All queens’ athletes will be in action this weekend in cork and in Piediluco Italy. Friday morning see the first races in Piediluco with the Irish uni champs on Saturday fallowed by Skibb Grand league regatta on Sunday.
Keep an eye here on this web site for the latest results. Memorial Paolo d’Aloja International Regatta will be live on Italian sport channel Rai sport 1. Web streams http://freestreamtv.ucoz.net/index/rai_sport_1_italy/0-411 and http://www.raisport.rai.it/dl/raisport/multimedia/2011/diretta.html. Results (Here).
Queen’s Rowers take on The Italian Job
Three athletes from Queen’s University Boat Club will travel to Italy this weekend to test their speed at the first major international regatta of the season.
Piediluco, nestled in the picturesque Umbrian Hills north of Rome, will host national teams from across Europe looking to kick off the season with three days of intense racing.
With the London Olympics just three months away, many countries are using the regatta to finalise their crews ahead of the World Cup series opener in Belgrade next month.
Colin Williamson and Rory O’Connor will compete in the Men’s Double Scull, an event that has attracted one of the strongest entries, with former World Champions France and reigning European Champions Lithuania heading the field.
Donald Evans, competing in the Lightweight Men’s Single Scull, will face equally stiff competition, with the notoriously powerful Italian lightweight team out in force.
The Queen’s men will be looking to use this opportunity to sharpen their racing skills ahead of their own big summer goals, notably the British University Championships, Henley Royal Regatta and, ultimately, the Irish Championships in mid-July.
With the Irish national team also in attendance, Williamson and O’Connor will be out to show Performance Director Martin McElroy and Head Coach Adrian Cassidy that they are capable of competing on the international stage.
New Queen’s Head Coach, Mick Desmond, said “This is an excellent opportunity for the boys to test themselves against some of the best in the world, the experience will be invaluable as we progress through an ambitious summer schedule.”
Racing begins on Friday evening and concludes by lunchtime on Sunday.