Tribesman Head crowded out of a hectic schedule

ROWING:NOT LONG ago this part of the year was for rowing to wake slowly from winter slumber (and indoor training). But the calendar is now packed: there are two heads and an egm of the rowing union this weekend alone.

But one of the fixed points for over 60 years has dropped out this year, citing the surfeit of activity as the cause.

Tribesmen Head, which has been around since 1948, has drawn huge numbers to Galway on St Patrick’s weekend, and provided an early form guide. This year, however, the head was sandwiched between Erne head and Lagan head (featuring the national eight-blade head) the following weekend.

The triple header of rugby internationals on the same day and the difficulty of assembling the big team of volunteers did not help, and the organisers felt that the event was not going to reach the desired standard.

Mike McCrohan of Tribesmen says the head will be back stronger than ever next year, but he feels the Irish Amateur Rowing Union needs to be given the power to knock the calendar into shape.

The union addresses three other issues at its egm on Sunday at Neptune in Dublin: a change in date for its agm; easier access to rule changes; and a ban on more than two clubs in composite crews at the National Championships.

On the water, tomorrow’s activity demonstrates how rowing in Ireland has a breadth and a reach few sports can match. The Lagan Scullers’ Head in Belfast draws a big entry from Ulster colleges. Over 300kms south the 320 crews entered in the Cork Head at the marina include, for the first time, coastal rowing crews. In what other sport do participants from Ahakista in west Cork line up with athletes from Blackrock College in Dublin?

University rowing continues to grow stronger. There are exciting plans for this year’s Dublin Colours races. The Gannon Cup and the Corcoran Cup, which travel up the Liffey from O’Connell Bridge to St James’s Gate, should see a boost in spectators this time out as the race is scheduled to take place early on St Patrick’s Day as part of the Festival.

So, even as one event steps aside, another moves centre stage.