THE FIRST of the new World Cup series begins in Munich tomorrow with just one Irish sculler still in the draw, and with home interest focused on the Metropolitan regatta at Blessington, where several of the remaining selection battles will be raced out.
Two single sculls were shipped out to Munich earlier in the week, but Ireland's already exam hit entry was halved when the former World champion Niall O'Toole was diagnosed as having a broken finger. The injury will not disrupt the Commercial sculler's training programme, but it comes at an opportune time for his lightweight rival, Gearoid Towey.
Last night's World Cup draw has given Towey a tough early heat tomorrow and national selectors in Blessington will be kept up to date with his progress before deciding on the Irish lightweight quad to race in Paris next month.
Six scullers have been invited to seat race for selection after Metro regatta and all are entered for the senior one sculls beforehand.
Trials at the beginning of the month confirmed Brendan Dolan and Neal Byrne as first choice seats. Emmet O'Brien, though, has been struggling to recapture last year's form and John Armstrong will not want to repeat the torment he suffered in Inniscarra at the hands of Skibbereen's under 23 sculler Ross O'Donovan.
The Co Cork club is close to consolidating its toe hold on the sculling squad with two of its juniors among a six strong group that paces the lightweights on Saturday. It is thought that the junior sculling squad has a definite boat or boats of junior World Championship quality; the chance of any junior sweep boat emerging has until recently barely registered.
Junior convener Sebastian Peeters still rates a coxless four at the World Championships as a slim prospect, but has thrown a Cork dominated combination. Paul Carroll, Portora's Chris Noble, Peter Waldron and Brian Young in at the senior one deep end against the Olympic lightweights. The juniors consistently beat senior crews during the trials and will later double up in the senior three eights to assess the speed of what should become the basis of this year's Coupe de la Jeunesse team.
In the coxless pairs final, the World silver medalists Tony O'Connor and Neville Maxwell are the targetmen for crews chasing reserve places to the light weight tour. Trinity's Mark Pollock and James Lindsay Finn are favourites to claim the seats having assimilated well in the Olympic boat during recent training sessions.
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