Forty-five water athletes from the boat club at Portora Royal School are setting off to Cork this weekend, July 13 to 15, for the Irish Rowing Championships at Farran Wood.

With a lot of new up and coming young oarsmen and women taking part, they will be demonstrating their talents in J14, J15 and J16 events.

The club's senior rowers, Gary Thornton, Henry Millar, Joe Nelson and Lloyd Seaman, who will compete in the Junior Coxed Four on Inishcarra Lake, will also race in the Junior Men's Pair event (Henry Millar with Lloyd Seaman and Gary Thornton with Joe Nelson.) Boat club member Katie Cromie is set to race in the Women's Senior Singles and the Women's Junior Singles.

The Irish Championships mark the culmination of the year for the young rowers at Portora, who will be accompanied at the major event in the rowing calendar by Derek Holland, Director of Rowing at Portora, and members of the coaching team including Dave Ewart, Shauna McMorrow, and Gerry Murphy. Gerry will also be competing in the men's masters singles event.

Mr. Holland believes it has been a successful year for the club and it has also been a year when they have been trying to get lots of new athletes aged 14 and 15 years. He says they are "just trying to build on that now for the next few years." It has also been a year that a lot of races had been cancelled owing to the weather and the young rowers have not had as much racing as in previous years.

After the Irish Rowing Championships in Cork, a number of the senior members of the boat club at Portora will go on to row for Ireland at upcoming international dates.