Rowing Ireland Newsletter: December Edition

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...

Rowing Ireland Newsletter

mailto:[email protected]�

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

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]

mailto:%[email protected]�

Neptune Head of the River


© 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

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


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.)


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

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


“ 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

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


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

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,


Junior World Championship rower

Bridget Jacques competed for

Princeton University, with her

crew finishing in 18th place overall,


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


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/

http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/sports/rowing�




http://www.britishrowing.org/education-training/nutrition�




http://www.indi.ie/�


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

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 →


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:

http://www.irishrowingarchives.com/�

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:

[email protected]”

mailto:[email protected]�

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 →


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

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 →

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.)


College crews in 1908 (Edward Penfield)

© @NotreDameRowing

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

https://twitter.com/don_mclachlan�

https://twitter.com/ShandonBoatClub�

https://twitter.com/Johnaarm�

https://twitter.com/desmond_mick�

Thanks to our sponsors Thanks to our sponsors Thanks to our sponsors

for their continued for their continued for their continued

support in 2013support in 2013support in 2013

Merry Christmas and a Merry Christmas and a Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year to all!Happy New Year to all!Happy New Year to all!

Rowing Ireland Newsletter: December Edition

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