SPORTS DIGEST/RUGBY:Connacht will open their European Challenge Cup campaign by hosting Italian team Amatori Catania at the Sportsground on the opening weekend of the new-look tournament, reports John O'Sullivan.
This season, the tournament is being run on a pool format rather than the home-and-away, knockout basis of recent years.
Michael Bradley's Connacht are included in a pool alongside Catania, French side Montpellier and English club Worcester Warriors. The Irish province have elected to travel to France for their second match and will then play away and home to Worcester.
They complete their campaign by travelling to Italy. The 2005/2006 tournament will consist of 20 top-flight clubs from six countries playing in five pools of four teams, the five pool winners and the best three runners-up qualifying for the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be one-off matches played at home venues and the final at a neutral venue on the weekend of May 20th/21st, 2006.
Connacht's Challenge Cup fixtures
Oct 21st/22nd/23rd - (h) v Catania
Oct 28th/29th/30th - (a) v Montpellier
Dec 9th/10th/11th - (a) v Worcester
Dec 16th/17th/18th - (h) v Worcester
Jan 13th/14th/15th - (h) v Montpellier
Jan 20th/21st/22nd - (a) v Catania.
SAILING: The inaugural Dún Laoghaire Regatta Championship gets underway on Dublin Bay at 3.30pm today when the Minister for Sport, John O'Donoghue, fires a starting cannon, reports David Branigan.
The 397th entry had been received last night and organisers expected several late entries to arrive this morning.
The event is an experiment between the four waterfront clubs that will jointly host their annual regattas in this combined format every second year.
A large turnout has indicated the popularity of the concept that eventually aims to mirror Cork Week and possibly Cowes Week.
However, the response from several dinghy classes has been muted in comparison to the keelboat and handicap divisions.
Meanwhile, one of the largest ever Class Zero entries on Dublin Bay has been received. Eamon Conneely's Galway TP52-footer heads the favourites list at the front of 22 rivals.
Organisers have announced that, in addition to overall winners in each of the 26 competing classes, one-design, handicap and dinghy overall winners will be judged prior to deciding a single event champion after Sunday's final race.
ATHLETICS: David Gillick has been included in Ireland's 13- member team for the European Under-23 Championships at Erfurth, Germany, from July 14th to 17th.
Gillick is currently ranked in second spot with his 45.93 behind the leading mark of 45.01 set by the much-improved Robert Tobin of Britain.
Paul Hession of Athenry is also included and has a fine 200-metre championship record, but he will have to improve on a season's best of 20.95, which leaves him ranked 11th on the European lists currently.
SWIMMING: Young Dubliner Nuala Murphy of the Trojan club has just returned from Florida with an exceptional achievement to her credit ahead of next week's European swim championships in Budapest, reports Pat Roche.
Swimming in the Florida Open as part of her preparation for the Europeans, Nuala trimmed the 25-year-old Irish senior 1,500 metres record held by former Irish Olympian Carol Anne Heavey.
Murphy was two seconds faster than Heavey's time, posting 17 minutes 33 seconds.
At 16, the Trojan swimmer is young enough to have hammered the Irish junior record by 21 seconds. She joins Templeogue's Shane Aherne and Clare Byrne and Cormorant's Laura McDonnell in Budapest this weekend for the Europeans.
ATHLETICS: Waterford's David McCarthy won another silver medal for Ireland on the track yesterday at the Lignano Stadium, near Venice, Italy, in the 800 metres event at the European Youth Olympics, reports Ian O'Riordan.
In very hot conditions he fought a tactical battle with Germany's Soren Ludolph to finish in second place in a time of 1:58.26, taking Ireland's medal count to three in Europe's most prestigious sporting event for young Olympic prospects.
McCarthy, who runs in the singlet of West Waterford Athletic Club, beat off the challenge of Norway's Jonas Rismyhr to take the silver medal.
