World Cup in Bled in Slovenia.

In April, the O'Donovans pushed Portugal's Nuno Coelho and Pedro Fraga hard in the heats of the Memorial Paolo d'Aloja in Italy. The Portugal crew took silver in Bled.

Chief rowing coach

Back in Ireland, Trinity College is looking for a chief rowing coach, a professional position initially offered on a two-year contract at a salary scale believed to be upwards from €40,000.

The post, which is for the men’s club only, is the culmination of a long process, with fundraising from alumni and support from the college providing the financial basis.

One aim is to create crews which can be competitive outside Ireland. The first indicator of success listed is semi-finals at Henley Royal Regatta; the second is the senior eights at the Irish Championships. It is understood that Nick Dunlop is part of the selection process, and will step down at the end of the season from his present post as lead coach.

The entry for Dublin Metropolitan Regatta on Saturday, May 23rd, makes it clear that Henley is already on the mind of some Irish rowers. The combination of Dave Neale, Sean Jacob, Con Collis and Eimantas Grigalius forms a formidable quadruple scull. Grigalius says they will know more about Henley prospects after they compete - the entry includes fine senior crews from Commercial and Skibbereen.

Social side

One entry in the Division Two men’s single sculls is Olly O’Toole, son of the former world champion Niall O’Toole.

The shortage of a social side to regattas has been notable in recent years. Two 500-metre non-status regattas this Saturday may help redress this: the Lee Regatta in Cork and the Belfast Sprint Regatta.