Portora Boat Club enjoyed a successful day on the River Lagan at the Belfast University Boat Race on Saturday as they returned home with wins in all three of their categories.

In a first for the event, they had the Ulster Rowing Schools Cup and four schools from around Ulster took part; Methodist College Belfast, Royal Belfast Academic Institution, Coleraine Academic Institution and Portora Royal School.

First up was the boys junior 18 8, of Ewan Murray, Alistair Crawford, Barney Rix, Josh Kennedy, Tom Mills, Euan Gebler, Ryan Ballintine, Joe Nelson and cox Michael Woodhouse. After posting the quickest time in the time trials in the morning, the eight went out to face down Presentation College Cork and stamped their authority on the race as they powered down the course and crossed the line as worthy winners.

The boys junior 16 8, of Barney Rix, Josh Kennedy, Samuel Armstrong, Conor Blackwell-Smyth, Ryan Ballintine, Chris Irvine, Conor Keys, Ben Irwin and cox Evan McClean were next to take to the water. This crew have been training hard together over recent months, and have seen real improvements in technique and power. They made it through to the final, where they came up against their main rivals this season so far, Bann BC. Having won against Bann at a number of previous races, they had also lost out to them, so this race was as much a mental test as it was a test of strength and will. But in the end, it was Portora BC that would cross the line first, and the Portora boys were given the privilege of lifting the Craig cup.

The girls junior 18 8 were the last crew to race for Portora BC, and they completed the hat-trick of wins. The crew was made up of Alice Beacom, Phoebe Mulligan, Emma Glover, Elizabeth Clarke, Denika Maguire, Chloe Finlayson, Sophie O'Dolan, Orla McConville and cox Zoe Donaldson. Like the other two boys crews, they have worked hard together over the last number of months and this was very apparent to the spectators on the banks as they rowed through all of the opposition. Facing up against Methodist College, a much larger school, in the final, the girls were aware that it is the quality and not the quantity of rowers that counts in the end. And they showed this with a strong start, which allowed them to pull ahead the whole way down the course.

Whilst the Boat Club enjoyed great success at the weekend, the athletes will surely be looking forward once more to the next big event in the rowing calendar, the Irish Championships in July. After this weekend, they have sent out a firm message to clubs across Ireland that they are the crews to beat, and so the next month and a half will be spent sharpening the skills and strength which all of the athletes exhibited in Belfast. A big congratulations to all of the athletes and coaches involved at the weekend, and hopefully this is a sign of more to come in the future.