SKIBBEREEN Rowing Club warmed up for the upcoming national championships with a strong outing at the Cork Regatta.

BY ELLEN McCARTHY

After a rowing season affected by cancelled events due to poor weather, including Skibbereen Regatta in April, Cork Regatta provided athletes with an important opportunity to return to racing as preparations continue for the national championships this month.

In the women's single sculls, Holly O'Flynn, Orla Hayes and Kelly Oforji represented Skibbereen. Kelly put in a strong performance to qualify for the B final.

Skibbereen had a strong entry in the men's single sculls with Sam Wheeler O'Brien, Desmond Keane, Ultan Kearney, Mattias Cogan, Oran Roycroft, Finn O'Reilly, Kealan Mannix and Michael Hourihane all competing. Kealan finished second in the A final, two seconds behind the winning Lagan sculler, while Mattias placed third in the final and recorded the fastest junior men's sculling time on the day. Sam also reached the A final, while Finn finished second in the B final behind Claffey of UGBC.

The junior women's quad of Nadine Hourihane, Sarah Coughlan, Holly O'Flynn and Abigail Fowler celebrate their win.

Sarah Coughlan and Mia Maguire raced in the junior women's pair, while Moya Knowles and Aoife Hendy represented the club in the intermediate pair.

Saturday afternoon saw Odhran Keane and Olan Ferguson compete in the J16 double sculls, while Brion Hurley and Mark Yaskozhuk raced in the J18B double sculls.

The women's club eight featured Kelly Oforji, Saoirse O'Donnell, Ellen Connolly, Moya Knowles, Mia Maguire, Mimi Jacob, Fia Foley and Laoise Hamilton, coxed by Orla Hayes. The crew finished second in their heat before placing fifth in the A final.

The junior women's quad of Abigail Fowler, Holly O'Flynn, Sarah Coughlan and Nadine Hourihane also raced on Saturday evening, winning the A final in a time of 7:11. Elaine O'Flynn and Barbara Galvin competed in the club double sculls.

In the quad sculls, the junior crew of Ultan Kearney, Mattias Cogan, Sam Wheeler O'Brien and Desmond Keane won their category in a time of 6:22. The senior crew of Kealan Mannix, Finn O'Reilly, Michael Hourihane and Jake McCarthy also won their category, finishing two seconds ahead of their Queen's University Belfast opposition.

Sunday brought more challenging conditions, with a persistent headwind leading to slower times and harder racing conditions.

The junior women's four of Saoirse O'Donnell, Ellen Connolly, Mia Maguire and Mimi Jacob finished third in the B final.

In the single sculls, Olan Ferguson, Brion Hurley, Odhran Keane and Mark Yaskozhuk all competed and narrowly missed qualification for the finals in a competitive field.

Sam Wheeler O'Brien and Mattias Cogan impressed in the junior men's double.

Abigail Fowler and Holly O'Flynn raced in the junior double sculls and finished second in the J18 category behind a Fermoy crew. Nadine Hourihane and Sarah Coughlan also competed, reaching the B final, while Moya Knowles and Aoife Hendy raced in the senior category and qualified for the A final.

Sam Wheeler O'Brien and Mattias Cogan competed in the junior men's double sculls, finishing second in the A final and recording the fastest J18 time. Ultan Kearney and Desmond Keane won the B final following a close sprint finish.

In the senior double sculls, Kealan Mannix and Finn O'Reilly were the fastest crew overall, winning the A final. Oran Roycroft and Tomás Burchill also raced in the intermediate double sculls.

Ellen Connolly produced a strong performance in the women's single sculls to qualify for the A final, finishing fourth overall in the J16 category. Mimi Jacob, Laoise Hamilton and Fia Foley also competed in the J16 heats.

The club women's four of Kelly Oforji, Sarah Coughlan, Mia Maguire and Saoirse O'Donnell, coxed by Nadine Hourihane, finished third overall in the A final after a close race for the line, missing second place by just 0.3 seconds.

In the men's coxed quad, Mark Yaskozhuk, Brion Hurley, Olan Ferguson and Odhran Keane, coxed by Laoise Hamilton, finished fifth in the B final.

The results at Cork Regatta gave Skibbereen crews valuable racing experience across a wide range of events as they continue their build-up towards the National Rowing Championships on the weekend of July 10-12th at the National Rowing Centre in Farran Woods.