Focus on club event

Rowing: Two weekends, two events which reflect the bifurcation of Irish rowing at the moment. Tomorrow's Neptune head of the river in Blessington will offer some pointers as to early-season form for mainly club athletes, while next week in Cork a big group of aspiring internationals will take part in the first official senior international camp of the season.

The growth of the international programme under coach Harald Jahrling is well reflected in the number of athletes (29) invited to Inniscarra next weekend. This is only November, and there is an under-23 camp to come. Among the 11 lightweight men, the return of Neptune's Neil Casey and Commercial's Niall O'Toole is notable. Jahrling said yesterday Diarmaid Mac Colgain and Siaghal Mac Colgain are also in the frame but unavailable for this camp.

NUIG's Johnny Naughton, who impressed in the senior pair in the recent Galway regional trial, comes into the big group of heavyweight men, along with Sam Lynch.

Heavyweight sculler Caroline Ryan is added to the lightweights Sinead Jennings, Heather Boyle, Niamh Ní Cheilleachair and Orla Duddy to make up the women's group. Jahrling says Duddy got the nod over Siobhan Jacob, as the plan was for four lightweight women "and Siobhan was number five".

Jacob, the national single sculls champion in 2002, takes on Commercial clubmate Becky Quinn, Nicola FitzSimon of Trinity and UCD's Helen Walshe in one of the most interesting match-ups at tomorrow's Neptune head.

Walshe won the national single sculls title in 2004 before missing out last season when she had a baby. Her return, and how she does against the good level of competition, will be worth noting.

Paul O'Brien, who turns 18 next month but is another natural heavyweight, is set to compete in the biggest event of the day in terms of numbers, the intermediate single scull.

Jahrling confirmed aspiring internationals will be "encouraged" to take part in the Irish Indoor Championships next month, along with domestic events which fit in around their programme. But unlike last season, the team which travels to the World Championships in 2006 will not be able to compete at the National Championships because of conflicting schedules.

Jahrling will be in Queen's University, Belfast, for a coaching clinic tomorrow, and goes on to similar events in Limerick (Saturday 26th) and Galway (27th).

National Senior Camp (Inniscarra Lake, Cork, November 18th-20th): Men, Heavyweight: Seán Casey, Seán Jacob, Alan Martin, Cormac Folan, Sam Lynch, Paul Giblin, Johnny Naughton, Eamon Joyce, Kenneth McCarthy, Martin Campbell, John Forde, Steve Lowe; cox: Brendan Farrell. Lightweight: Tim Harnedy, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald, Paul Griffin, Richard Coakley, Jonny Devitt, Niall O'Toole, Neil Casey, Daniel O'Dowd, Dave Wallace, Dave Mannion. Women, Heavyweight: Caroline Ryan. Lightweight: Sinead Jennings, Heather Boyle, Niamh Ní Cheilleachair, Orla Duddy.