Muckross Head of the River
This HOR was fairly small but it was on our home stretch so entering it was good practice for us. 3 of our categories had no other competitors, the Men’s Senior 8+, Women’s Senior 4X- and the Men’s Senior 4-, and there were very few competitors in all others. Still, there’s a lot to learn about your own crew in these events which is why Muckross HOR is a good one to enter, especially for scratch crews because you get to learn a lot more about your teammates. The Men’s Senior 4X- came 6th among a tough field. The Men’s Intermediate 4+ had a clear win in their event. The 3 UCC MI 2-‘s took the top 3 positions in that category, showing how strong our sweep squad is this year. The MI2X came 6th among a large category with experienced rowers. Amy Bulman won the WS1X comfortably, right after jumping out of the Women’s Intermediate 8+ which won by 1 second, showing how close the crews in this category are. The WI2X came 3rd, a good result for a new boat. Saoirse Horgan came 2nd in the Women’s Intermediate 1X.
These results are fairly insignificant however, because the main goal we had coming into this event was to experiment with various combinations of athletes and see how they went. It was treated as a series of timed training pieces more than an actual event, although everyone was still racing to win as is expected. The importance of smaller events is sometimes forgotten about by rowers. It is a perfect opportunity to do what you are expected to at the National Championships; focus on your own boat and move it as fast as you can. We’ll certainly be looking to improve from Muckross to the end of the season but it’s important for all crews to remember that there is a lot to learn from any race, no matter how small it is.