Excellent showing by Bann Rowing Club at Championships

Bann Rowing Club travelled to Cork on 13th July to compete in the Irish Rowing Championships which were raced over three days from 15th to 17th July.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Jul 2016, 10:10 BST
The WJ18 eight who won silver.The WJ18 eight who won silver.
The WJ18 eight who won silver.

For the five boys and four of the girls this was their first time competing at this level and the Club is delighted to have won medals in eight out of the 10 events they entered, bringing home one gold medal, six silver medals and one bronze medal.

The competition commenced on Friday with the mens j18 sculls. Aaron Christie, who is only 16 years old, progressed through the rounds to finish eighth out of a field of 35 scullers. This is a very good result for Aaron who still has another year to compete in this age category.

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Hannah Scott and Fiona Chestnutt competed in the womens j18 double and progressed easily through to the final. For 2000m the Bann double battled with a double from Skibbereen Rowing Club. They were beside each other the whole way, leaving the rest of the field in their wake, but Skibbereen managed to be a boat surge ahead going over the finish line to win by 3/10th of a second. The Bann girls were initially disappointed but have to be proud of a fine performance and their silver medals.

Katie Shirlow and Dineka Maguire also produced an exciting final in the women’s intermediate pairs. They won silver medals after being beaten by half a length by Cork Boat Club. Four of the boys competed in the mens j15 sculls. Thomas Clarke, Darragh Clyde, Daniel Duffy and Conor McGillan all raced well and Conor finished second.

Saturday was a day of more silver medals. Katie and Dineka in the womens intermediate double were pipped to the post in the final by Lee Boat Club.

Conor McGillan was in action again in the mens j14 sculls and won another silver medal. The women’s j18 eight comprising Alana O’Donovan, Ellie Blemmings, Anna Morrison, Halle Robinson, Hannah Scott, Ruth Carson, Leah Wylie, Fiona Chestnutt and cox Thomas Clarke were beaten into second place by Cork Boat Club.

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Sunday started with Fiona and Hannah racing picked up silver in the women’s j18 pair. In the women’s j18 quad, Alana, Ruth, Fiona and Hannah progressed through the rounds to the final only to be beaten by a very fast Skibereen Rowing Club quad. Jonty Callaghan raced in the mens j16 sculls. Darragh Clyde, Daniel Duffy, Conor McGillan and Thomas Clarke, easily won the mens j15 quads final to pick up gold.

The Club Captain, Keith Leighton, and coach, Geoff Bones, are delighted with the results and very encouraged about the prospects of the young girls and boys who competed beyond expectations. The future of Bann Rowing Club, ‘Home of Champions’ is bright…