SKIBBEREEN rowers warmed up for their annual Grand League Regatta this weekend with a strong showing at the Muckross Head of the River.

BY ELLEN McCARTHY

Held at the National Rowing Centre, which will also host Skibb’s regatta this Saturday and Sunday, Skibbereen Rowing Club was well represented with a strong turnout of junior athletes competing across a wide range of events on the 2km course.

Junior scullers were in action early, with Ultan Kearney and Mark Yaskozhuk placing sixth and seventh respectively in a large field in the men’s junior single scull. Desmond Keane delivered a second-place finish in the men’s J16 single scull.

In the double sculls, Skibbereen crews featured across multiple age groups. In the men’s J15 event, Oscar Ferguson and Peter Grant repeated their win from Cork Head, while Max O’Donovan and Liam Lupton also placed well in a competitive field. In the men’s J18 double scull, Ultan Kearney and Brion Hurley finished second, with Desmond Keane and Mark Yaskozhuk coming fifth. Olan Ferguson and Odhran Keane placed sixth in the men’s J16 double scull.

The club also fielded two crews in the women’s J15 double scull, with Arianna Doolan and Mae Ryan, alongside Una Waugh-O’Brien and Anna Connolly. In the women’s J18 category, Ellen Connolly and Nadine Hourihane placed third, while Mimi Jacob and Saoirse O’Donnell finished fifth. Fia Foley and Laoise Hamilton placed tenth in the J16 double scull in a time of 9:02.

In quad sculls, the women’s J16 crew of Anna Connolly, Una Waugh-O’Brien, Fia Foley and Laoise Hamilton, coxed by Max O’Donovan, placed sixth. The men’s J14 quad of Antoni Pylak, Micheál McCarthy, Patrick O’Driscoll and Ryan Zevenbergen finished eighth. The women’s J14 quad of Marina Lupton, Sophia O’Shea, Naomi Keane and Aisling McDermott, coxed by Nadine Hourihane, took fourth place. In the J15 quad, Mae Ryan, Arianna Doolan, Anna Connolly and Una Waugh-O’Brien, coxed by Labhaoise McCarthy, finished sixth.

The women’s junior pair of Sarah Coughlan and Mia Maguire recorded a time of 8:23. The men’s J18 quad of Ultan Kearney, Brion Hurley, Oscar Ferguson and Peter Grant placed third, while the men’s J16 coxed quad of Olan Ferguson, Desmond Keane, Odhran Keane and Kaiden Whooley finished sixth.

A large number of younger athletes gained valuable racing experience in the J14 octuple events. The boys’ crew secured first place, coxed by Labhaoise McCarthy, with Max O’Donovan, Liam Lupton, Antoni Pylak, Micheál McCarthy, Euan O’Connell, Olan Courtney and Ryan Zevenbergen on board.

The girls’ J14 octuple was coxed by Max O’Donovan and included Aisling McDermott, Marina Lupton, Sophia O’Shea, Naomi Keane, Izzy Cahalane, Jasmin Deane, Jessica Galvin and Lucia Grant. These races marked an important step for many of the club’s youngest rowers in their first competitive outings.

Senior and intermediate scullers also competed, with Oran Roycroft placing third in the men’s intermediate single scull in a time of 7:40. David Duggan finished third in the club single scull, with Tomás Burchill placing sixth.

Skibbereen’s masters crews recorded a number of results. The women’s coxless quad won their event in a time of 8:05, while the women’s masters double of Barbara Galvin and Elaine O’Flynn took first place in the Club 2 2x. The club also fielded a women’s masters coxed four, along with entries in the novice coxed quad category.