rowing ireland newsletter: december edition
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE: HEAD SEASON 2013 • IRISH INDOOR ROWING
CHAMPIONSHIPS • ULSTER INDOOR ROWING EVENT • IRISH ROWING
ARCHIVES • MARY MCLACHLAN • SPORTS NUTRITION • AND MORE...
Rowing Ireland Newsletter DECEMBER 2013 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2
completed at the National Rowing
Centre from the start pontoon
purchase, slip development,
landscaping and an energy efficiency
upgrade.
We have undertaken strategic
planning and we are currently
reviewing our governance systems.
The High Performance team
continue to work very hard and
the establishment of provincial
training groups has been hugely
S eason’s Greetings to all of you
in the Rowing Ireland
community.
2013 has been a year of huge
change within the organisation, we
now have a fantastic team in place
at Board level and on the
professional staff and we all look
forward to collectively driving all
aspects of the business forward in
2014.
Several large projects have been
positive.
We are well prepared for further
challenges and successes in 2014.
We are always interested in
contributors to our e-zine so
please contact Amy who continues
her marvellous work
at [email protected] .
Hamish Adams
CEO
Welcome...
Page 2 Rowing Ireland Newsletter
Inside the
December
Issue:
Neptune Head of the
River
4
News 5
Muckross Head
of the River
6
Ulster Indoor
Rowing Event
7
Muckross Head of
the River
8
Head of the
River Fours
9
Irish Indoor
Rowing
Championships
10
Head of the
Charles
12
Sports Nutrition 14
Coaches’ Corner 16
Irish Rowing
Archives
18
Irish Rowers in the
USA
20
Around the
Country
23
Sponsors’ Page 24
Page 3 Volume 2, Issue 2
National Rowing Centre
Farran Wood
Ovens
Co. Cork
© Kaspars Puspurs
The Rowing Ireland Newsletter is
an official publication of Rowing
Ireland.
The views expressed by the
contributors within this
publication are not necessarily the
views of Rowing Ireland.
Copyright © 2013
All rights reserved.
All feedback is welcome, please
contact: [email protected]
Neptune Head of the River
Page 4 Rowing Ireland Newsletter
© Mirel Basic
times, of 15:07 and 15:19.
Fellow UCD athlete Paul
O’Donovan was in third place,
in a time of 15:23. In the sec-
ond head O'Donovan paired up
with his brother, CIT RC's
Gary O'Donovan, to win the
Men's Senior Double
Trinity's men's and women's
crews had a string of victories
on the day. DUBC won
the Intermediate Coxed Four in
a time of 13:37, while Benjamen
Morgan won the strongly con-
tested Men's Intermediate Single
Scull pennant, with 40 scullers
racing in the event over the two
heads.
DULBC's Senior Eight was the
fastest Women's crew, finishing a
time of 14:18. Their Intermediate
Eight and Novice Coxed Four
were also victorious in their
events, posting times of 15:20 and
17:12, respectively.
The fasted Women's Senior Four
was a Tribesmen/ NUIG BC com-
posite, with a winning time of
14:32, 40 seconds ahead of UCD
BC in second place. .
In the Women’s Single Scull, local
club Three Castles RC took first
and second place overall, with
Helen Walshe taking the win by 5
seconds over Eimear Moran, in a
time of 16:26. Commercial RC’s
Sarah Dolan came third, in a time
of 16:37. The Women's Interme-
diate Single pennant went to
Gemma Foley of Commercial RC,
who paired up with clubmate Ca-
triona Jennings to win the
Women's Senior Double in the
second head, in a time of 16:09.
A fter the cancellation of
Skibbereen Head due to
forecasts of gale force winds, the
first major event of the 2013/14
season was Neptune Head of the
River, held on its usual 4000m
course on the Blessington Lakes in
Co. Wicklow.
This year’s event, held on the 9th
of November, drew a strong entry
of 221 crews, racing in two races
held in the morning and afternoon.
The event was boosted by its
inclusion as part of a training
weekend organised by Rowing
Ireland's High Performance
coaches to include racing on
Saturday and training on the
Sunday. Invites were extended to
those selected for Rowing
Ireland’s High Performance squads
after September's Early ID Trials,
with a number athletes competing
in the Head in singles and crew
boats.
The overall head was won by
UCD’s Senior Eight in a time of
12:34, but a four made up of High
Performance athletes from UCD
BC, Grainne Mhaol RC and St
Michael’s RC finished 9 seconds
behind them, in third place
overall.
The Junior events were dominated
by crews from Portora RC,
winning both the Men's Junior 18
and 16 Eight events, and the Men's
Junior 16 Coxed Quads. Their
Women's crews won both the
Junior 18 and 16 Eight events.
Niall Kenny of UCD was the
fastest single sculler on the
day. Racing in both heads, he
posted the two fastest overall
Page 5 Volume 2, Issue 2
> Offaly RC organised and hosted the
2013 Tullamore Time Trial, held on
the 5th October over 2250m on the Grand
Canal. The fastest man was David Neale of
UCD and the fastest woman was Eimear
Moran of Three Castles, both originally
from Offaly RC. NUIG, Athlone, Carrick-
on-Shannon and Offaly RC also took home
wins on the day.
> The Marina in Cork hosted the 42nd
Cork Sculling Ladder Time Trial on
Sunday 6th October, with 166 rowers
taking part over the 1850m course, which
marks the first stage of the 2013/14 Cork
Sculling Ladder. Junior rower John Mitchell
of Lee RC won the overall time trial in a
time of 7:08. Marie O’Neill of Cork BC
won the Overall’s Women’s Section, for
the second year running, in a time of 7:53.
The Ladder continues with a series of
challenge races between the competitors
running until April 13th 2014, after which
the final overall positions will be decided.
> The annual Dublin Sculling Ladder
took place on Saturday 12th
October, with a record 212 competitors
racing the 1800m course on the River
Liffey at Islandbridge. Sean Jacob of the
Old Collegians BC won the overall time
trail in a time of 6:11.56, breaking the old
course record, set by Niall O’Toole in
1992. Neptune RC’s Shane Mulavaney was
the fastest Junior, with a time of 6:47.97.
Sheila Clavin was the fastest woman on the
day, posting a time of 7:14.55, with the
fastest Junior Woman, Eimear Lambe of
Commercial only 4.4 seconds behind her.
> Queen’s rowers dominated at Bann
Head of the River, held on the 16th
November, winning the first and second
Head races overall, with their Intermediate
8 and 4 respectively. The fastest Women’s
_crew was Bann’ J18 8, with a time of
_15.19. Sam McKeown of Portadown
BC was the fastest single sculler.
In Short...
Performance athletes continued
their run of strong performances
from Neptune Head.
The overall Head was won by a
CIT RC/ Skibbereen RC / UCD BC
composite Men’s Quad. They
were the only crew to complete
the 3800m course in under 10
minutes, finishing in time of 9:40.
UCC RC won the Men's Senior
Double in a time of 10:54.
Niall Kenny continued his winning
streak in the Men's Single Scull,
winning the event in a time of
11:27, three seconds ahead of Paul
O'Donovan in second place, with
Shane O'Driscoll of CIT RC in
third place in a time of 11:40.
Patrick Hegarty of CIT RC was the
fastest Intermediate Single Sculler,
T aking place for the first time
since 2011, Muckross Head
took place over a 3800m course at
the National Rowing Centre on
the 7th of December.
Despite forecasts of stormy
conditions, the weather held up
for the rolling head which ran
from 10am to 3pm. A strong tail
wind, which gathered pace
throughout the day saw some very
fast times recorded by the
competing crews.
A number of High Performance
athletes competed on the day, as
part of the recent movement
towards integrating the Rowing
Ireland High Performance
programme with domestic
events. A number of High
in a time of 12:05, while Raymond
O'Mahony of Waterford BC was
the fastest Novice Sculler.
Conor Carmody of Shannon RC
was the fastest Junior sculler, with
a winning time of 12:10, out of 23
entries, and was also part of
Shannon RC's winning Junior
Double. Cork BC won the Men’s
Junior Eight and Pair, while
Clonmel RC and Shandon RC also
took home pennants from the
Junior events.
DULBC's Senior Eight were
victorious in their event; and the
fastest overall Women's crew; in a
time of 11:14, 11th place overall in
the Head. A Skibbereen RC/ CIT
RC composite was the fastest
Women's Senior Four, winning →
Muckross Head of the River
Page 6 Rowing Ireland Newsletter
Page 7 Volume 2, Issue 2
their event in a time of 11:55.
Tribesmen RC’s Lisa Dilleen and
NUIG BC’s Aifric Keogh contin-
ued their unbeaten streak in the
Women’s Senior Pair, after wins at
the Irish Championships and High
Performance Trials earlier this
year, winning their event in a time
of 12:13, 21 seconds ahead of the
second placed crew.
UCC RC's Intermediate Double
was the fastest Women's Double,
in a time of 12:23, 17 seconds
ahead of Skibbereen RC/ CIT RC's
Senior Double in second place.
Helen Walshe of Three Castles
RC won the Women's Single Scull
event in a time of 12:46, 17
seconds ahead of Skibbereen RC's
Christine Fitzgerald in second →
Ulster Indoor Rowing Event
Q ueen’s University Belfast
hosted the inaugural Ulster
Indoor Rowing Event, which
combined the standard 2km races,
mandatory for Irish High
Performance triallists, and a round
of the BUCS (British Universities)
Indoor Rowing Championships.
The fastest man on the day was
Junior 18 athlete Gareth McKillen
of Queen’s University, with a time
of 6:19.7, over 12 seconds ahead of
Barney Rix of Portora RC in sec-
ond place.
The fastest woman was Erin Barry
of Bann RC, a Junior 16 athlete,
who posted a time of 7:02.1.
Jasmine English, of BBC-Talent, was
the second fastest woman overall,
and the winner of the J18 category,
with a time of 7:17.9.
The fastest Lightweight Man was
James McAfee of Bann RC, a U23
athlete, with a time of 6:30.9.
Jason Armstrong of QUBBC was
the second fastest Lightweight
overall, and the winner of the
Open category, with a time of
6:39.5
In the Open Lightweight Women’s
Category, Sarah Quinn of BBC-
Talent, posted a winning time of
7:18.1, exactly matching the win-
ning time at the IIRC. Ruth Morris
of DULBC was the fastest U23
Lightweight, in a time of 7:27.2.
In the BUCS event for Beginners,
raced over 1km, Doyle of QUBBC
was the fastest man, with a time of
3:07.7 and Chapman of QUBLBC
was the fastest woman, with a time
of 3:46.0
© Mick Desmond
Muckross Head of the River (Cont.)
Page 8 Rowing Ireland Newsletter
place. Saoirse Horgan of UCC RC
was the fastest Intermediate Sculler,
with a winning time of 13:25. Maria
Lane of Shannon RC was the fastest
Novice Sculler, in a time of 14:18.
Shannon RC also took home pen-
nants in the Women's Junior Four
and Pair events, while Bernadette
Walsh of CIT RC won the Junior 18
Single Scull event in a time of 13:22.
The continuing growth of the
sport at junior level was evident
with huge entries, especially in the
younger age categories. 23 crews
raced in the Women's Junior 14
Coxed Quad event, with Shandon
BC taking the win a time of 13:21,
while 18 crews raced in the
equivalent Men's event, with Cork
BC's crew winning the pennant.
A total of 31 crews raced in the
Junior 15 Coxed Quads, with
Cork BC taking another win in the
Men's event; and Fermoy RC win-
ning the Women's event.
The next Rowing Ireland event will be
Kerry Head of the River, held in
Killorglin on 11th January 2014.
(Left) Muckross Head
of the River 2013:
Results Summary
© Muckross Rowing Club
(Above) Muckross RC’s
Junior 18 Eight
crossing the finish line
Page 9 Volume 2, Issue 2
© Jet Photographic
A crew from UCC RC was the
only Irish crew to take part in the
Head, competing in the Elite Quad
Sculls event. The crew of Justin
Ryan, Andrew Harrington, David
Power and John Griffin (above)
finished 23rd overall, and fifth out
of the 14 entries in their event, in a
time of 19:51.9.
UCC RC’s Head Coach Ed Green
was pleased with his crew’s
performance: “We weren't aiming
for a particular position but
executing certain processes that
we've been working on in training
and then see where that placed us.
The outcome was a very pleasing
result for the crew and club. I think
C onsiderably later than recent
years due to tidal restrictions,
the 59th Head of the River Fours
took place on Saturday November
30th.
The Head of the River Fours is
one of the biggest rowing events in
Britain, with the entries restricted
to coxless quads, coxed fours and
coxless fours. First held in 1955,
the Head takes place annually in
November, with the date and start
time varying due to the effect of
the tide on the River Thames.
Entries are limited to 520 crews,
for logistical reasons, with 20
events: 11 for men and 9 for
women. It is raced over a four
and a quarter mile course on the
Thames from the University Stone
at Mortlake to the University
Stone at Putney (the Oxford/
Cambridge boat race course in
reverse).
it is very important to engage in
events like this to measure
ourselves and motivate the squad
through the winter”
Former Irish international Eugene
Coakley was part of a University
of London BC/ London RC
composite racing in the same
event, which placed sixth in the
Elite Quad event, and 27th place
overall, in a time of 19:57.8.
This year’s race was won by a
Tideway Scullers’ quad, containing
four top international athletes:
Alan Campbell, Valent Sinkovic,
Aleksandar Aleksandrov and
Ondrej Synek.
Head of the River Fours 2013
“ I think it is very important to engage with events like this to measure ourselves and
motivate the squad”
-Ed Green
the help of a large group of
volunteers, ensured the event ran
smoothly from start to finish, with
races running from 8:30 am to 5pm
on the day.
This was the second time the
Indoor Championships were run by
Cantillon, who was pleased with
this year’s event: “It was my best
Indoors so far with the biggest
turnout and a great atmosphere;
While logistically challenging it was
an overall pleasure to organise with
T he UL Arena in Limerick
hosted the Indoor Rowing
Championships 2013, on Saturday
November 23rd. The event was
boosted by its inclusion as a
mandatory assessment for all
athletes trialling for Rowing
Ireland’s High Performance teams
in 2014.
Over 800 rowers competed on
the day, travelling from all around
the country. Participants from the
UK, Lithuania and Canada also
travelled to Limerick for the event.
Along with the traditional 2000m
distance, team events and shorter
sprint distances were on offer. Six
new Irish 2000m record were set
on the day (three in Para events).
Event organiser Joe Cantillon, with
some fantastic support from local
clubs, Rowing Ireland, competitors
and supporters. I'm looking
forward to 2014 already with
some new ideas, upgrades and
exciting plans for Irish indoor
rowing.“
The fastest 2000m time on the day
was 6:06.0, posted by Paul
Buchanan in the Heavyweight
Men’s 30-39 category, also setting
a new Irish record in his age
category. →
Irish Indoor Rowing Championships
Page 10 Rowing Ireland Newsletter
“ While logistically challenging, it was an overall pleasure to organize, with some fantastic support from local clubs, Rowing Ireland,
competitors and supporters”
-Joe Cantillon
0.1 seconds, to win in a time of
6:19.1.
Matthew Ryan of Skibbereen RC
won the Lightweight Men’s U23
category, with a time of 6:27.4,
The fastest woman was Eimear
Moran, of Three Castles RC,
winning the Women’s Open
category in a time of 6:53.2. Lisa
Dilleen of Tribesmen RC, was
second in a time of 6:59.2, the only
other woman to break 7 minutes
on the day.
NUIG’s Aifric Keogh was the
fastest U23 Woman, with a time of
7:01.7.
Sarah Dolan of Commercial RC
was the fastest Lightweight
Woman, with a winning time of
7:18.1, and Denise Walsh was the
fastest U23 Lightweight, with a
time of 7:25.3
Page 11 Volume 2, Issue 2
Indoor rower Buchanan has
already performed well this
season, setting a World Record
for 100km in August this year,
with a time of 6:22:40.7 (a pace of
1:54.8/ 500m).
The next fastest time on the day
was 6:09.0, with indoor rower
Adrian Quinn and Portadown BC’s
Samuel McKeown both posting
this time to win the Men’s Open
and U23 categories respectively.
St Michael’s David O’ Malley put in
an outstanding performance to win
the Men’s Junior 18 event in a time
of 6:25.2. His time set a new Irish
record in the Junior Men’s
Lightweight Category, and was
also the third fastest time posted
by any lightweight man on the day.
The Men’s Open Lightweight
category, Justin Ryan of UCC
edged out Niall Kenny of UCD by
© RowFit
© RowFit
Snapshots
© ProSnap
© David Lane
© RowFit
Page 12 Rowing Ireland Newsletter
organisers put it, ‘the world’s
largest annual two-day rowing
event’ , with events significantly
oversubscribed every year. A
lottery process is used to select
entries for most events. 33% of the
entries are turned down annually.
C onsistently one of the most
popular events on the
international rowing calendar, the
49th edition of the Head of the
Charles took place in the
picturesque surroundings of
Boston, Massachusetts from 19-
20 October this year.
The event was established by
members of Cambridge Boat Club,
based on the traditional ‘Head of
the River’ races which had a
strong history and were very
popular in England at the time.
The first event was held on
October 16 1965, with 300
competitors competing in singles,
fours and eights.
From its small beginnings , the
two-day event has grown
year on year to become, as the
competing in 2083 boats.
The event is a popular fixture for
US college crews, and this year a
number of Irish athletes studying
in the USA competed for their
respective universities.
“ My favourite experience so far was rowing in the Head of the Charles... the quantity of
competitors along with the mass of spectators lining every inch of the riverbank was really
exciting” -Bridget Jacques
HOTC 2013 Statistics:
2 Days
7 Bridges
22 Countries represented
60 Events
900 Entries turned away
1,400 Volunteers
2,082 Competitors
4,828 Course Length, in metres
400,000 Spectators
13:58.99 Course Record
(US Rowing, 1992)
12 Age of Youngest Competitor
86 Age of Oldest Competitor
The wide variety of events allows
club rowers the chance to
compete alongside international
athletes, over the winding three
mile course on the Charles River.
This year’s event saw 10,000
competitors from 22 countries
Head of the Charles 2013
Fiona Murtagh, who raced in the
Junior Women’s Quad Scull at the
Junior World Championships
earlier this year, competed for
New York’s Fordham University in
a Coxed Four. The crew were
the fastest in the Club Coxed →
Volume 2, Issue 2 Page 13
Four category, winning their event
in a time of 18:39.39.
The prestigious Women’s
Championship Eight event, which
was won by a composite of top
international athletes in a time of
15:59.54, saw a number of Irish
athletes competing with their
college crews.
Limerick rower Ailish Sheehan,
who finished 4th in the Women’s
Four at the U23 World
Championships this year, stroked
Notre Dame University’s Eight to
a sixth place finish in this event, in
a time of 16:58.59.
Former Irish international Laura
D’Urso rowed in the bow seat of
Clemson University’s 1st Varsity
Eight, which finished in 11th place,
in a time of 17:13.35.
Junior World Championship rower
Bridget Jacques competed for
Princeton University, with her
crew finishing in 18th place overall,
in a time of 17:39.17.
Former St Michael’s RC rower
Kate O’Brien, now in her first year
at Yale University, also competed,
with her crew finishing 23rd
overall in a time of 17:56.45.
The Men’s Championship Eight
event saw one Irish athlete
competing, with U23 International
Fionnan McQuillan-Tolan, formerly
of St Joseph’s College, rowing in
Boston University’s Eight which
finished in 16th place out of 32
crews, in a time of 15:13.18.
Fiona Murtagh (2) in the winning Fordham University Club 4+ Shannon BC ‘s Men’s Masters 8+
A large contingent of Irish rowers
from Limerick’s Shannon Rowing
Club made the trip to Boston this
year, with three eights and a single
sculler competing.
The Men’s Club Eight finished 31st
out of the 47 crews competing in
their category, in a time of
16:15.09.
The club fielded two crews in the
Master’s Eights (Age 40+) event.
One crews finished in 3rd place, in
a time of 15:04.1; and the other in
22nd place in a time of 18:20.73.
In the Men’s Master’s Single Scull,
Gerald Sheahan finished 13th out
of 21entries, in a time of 20:58.89.
Map of the Course
More on Irish rowers in US colleges
on page 20
© www.row2k.com © www.row2k.com
Sports Nutrition: Eating for Racing
Page 14 Rowing Ireland Newsletter
sports bars, fruit bars, fresh &
dried fruit, sandwiches, yoghurt,
juice, low fat flavoured milk and
powdered sports drinks.
Pre Race
Generally a meal that provides
carbohydrate should be consumed
2-3 hours before a race, e.g.:
breakfast cereal, toast, muffins,
sandwiches, yoghurt, fruit, pasta
and creamed rice. Some rowers
need to take special care with pre
race eating, as it can be very
uncomfortable to race with a full
stomach. Low bulk choices such as
liquid meals and sports bars can be
Plan Ahead
During competition, energy needs
of most rowers will be reduced
compared to when they’re
training, however nerves and
having several races over a day can
disrupt normal eating patterns.
There is both a risk of over-eating
and under-eating on these
occasions, so rowers should plan
their intake ahead of each regatta
day to ensure they remain on
track with their nutrition goal.
As most regatta courses are often
some distance from shops,
athletes should be encouraged to
take their own supply of foods and
fluids to get through the day.
Suitable choices include cereal
bars, liquid meal supplements,
useful in these situations. This
meal should be followed up with
frequent consumption of small
amount of carbohydrate (probably
in fluids) to top up carbohydrate
levels.
During an Event
Rowers need to organise
themselves to have appropriate
food and fluids available at all times
during competition. Many athletes
find that they easily lose weight
over the course of a competition
due to being unable to consume
their usual high energy diet (as
they are spending much of the →
“ After an endurance event, carbohydrate is the most important nutrient to consume in
recovery in order to replace that which you have burned as a fuel source
-Catherine Norton
Catherine Norton
Sports Nutritionist
© Kaspars Puspurs
Volume 2, Issue 2
Recovery Smoothie A smoothie can be a great way to combine your nutrition and hydration requirements after a race. Ingredients 1 frozen banana 250g yogurt (any type) 60ml milk (any type) Unsweetened chocolate powder
or cocoa nibs to taste Honey or maple syrup, to taste Method Blend all the ingredients together in a blender, or with a stick blender, until smooth. The banana provides carbohydrate,
along with potassium and magne-
sium, while the milk and yogurt
provide a source of carbohydrate
and protein.
Tip: Add powered protein or nuts
to boost your protein intake, a
handful of spinach to boost your
iron levels, or a few teaspoons of
ground flaxseed to boost your
fibre intake.
day in preparation and the race
itself) To help avoid this from
happening take along a supply of
cereal bars, liquid meal
supplements sports bars, fruit
bars, dried fruit, sandwiches,
yoghurt, juice etc…
Post Race
After an endurance event,
carbohydrate is the most
important nutrient to consume in
recovery in order to replace that
which you have burned as a fuel
source during the session. This
differs to a resistance / weights
session where the primary focus in
recovery should be the
consumption of quality protein
containing essential amino acids.
This is proven to facilitate repair,
recovery and hypertrophy
So while each nutrient has a role
to play in preparation or recovery
from training or competition,
depending on the primary goal of
the session, one nutrient is likely
to be the more important in that
scenario.
Finally, be aware of your fluid
needs. You can be dehydrated
from your rowing efforts, making
weight practices or just from sitting
in the sun watching competition.
High sweat rates during racing and
exposure to the summer heat
throughout the day at the regatta
site means fluid intake remains a
priority.
Athletes should be encouraged to
keep a drink bottle by their side
throughout the day, acting as a
constant reminder to drink while
also ensuring ready access to fluid.
Check out the following websites for
further information on sports nutrition:
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/
nutrition/factsheets/sports/rowing
http://www.britishrowing.org/
education-training/nutrition
http://www.indi.ie/
Page 15
Page 16 Rowing Ireland Newsletter
Mary McLachlan
High Performance Coach
the training needs to be done in a
suppressed zone, getting them to
relax and be patient is the bigger
job.
I have also learnt that my
enthusiasm for and love of the
sport continues to grow. Every
new athlete that I meet and work
with brings a new energy, a new
way of moving and a new set of
skills to my understanding of the
sport. They make it so that it
never gets old and it never gets
stale. And it feels like such a
privilege to be able to come and
work in Ireland, and meet so many
new, passionate and talented
athletes.
When I worked on World Class
Start, the UK Olympic talent ID
progamme, Steve Redgrave came
to talk to the athletes at one of
the testing camps. One of the →
There are two pieces of advice that
have stood out to me through my
career. The first one is that
everyone’s different, so I shouldn’t
use my own experiences as an
athlete to inform my coaching, and
it’s interesting that a few of the
world’s best coaches did little or
no rowing and that many incredible
athletes who turn to coaching
really struggle with it.
The second truth I heard is that,
with competitive athletes, you will
spend a lot more of your time and
energy trying to hold them back
than push them forward. I thought,
when I started out, that my job
would entail helping people push
themselves harder than they
thought possible. Of course there
are always times when athletes
need to be encouraged or pushed
to dig in harder, but for the most
part, in a sport where the bulk of
W hen I started out as a
coach at the age of 22 I
naively thought that I would spend
most of my time teaching people
how to row. Little did I know that
while technical development
would of course be a
fundamentally important aspect of
the work, there were so many
other skills that I needed to
acquire.
As an athlete I was blissfully
unaware of the ‘behind the scenes’
work that a coach undertakes, and
at the start of my coaching career
I was blissfully unaware of how
little I knew about how to do
these things well. And nearly 20
years later, I’m still learning on a
daily basis.
Coaches’ Corner Mary McLachlan, coaching in Varese, Italy
GB’s LTA 4+, coached by Mary McLachlan, win gold at the 2012 London Paralympics
Page 17 Volume 2, Issue 2
crew find a great rhythm on a bleak
day of hard miles in the depths of
winter, or helping an athlete
execute a new exercise in the gym,
or seeing someone grow in confi-
dence and surprise themselves is
hugely rewarding.
rowers asked him if he would do
anything differently if had his
career again. He said: “Yes, I
would. I would have taken myself
less seriously and enjoyed it
more.” That had a huge resonance
with me. Trying to the best is a
relentlessly demanding challenge
that can become incredibly intense
and frustrating. I try to encourage
the people I’m coaching to enjoy
life as a high performance athlete
while keeping their eyes on the
prize.
If I had a motto, it would be
“whatever it takes”. If you want to
be the best in the world at
something as a coach or an
athlete, then you have to be
prepared to go to exceptional
lengths on a daily basis. If you have
to get up at 4am, or spend an
extra two hours a day on the
water coaching drills, or radically
change the way you eat, or move
house or countries, then that’s
what you do. And when you make
those decisions, it’s not a sacrifice,
it’s a step forward. Because
someone, somewhere, will be
prepared to do that if you’re not.
But the most profound lesson I
learnt about my relationship with
coaching was in London, when my
“ Every new athlete that I meet and work with brings a new energy, a new way of moving and a new set of skills to my understanding of the
sport”
-Mary McLachlan
Para-Rowing crew won gold in
front of a crowd of 20,000 jubilant
British supporters (above). I realised
in the aftermath of that victory that
while aiming to be the fastest crew
that ever was has to underpin
every aspect of training and racing,
for me the biggest rewards came
during the quiet times that nobody
else even witnessed. Watching a
Muhammed Ali very famously said:
“The fight is won or lost far away
from witnesses – behind the lines,
in the gym, and out there on the
road, long before I dance under
those lights.” As a coach, you have
a heavy involvement in whether
that fight is won or lost in training
but for me, on race day, the victory
belongs to the athlete.
“While I have always had a great
interest in the history of Irish
rowing, the Irish Rowing Archive
project started almost by accident.
Essentially my daughter needed a
work experience project for
transition year. I thought that it
would be a great opportunity to
get her some experience and also
to do something practical that
could benefit Irish Rowing.
Being somewhat of a hoarder of
rowing memorabilia, I decided it
would be a good idea to scan the
programmes and other material I
had so others could enjoy it.
Thus the scanner was pressed into
action and the digitisation of my
attic contents commenced, with
the scanned documents uploaded
to Google Drive. We also added
a Facebook front end. We have
recently added a website, as it →
Rowing Ireland Newsletter
Irish Rowing Archives A fantastic new resource for Irish
rowing, the Irish Rowing Archives
(www.irishrowingarchives.com) was
established by Kieran Kerr, with the
idea of creating an online collection
of rowing paraphernalia available to
all. Over 800 items are now online,
and it continues to grow day by day.
Kerr writes:
Page 18
Page 19 Volume 2, Issue 2
gives us the ability to organise the
material better.
Since we started, we have had a
lot of support and many people
have generously lent their material
for scanning. In particular I must
mention Micheal Johnston who
made his vast collection of
programmes available. We have
already scanned his Metro, Homes
and Championship programmes, as
well as the Blue Books.
At this point in time I believe we
have programmes from every Irish
rowing event, including extinct
regattas such as Askeaton,
Cappoquin, Dungarvan and
Wexford Harbour. The oldest
programmes we managed to lay
our hands on are from Metro 1869
and Limerick Regatta 1879.
Our current priority is to complete
scanning the programmes. We still
have a large number to upload and
Micheal has promised us more.
There are however a number of
gaps appearing in terms of missing
programmes. I would encourage
everyone to see if they can fill any
of them. We only require the
material for a short time and it is
then returned in the same
condition that it was lent.
We have also completed lists of
results for the Championships,
University Championships, Gannon
and Corcoran Cups. Once the
current phase is complete we
would like to gather and make
available information or pictures
from clubs that are no longer in
existence.
In the long term we would like the
Irish Rowing Archives to become
the main online depository of
rowing memorabilia provided it has
an Irish connection. The biggest
threat to our rowing heritage is
material ending up at the bottom of
the skip when an older member
passes on. We should do
everything in our power to have
such material donated to the
Archives or lent for scanning.
If you have anything to contribute
please contact:
T he high quality of junior
rowers in Ireland today has
seen increased interest in young
Irish athletes, particularly women,
from coaches in US colleges, with
many of Ireland’s talented young
athletes currently enrolled in US
colleges, including former Junior
World Championship rowers
Hillary Shinnick, Bridget Jacques,
Fiona Murtagh, Katie Cromie and
Kate O’Brien and U23 rowers
Ailish Sheehan and Laura D’Urso.
The combination of a world-class
education and a strong rowing
program, with scholarships
covering tuition fees, living
expenses and rowing costs, means
US colleges can offer an attractive
prospect to attract talented young
rowers.
The academic structure of US
colleges differs to the Irish system,
allowing students the chance to
study a wide variety of subjects,
before choosing their final degree
subject at the end of their second
(sophomore) year of college.
Unlike Irish and European
universities, only undergraduate
students are eligible to compete in
intercollegiate sport, for the
duration of their four-year degree
course, with rules requiring them
to maintain a certain GPA
standard in order to remain
eligible to compete.
Bridget Jacques, a first year at
Princeton University, explains
what drew her to the US: “I
seriously considered going to →
Page 20 Rowing Ireland Newsletter
Bridget Jacques (Stroke) competes for
Princeton University at the Head of
the Charles in October 2013
Irish Rowers
in the USA
Volume 2, Issue 2
university in Ireland, as I knew that
I would be able to row to a high
level and get a good quality
education at the same time, and it
would help me stay in the Irish
rowing system. However I feel
that I would never have the
opportunity again to row in such a
huge program with so many
people of a similar age to me, and I
also I really wanted to be able to
go far away from home”
The development of strong rowing
programs for women at US
colleges is a direct result of Title
IX (see right), which has meant that
heavyweight women’s rowing has
grown exponentially in terms of
the size of teams and depth of
talent, compared with heavyweight
men’s and lightweight programs.
According to 2012-13 National
Collegiate Athletic Association
Sports Sponsorship and
Participation Rates Report, 147
colleges in the USA have Women's
Rowing teams, with 7,520 women
participating in the 2012/13
season, compared to the 60 col-
leges offering Men’s Rowing, with
2,357 participants.
The effects of this can be seen
through to Olympic and World
Championship level; with the
USA’s dominance in the women’s
eight in recent years, with the vast
majority of rowers having
progressed through college
programs.
Similarly to Irish universities, the
emphasis of collegiate rowing is on
sweep rowing, particularly the
eight, with sculling far less popular
in the US than it is in Ireland.
The strength of women’s rowing
in US colleges today had its roots
in the 1970s, with the
Educational Amendments Act to
the US Constitution. This Act
came into law in 1972 and its
main aim was to promote gender
equality in collegiate sport.
Title IX of this Act had a huge
impact on collegiate sport:
requiring the athletic
opportunities for male and
female students to be
‘substantially proportionate’ to
their respective enrolments, i.e. a
college with a student population
that is 48% male and 52%
female, should provide athletic
participation opportunities that
reflect those numbers.
This Act had a significant impact
on collegiate rowing for women.
With many US colleges having
large rosters of Men’s Division 1
football teams, the Act required
the numbers to be balanced with
an equivalent women’s sport.
For many colleges, the solution
was to add a women’s rowing
team to their collegiate athletic
programme. Rowing offered an
appealing solution, as a sport
which allowed girls to become
successful collegiate athletes,
without prior experience and in
a relatively short time frame
compared to other sports.
Title IX
Page 21
The rowing season in the US is
divided into two, with the
extreme weather conditions in
some parts of the US means that
many college's training grounds
freeze over in the winter,
restricting athletes to indoor
training for several months,
something relatively unheard of
in Ireland's mild climate. The 'fall'
season generally runs from
September to early November,
with head races running across the
country, the largest of which is the
Head of the Charles in Boston.
The spring season consists of a
number of races between college
crews, and larger regattas such as
the Dad Vail Regatta in
Philadelphia. Some college crews
also travel abroad to compete at
Henley Royal Regatta and
Women’s Regatta. The NCAA
Championships are considered to
be the pinnacle of the season for
US heavyweight women’s college
crews.
The invitational championships for
heavyweight women have been
organised by the NCAA annually
since 1997.
There are three separate Champi-
onships for Division 1, 2 and 3
ranked colleges, with Division 1
regarded as the highest level of
collegiate sport. 22 teams (out of
the 66 Division 1 colleges) are
selected by the NCAA to compete
at the Division 1 Championships, in
three boat classes: first and second
varsity eights and a varsity four.
Men’s and lightweight women’s and
rowing are not NCAA sanctioned
sports, and as such have not →
Page 22
initially for athletes coming from
smaller clubs. “There are 50 open
weight girls currently rowing in my
university. There are also similarly
sized male teams and a lightweight
team of about 20 girls,” says
Bridget Jacques “The main thing
that stood out was the
overwhelming team mentality. The
team is so big, but everyone
supports each other and works
together for a common goal."
Training sessions have to be well-
planned to accommodate the
rower’s academic commitments,
with an emphasis on shorter, more
intense ‘AT’ sessions over UT2
‘steady state’ sessions. "Our time
is used very efficiently. The whole
team trains together every
afternoon once classes have
finished, as well as some mornings
and on the weekend' says Bridget
“I train approximately eight times a
week, as a freshman. I have classes
for approximately 12 hours a
week. Class time is not very de-
manding but I always have a lot of
homework to do. Initially, I found
it a huge shock to manage my time
in order to get all my work done
and fit it around training as well,
but I quickly got used to it”
The recruiting process for
student-athletes can be complex,
with strict rules governing the
process on both sides. However,
college coaches are always keen
to attract the best athletes to their
team, even facilitating visits for
potential athletes before they
commit to the college, usually in
the winter of their final year of
school. The majority of people
who are investigating colleges in
the US will visit numerous univer-
sities before 'committing' to their
preferred program.
Notre Dame University’s Heavyweight Women’s Crew in training
developed to the same extent. The
Intercollegiate Rowing Association,
made up of Columbia, Cornell,
Pennsylvania, Navy and Syracuse,
organise the IRA Championships
every year, which is considered to
be the National Championships of
Men’s Collegiate Rowing (and
Lightweight Women’s Rowing) in
the US.
The combination of athletes with
previous experience and
‘walk-ons’, who started rowing in
college, means collegiate programs
have to be highly structured, with
teams of professional coaching
staff managing huge numbers of
athletes. According to the NCAA,
the average women's rowing team
in colleges consists of 51.2
members (64.2 in Division 1
colleges).
The sheer size of college rowing
teams in the US can be daunting
Irish Rowers in the USA (Cont.)
Rowing Ireland Newsletter
College crews in 1908 (Edward Penfield)
© @NotreDameRowing
Page 23 Volume 2, Issue 2
Don McLachlan @don_mclachlan
Incredible morning
Hamish Adams @Hamish00626974
Peter Shakespear at a lunchtime workshop in UCD
Shandon Boat Club @ShandonBoatClub
Mixed Novice 8 rowing past the castle this morning.
Around the
Country
Leonora Kennedy @LeonoraKennedy
Christmas :)
Mick Desmond @desmond_mick
Weather bad in Belfast so indoors @QueensSport
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