Huge thanks to Shelly, Christina & Ryan from Tesco Poleberry Waterford for dropping by the Club this week with a donation from the blue chip collection. It’s greatly appreciated by the club.
Tesco Poleberry made this donation as part of the Tesco Community Fund scheme which supports good causes in their communities. Thanks again.
This is a placeholder for a race report on Cork Head of the River March 2024. A full report and results wil be published shortly.
With most of the club away on Sunday morning (26 Nov ’23) for a friendly invitational with New Ross a hardy few turned up for regular Junior training and were treated to a training row alongside a pod of porpoises. Thanks to stand in cox and videographer extraordinaire Louise for capturing the videos below.
As a result of the many cancellations over the past few months New Ross Boat Club were kind enough to stage an informal invitational Head on Sun 26 Nov ’23 for a few boat clubs in the locality. New Ross Boat Club, Graignamanagh and Waterford were the participants for this timed event over 3400 metres.
Waterford brought eleven crews up to take part in this friendly event and the morning proved to be a most enjoyable run out for all. The results can be found in the link below.
Huge thanks for our hosts, New Ross Boat Club, for putting this together at short notice and for providing refreshments afterwards. Really appreciated by everyone at WBC.
By Ger McCarthy
Waterford Boat Club, Waterford’s oldest sports club, held their 145th anniversary dinner dance at Dooley’s Hotel on Saturday 11th November. A fantastic turnout of past and present members and friends of the club made for a wonderful evening.
One particularly distinguished guest in attendance was the Mayor of Waterford, Joe Conway, an honorary member of Waterford Boat Club. The Mayor’s attendance added a touch of prestige and recognition to the celebrations, and exemplified the city’s appreciation for the club’s long-standing contributions to rowing and commitment to fostering a vibrant and inclusive rowing club culture in the heart of Waterford City.
To begin the evening, the Mayor was warmly welcomed by the club’s president Dermot Griffin and club captain Ger McCarthy, who took great pride in showcasing club memorabilia including the first Club minutes dating back to 1878.
During the event, the Mayor took the opportunity to address the gathering, expressing his admiration for Waterford Boat Club’s rich history and its continuous efforts to promote the sport of rowing in Waterford City. The Mayor recognized the club’s dedication in providing a safe and inclusive environment for rowing enthusiasts of all ages.
The mayor’s presence also inspired the younger generation, emphasizing the importance of embracing the traditions of the past while striving for an even brighter future. It showcased the city’s support for the sport of rowing and its recognition of the positive impact Waterford Boat Club has had on the local community, promoting a healthy lifestyle, and bringing people together.
Club Captain Ger McCarthy, Mayor Joe Conway and Club President Dermot Griffin
All those in attendance acknowledged the hard work and dedication that had gone into building and maintaining Waterford Boat Club throughout it’s 145-year history. It was a moment of shared appreciation, reflecting the commitment of club members and volunteers past and present who have worked tirelessly to create a haven for this Club over its 145years of existence.
In his speech, Club Captain Ger McCarthy said it was fitting and fantastic to honour 145 years of Club history with such a gathering, particularly with the past year being such an eventful year for the club featuring a busy and hugely successful regatta schedule and a major renovation of the club house in Canada Street. These building works have recently being finished just in time for the busy upcoming winter training programme and will enable to club to grow over the coming years and to maintain our status as the City’s oldest sports club.
Waterford Boat Club’s 145th anniversary dinner dance was truly enhanced by the attendance and support of all. It highlighted the club’s esteemed position in the community and its ongoing commitment to promoting Rowing in the community. Waterford Boat Club can look to a bright future with renewed enthusiasm and the knowledge that their efforts are valued and recognized by the City they call home.
Huge thanks have to go to Louise Drohan and the organising committee for their tireless efforts planning and arranging the event and to Tina Darrer and all the team at Dooley’s Hotel for hosting an excellent meal and evening for all.
After a few months break WBC were back racing at St Michael’s Head of the River on Oct 7th 2023 on an unseasonably warm and dry day. Racing took place from O’Briens Bridge in Co Clare where recent heavy rain led to high river heights. Nonetheless the race went ahead as planned.
The course was a 3K course which was the same length for all crews taking part with a rolling head format meaning that any crew could launch when they wished. WBC entered 21 crews for this race across categories from J13-J16
This Head also saw the Leo Murphy Quad return to action after it’s Summer sabbatical. Happy to report that it’s now safely back on a rack in the boat house after a fine days work.
Official timed results for the event can be found here
WJ15 4x+ : First on the water were the WJ15 4x+ crew of Edie, Katie, Aine and Jessica with Harry Grant coxing. The girls set an excellent opening time of 12:28 which would see them top the leaderboard for practically the whole day until the very end when Fermoy pipped them by 8 seconds. Nonetheless an excellent 2nd place out of 9 was a great result.
Unusually WBC entered 2 WJ154x+ crews. The second crew of Kate, Hannah, Faye and Molly with Mads coxing took to the water shortly after the first WJ15 4x+ boat. Despite 2 of the girls being J13 and MOlly being J14 the girls put in a fantastic effort to place 4th just 1 second behind third place Skibbereen and only 26 seconds behind the regular WJ15 4x+ crew. A great showing for their first run out in a race together.
MJ 16 1x : Next on the water were the MJ16 singles. Sean and Darragh competed here for Waterford. In a very large field Sean placed 12th and Darragh placed 18th bu there was a tight bunching of times around the 13:00 minute mark which meant a coupe of seconds the other way could have resulted in a higher placing.
MJ 15 1x : Henry and Oran were next out in the MJ15 1x in another very large field. Oran took 16th and Henry 30th but again a tight grouping of times around the 13:20 range could have seen a large swing in finishing positions with just a few seconds. Good showing from the lads here
MJ14 1X : Last out in the men’s singles was Harry Grant whose time placed 5th in the MJ14 1x. A solid race from Harry.
WJ16 4x+ : Waterford’s first win of the day came courtesy of an excellent row from the WJ16 4x+. The crew of Hannah, Sarah, Deirdre Erin and Siun (cox) took an excellent win finishing in a time of 12:11. Congratulations to the girls for a fantastic row and result.
WJ16 2x : To add to their success in the quad earlier in the day the J16 girls were out again in doubles later in the day. Yet another set of excellent rows led to more high finishes. The Waterford B crew of Siun and Erin put in a great performance to place second just 20 seconds down on winners Muckross. Just a few seconds behind their clubmates were the Waterford A crew of Hannah and Deirdre who finished in a great fourth position.
WJ14 2x : In Waterford’s second win of the day Hannah and Faye took a brilliant win in the WJ14x despite both of them still being J13. Another excellent win for the pair who’ve been having a fantastic season both in the double and the quad. Well done girls.
WJ15 2x : In an eventful run in the WJ15 2x Molly and Kate unfortunately found the reeds during the run badly halting their progress. Despite this significant delay the girls ploughed on and finished in a very good time of 14:29 placing them sixth out of twelve. A real case of what could have been here as the girls easily lost a minute but nonetheless a great recovery and final showing.
WJ16 1x : Waterford had 2 entries in the WJ16 singles with Sarah and Sarah taking part. In another tightly bunched race of 18 competitors the girls had really good races and Siun finished in seventh a couple of seconds ahead of Sarah in eighth.
WJ15 1x : The Girls J15 quad members all took a run at the singles today. In one of the best runs of the day Edie took third place in a field of 34 with an exceptional row just 20 seconds back from the eventual winner from Cork. Katie, Aine and Jessica also had really good races and finished bunched closely together in 12th, 14th and 15th just a couple of seconds apart. Great show from all here.
MJ16 2x : Sean and Darragh took part in a large field of 17 for the MJ16 2x doubles. They eventually finished fourth just a couple of seconds from the Muckross crews in 2nd and 3rd. Another great showing from the lads.
MJ15 2x : Oran and Henry completed the doubles for Waterford in the MJ15 2x. In another really good result in a large field of 23 the lads placed sixth overall.
MJ13 4x+ : The crew of Sean, Toby, Mads, Sam and cox Jessica took part in the MJ13 4x+. The lads showed much better technique in this arce but unfortunately fished down the rankings in eighth out of nine, but an improvement of just 20 seconds could have seen them rise much higher in the rankings. A decent showing here and hopefully a good place to push on from.
Notice is hereby given that the 2023 AGM for Waterford Boat Club will be held on Tuesday the 24th of October at 7.30pm at the club premises.
R McHugh (sec)
Waterford Boat Club are delighted to announce our 145th Anniversary Celebration which will take place on November the 11th at Dooley’s Hotel Waterford!
Tickets are priced at €60 each and are on sale now. A table of 10 can be purchased at the discounted rate of €560. Please contact wbcchildrensofficer@gmail.com to purchase, or contact any club member for more information.
We are looking forward to seeing all our past and present members and boat club friends to celebrate the history and success of our club!
Huge thanks to ABP Foods Ferrybank for their support of the club. Their recent donation enabled us to purchase some brand new safety gear (4 lifejackets and 4 throw-bags) for the club. With a really large intake of new members this year this new equipment is vital for ensuring everyone’s safety and helping the club grow. Great to see a local business supporting local clubs. So huge thanks again to ABP from all at WBC for their help.
Pictured here with some of the new safety gear are our Women’s Junior 15 Quad crew in the clubs new safety launch.
As regatta season has just finished for our younger crews we’re starting the intake for new 12 and 13 year old members for 2023/2024.
If you have a 12/13 year old who’s interested in trying out an exciting and challenging sport we’ll be welcoming potential new members down over the month of July to try it out for free. Any potential participants must be competent swimmers.
Please contact us at enquiries@waterfordboatclub.ie and include the following information:
We’ll forward on times of the sessions when we’ll give potential new members a quick overview and try out in the boats. Looking forward to hearing from you.
If after a couple of trial sessions you’ve decided to join as a member then you can download and fill in the Membership Application form from the link below. Please return this to one of the coaches or alternatively you can scan the completed form and return it to us at enquiries@waterfordboatclub.ie