Enniskillen Royal Boat Club will not be resting on the laurels of another fine set of results at the 63rd Erne Head of the River as they embark on a first ever training camp in Spain on Friday, March 17.

The week long camp will see 87 students travel to Banyoles in Spain for what Head Coach Derek Holland says is "something new that will bring the crews on massively" as they prepare for the upcoming regatta season and major championships.

The Boat Club travels on the back of a superb Erne Head that enjoyed the best racing conditions Derek has seen in his 18 years at the club.

Indeed, this was the first time the Erne Head was reserved specifically for Eights with a Fours Head being staged in November. In addition, it was also the first time that they had two races, women in the morning with the men's race in the afternoon.

Derek was in no doubt that these changes made for a more smoothly run event and importantly more competitive racing.

He told The Impartial Reporter: "Splitting the events and the racing makes it more manageable for the clubs and makes the racing more competitive. We received really good feedback on hosting the event and we are keen to see the Erne Head grow into an even bigger event as the final Head of the River competition in the Irish rowing calendar."

On the water, Derek was also delighted with how the Enniskillen Royal Boat Club crews performed.

"I was very pleased overall with how everyone performed on the day. We were a little surprised that the Girls 8 was pipped into second as they had been going well but there is plenty of time to put that right. We sacrificed our J16 crew a little to strengthen crews elsewhere and we will be changing things around in the coming weeks as we got into the regatta season.

"Throughout the categories the racing was very competitive and such good conditions certainly gave all the clubs a good indication of where they stand after their winter training."

So, all is set fair for the regatta season.

ERBC head off to Spain and when they return will head to Dublin after which they will compete at the British National Schools championships at the end of May with all roads thereafter ultimately leading to the Irish Championships in July.

 

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