Focus on more boats for Athens

Rowing News round-up: The shape of Ireland's challenge on the international stage this season is becoming clearer.

One of the key aims will be to qualify at least two more boats for the Olympics in addition to the men's lightweight four and double which have already booked their places.

There will also be a focus on development, with an eye on the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Dominant performances in the trials by Sinéad Jennings and Heather Boyle have given them the inside track on being Ireland's lightweight women's double for the Olympic qualifiers in Lucerne in June.

But the two runners-up, Niamh Ní Cheilleachair and Fiola Foley, have been told they, along with three heavyweight male scullers, will be entered in the Duisberg regatta in May - although no funding is earmarked for them.

A men's heavyweight four may also make it to Athens. Alan Martin, Serryth Colbert, John Forde and Kenny McCarthy will train in Leander until May 13th, when they will join the rest of the Irish Olympic squad.

A wild card here is that some lightweight men who do not book an Olympic place in the already-qualified boats may come into the picture for the four or a heavyweight sculling boat.

Thor Nilsen, the manager of the elite lightweight men's squad, has asked that Brian Young and Herbert Griffin rejoin this group. With Niall O'Toole also booking a place through the national trials, this will bring the number of elite lightweight men to 11.

While only six of this number can compete at the Olympics, the hope is to also field a single scull, a pair and a quadruple scull at the World Championships for non-Olympic boats in July, drawing on some of those who have not made the Olympic squad.

In addition, a men's heavyweight pair of Paul Giblin and Cormac Folan will be targeted at the World Under-23 championships, and a lightweight four and a pair will be formed from a group consisting of Richard Coakley, Ciarán Hayes, Dave Mannion, Rob Cronin, Stuart King and Dermot O'Sullivan.

Trials for junior women and the deferred trials for heavyweight women will be held in Cork from Monday.

The emphasis in the junior trials will be to form crews for the Coupe de la Jeunesse in Italy in late July.

The Neptune regatta showed that St Joseph's in Galway, known as the Bish, are setting a hot pace for junior men - and the school won their first sculling crown in the form of a junior 15 quadruple scull.

With the University championships due next weekend, the Irish Amateur Rowing Union are pleading for those who know the whereabouts of the Wyley Cup (senior men) and the Bank of Ireland Cup (senior women) to contact them.