This weekend will see in excess of 500 young rowers from Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and all across Ireland descend upon Cork, to compete in the 2018 Coupe de la Jeunesse on Inniscarra Lake at the National Rowing Centre.
The Coupe de la Jeunesse is an annual international junior rowing regatta rowed over 2,000 metres; a two-day team event open to rowers 18 years or under. Each category is raced separately on the first and second day of the regatta, allowing for different Coupe de la Jeunesse event winners on each day.
Ireland performed exceptionally well last year, bringing home a total of 5 Gold medals in the women’s pair and men’s quadruple categories. This year, there are 47 Irish athletes taking part and will compete in both sweep rowing (one oar each) and sculling (two oars each) events.
Rowing Ireland has been a proud member of the Coupe rowing family for many years and have hosted the event in 1999 and most recently 2008. The running of this event in 2018 was made possible by the support of Cork County Council.
Cork County Council Chief Executive, Mr. Tim Lucey said ahead of the event “Cork County Council through our Economic Development Fund is delighted to be the Main Sponsor of the Coupe de la Jeunesse 2018. I wish to congratulate Michelle Carpenter, Chief Executive of Rowing Ireland on organising this Prestigious International Rowing Regatta. Cork County Council’s sponsorship will provide a platform to provide a direct Economic Impact to the Cork Region. It is the intention of Cork County Council to continue to work closely with key stakeholders to ensure that Cork maximises the economic return from tourism in Cork in terms of increasing domestic and overseas visitors and promoting our beautiful county as this event affords us to do. Cork is the only county in Ireland which affords the opportunity to explore Ireland’s Ancient East and the Wild Atlantic Way. Cork has many tourism assets such as Ireland’s largest coastline of 1,100 km which accounts for 19%of the Irish State coastline as well as a significant number of top visitor attractions.
Newly appointed Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Patrick Gerard Murphy, said “I wish Rowing Ireland every success for the Coupe de la Jeunesse 2018 and I look forward to officiating at the Opening Ceremony on the 27th July. I would like to welcome all the visiting athletes, their coaches, families and supporters to our great county and commend these young rowers for the hard work, passion and dedication that has brought them here. While this is a competition, I wish to remind all participants to take some time to enjoy all that is “Pure Cork”. Cork is Ireland’s Maritime Haven with a significant maritime history spanning over a thousand years, set in a beautiful soft coastal environment where the land, the people and their culture will allow you to discover a quirky way to stimulate all of your senses, have a look at Purecork.ie to develop your own individual itinerary.”
The regatta, which encourages young rowers, has become a platform in Ireland for starting the international careers of some of our most successful and decorated Irish rowers, such as Olympic medallist Gary O‘Donovan and World Lightweight Champion Shane O’Driscoll.
Ahead of the busy upcoming weekend, Rowing Ireland CEO Michelle Carpenter added, “We are delighted to be hosting this prestigious event on the ultimate weekend of our International Festival of Rowing in Cork. It is great to see a full Irish team taking part in this event. The Coupe de La Jeunesse has long been seen as a significant development pathway for our athletes including our Olympic medallists Paul and Gary O'Donovan. It is an honour to host the event here at the incredible facilities of the National Rowing Centre in Cork, and we are delighted to partner Cork County Council in running this exciting event.”
Racing will kick off with one event on Friday evening (27th July), the junior women’s eights, followed by an opening ceremony where all teams will parade with their native flags meeting at the National Rowing Centre. Then on Saturday from 9:00am all other events will run, ending on Sunday afternoon before a closing ceremony takes place.
For more information on the Coupe de la Jeunesse see www.coupe2018.ie .
