A new national rowing event will be held in Galway next March.
The National Eights Head of the River will bring together all of the country’s big boat rowers to compete for the Irish title next March.
The event is part of a change in the rowing competition calendar and Tribesmen Rowing Club has been asked to stage the event.
Brenda Ewing, chair of Rowing Ireland’s domestic events committee, has confirmed that the Galway club has been selected to host the inaugural National Eights Head of the River.
This new class of event is a departure from previous years where the Heads, though competitive, lacked a winner’s cachet.
Now the Tribesmen’s Head of the River, which is the largest and most competitive of the winter time trials, has been honoured with the task of hosting the first of these featuring the big boats – the eights.
The committee at Tribesmen are scheduled to meet with Rowing Ireland’s DEC to discuss and agree the exact format of the event, which is to be held on March 27.
Up to 80 eights boats are expected to compete in the event.