Queen’s intermediate 2x arriving to the slip.
Novice ladies and senior men continue good form!
On Saturday 10th April, Queen’s journeyed south to compete in the university championships regatta in Inniscarra. Queen’s entered with hopes of retaining the Wylie cup and battling for the overall championship.
The days racing got off to a good start for Queen’s, with the ladies novice crew narrowly winning their straight final over UCD. The two battled right to the line with Queen’s gaining the upper hand in the finishing stretch to earn them the title of Irish University Champions at novice level. The men’s novice eight were next to race, finishing second in their heat to UCD A. In the final the results repeated themselves for UCD who finished first after a convincing performance, with Queen’s managing fourth place behind Trinity and UCB B respectively. In the novice fours, both men and women emulated their eights performances, with the women finishing first and the men fourth place. The intermediate men had disappointing performances in their sweep races. UCD performed strongly in the inter eight final outclassing opposition, taking the win and wrapping up the Wylie Cup. The Queen’s eight finished last in a four boat race. This outlines the focus required at this level if Queen’s are to perform later in the season. The intermediate fours put in stronger performances, finishing second and fourth in their final, with DUBC taking the win. The men’s intermediate double won their final, beating the likes of UCC and DUBC. The women’s inter four won their final, however a disappointing entry of only two boats tarnished this win somewhat. It was up to the senior men to restore some Queen’s pride. In both the senior fours and eights finals, the men did just that. Queen’s men won both titles, with crews finishing first and third in each final. Despite this, UCD were testing opposition at senior level, not handing Queen’s the win by any stretch. The first test of the short course has provided a mixed bag, proving there is much ground still to be covered. It has also exposed the lack of depth of the men’s club below senior level. UCD were the stand out club of the championship, with men and women’s clubs showing great depth throughout all levels and boat classes. Such is UCD’s depth, that they won the Wylie Cup, the Bank of Ireland Cup and the overall championship. This is a credit to the Dublin club and the work that has gone into developing athletes across the board. With the regatta season in its infancy, its back to the drawing board for Queen’s rowing in preparation for Queen’s regatta on the 24th of April, Castlewellan. Hope to see you all there.