Welcome to Enniskillen
Royal Grammar School

Rowing

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Rowing

Enniskillen Royal Grammar School’s rowing club has established itself as one of the top rowing clubs in the UK and Ireland. The rowing club is set in the historic school grounds of the school’s Lough Shore site at the Portora Boat House. In recognition of responsibility to the community, the board of governors of Enniskillen Royal Grammar School agreed to open membership of the club to students of other schools in Enniskillen. Membership of the boat club ranges from complete beginners right up to those of junior world championship standard.

Head coach, Derek Holland is supported by a team of up to 8 volunteers and a number of previous athletes who return during university holidays to give a helping hand. The coaching team includes two past Olympians in Derek Holland and Iain Kennedy, as well as coaches who have either rowed or coached at junior international level. Therefore the coaching available to the athletes is of the highest standard. All coaches are vetted and hold coaching qualifications.

J13s to J18s are encouraged to row and participate in what is one of the school’s most competitive clubs, both domestically and internationally. The reason for this success lies in our training ethos, which relies on fun and commitment of those who participate in the boat club. Most of all, enjoyment of the sport is encouraged by coaches as an essential element in success.

Race Schedule 2022-23

Click on this link ROWING fixtures 2022 -2023 to view this season’s Race Schedule

Why row?

Rowing is a challenging sport, which offers young people the opportunity to have fun in an outdoor environment. However, as rowers’ skills develop and they become passionate about the sport, a desire to compete is nurtured. This, coupled with the sense of identity and camaraderie within the sport, makes rowing one of the true great team sports. In addition, rowing helps the athletes to develop as individuals, encouraging them to develop qualities of self-motivation, personal responsibility, tolerance and a will to improve and succeed.

Portora Boat Club has some of the best facilities and equipment in the UK and Ireland. Three seasons ago the boat shed underwent an extension providing the best facilities for the athletes. In addition, our top racing boats cost in the region of £40,000, which means athletes have the top equipment available for them to excel on the water.

Can my son/daughter try the sport first?

The trial period will last until 26th September at which point we will ask for a commitment of membership fees if they decide to continue in the sport.

Fees

Yearly fees for the 2017-18 season are as follows:

ERGS student – £75

ERGS Family membership – £135

Non-ERGS Student – £180

Non-ERGS Family Membership – £300

Membership fees can be paid by cheque or cash to the school office on the Lough Shore site. ERGS student fees are require to be paid in full at the start of the season in order to pay for each athletes Rowing Ireland membership due on the 17^th October. Non-ERGS student fees can be paid either in full at the start of the season or in two instalments due at the start of the season and again during the February half term. Membership works out at approximately £1 a session, which is excellent value considering they are training up to 5 – 6 days a week. The fees pay for coaching, use of all boat club facilities, rowing Ireland registration and insurance, motor boat upkeep and fuel and general upkeep and repairs of the racing boat fleet.

Additional costs will include race entry and transport fees and kit necessary to compete for Enniskillen Royal Grammar School.

What should my son / daughter bring with them?

Your son/daughter must always bring spare rowing kit to all water based sessions, particularly in winter months, as well as a spare change of warm clothing. Rowing does not stop for rain, snow or wind and there is also a small chance of falling into the water.

Your son/daughter will not be allowed to row if they are not appropriately dressed for the conditions: leggings, a long sleeve top and a hat are required in cold conditions to keep warm. If any athlete does not have these, the coaches reserve the right to prevent any athlete from going afloat. Please respect their decision as they have everyone’s well being in mind.

I’ve heard rowers train very hard, is this true?

Yes they do. That is not to say that training hard is not fun or good for the athletes. When the pupils start rowing, the emphasis is on fun and enjoyment as well as learning new skills. There is no point doing a sport you don’t enjoy!

From year 11 upwards the shift is more towards performance and racing crews for the bigger events. Selection, regardless of age, is on ability and performance. Here the athletic success is 99% a reflection of commitment. It is therefore important that you encourage your son/daughter to attend sessions so they can get the most out of it.

Can my son / daughter do another sport or another activity?

Definitely. If your son/daughter does another sport, we would encourage him or her to continue doing so. The boat club actively encourages athletes to gain other skills and experience other training environments and competitions. At present, the club has a number of athletes competing at county and provincial level in other sports as well as excelling in the sport of rowing. It is however important that athletes follow the training quotas as these provide leeway for boys and girls to do more than one sport or activity.

If your son/daughter is in the J16 or senior age group, he or she needs to keep in mind that missing one session a week does have impact by the end of the year. If a training session is missed it will need to be made up for with an hour run on a Friday. In the 2015 – 2016 season, athletes who did not make the top boats had a far lower attendance ratio than those who did made the top boats. It is therefore important that for those in the J16 to J18 age groups prioritise which sports they wish to do.

What do I do if there are adverse weather conditions?

Rowing is not cancelled for bad weather unless the coaches consider it too dangerous to row. We row in rain, snow and wind. Fog; however, may prevent us going afloat if it shows no sign of lifting, while there is no rowing in any circumstances under lightning. In such cases, athletes will either do land-based training or team building activities by the river.

Please keep in mind that we cannot determine what the river conditions will be until we get down to the river nor can we control or predict it.

Does rowing affect academic performance?

Those who initially struggled academically (when they were younger) have found that rowing has helped them organise their time, while ensuring they have a fit and focused mind and body. Rowing is a sport that requires athletes take ownership of their time, commitments, academic and overall wellbeing. To this end, those who do rowing gain skills that help in a wide range of areas especially in their academic lives. There is no need for people to worry about rowing affecting their GCSE’s or A-Levels as our rowers generally have better marks than those who don’t have another sporting focus in their lives.

Furthermore, rowing helps give pupils discipline in their lives. By having to row on Saturday mornings, the athletes have to think about whether or not to have a late night on Friday. Athletes also have to consider issues such as drinking and smoking, factors affecting teens today.

The staff at ERGS have found that pupils who row become more organised. If there are deadlines or exams where pupils need to focus in on their work, the coaches are only too happy to support and help their athletes achieve their academic goals by changing sessions to suit their academic requirements.

What monitoring is there of the rowers?

Portora is widely regarded as one of the most professional junior programs in Ireland. While many of our opposition increase the duration, intensity and number of their weekly rowing sessions, the Boat Club believes that an athlete’s academic progress and their well-being must come first.

All training programmes are carefully structured and progressive and the coaching staff monitors each athlete’s development and performance. A detailed logbook is kept on every training session; crew and results the rowers achieve. This is then used later for crew selection.

Adolescent athletes grow at different rates and these factors are taken into consideration when they are training. Therefore we may take height, weight, arm span and heart rate measurements for athletes to help us monitor them. Lactate Threshold Testing may be done for the senior rowers (this is normally an assessment reserved for senior rowers) to ensure the quality of their training is maximised. For example, some athletes may regularly train above their threshold and therefore work too hard. This ensures that the correct workload is done each session.

Those rowers going on to represent Ireland may be physiologically tested and may be subject to random drug testing, which are run by the Irish Sport Council.

Race Selection Policy

1) The Strategy: Director of Rowing and Head of Squad discuss the selection strategy for the squad. Rowers are seeded based on data obtained from previous assessments (Ergometer, sculling results, and seat matrix/racing results).

2) The assessment: The Director of Rowing and Coaches will run the selection process.

3) Coaches Meeting: The Coaches, Heads of Squads and Director of Rowing will discuss the selections. The head of the squad has an open question/answer critique of what has been selected. In this way, every possible eventuality is discussed and questioned.

If needed, further assessments may take place

Crew selections for racing are based on attendance, ergometer results, and a number of water-based testing including seat racing, matrices and sculling time trials. The final selections are based on seat racing and other water-based tests. These are the most important results. Prior to a crew being entered, the coaches recommend to the Head of Rowing, which individuals should race, and what boat types they will be racing. Once this is done, the Head of Rowing will have the final say and a crew will then be entered. The coaches at Portora boat club are trained professionals. They all have qualifications to coach rowing and are closely monitored by the Head of rowing. Portora Boat Club prides itself on the standard of its coaches. It is therefore important to trust and respect the decisions made by the coaches who are professionally trained and have many years of coaching and rowing experience.

Every coach monitors every training session and a detailed logbook is kept for selections. Their selections are discussed at Coaches Meetings where the Head of Rowing will question these selections. Thereafter, the Head of Rowing will make the final entry. Races and crews are selected for the club to succeed as a whole, not simply to target a specific individual’s success. Please feel free to question our selection policy if you have any concerns. However, interference with our selection policy will not be seen as constructive or conducting in the best interests of the club or your son / daughter. To this end, please speak directly with the Head of Rowing if you have concerns about selections.

Please respect these decisions. Selections will not be changed after they have been entered, unless injury, illness or poor performance leading up to the event has occurred.

University Opportunities

Over the past few seasons we have had various rowers take up scholarships at universities across the UK and Ireland. Rowing is an extremely popular and important sport to universities and they are constantly on the lookout for top performing junior athletes.

Last year Elizabeth Clarke was awarded a scholarship to the University of Wisconsin in the USA, while Samuel Armstrong was awarded a scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge in England. Prior to this, Phoebe Mulligan gained a scholarship to the University of Tulsa three years ago, while two of out top athletes also took up scholarships in the USA. Holly Nixon and Katie Cromie have gone to the University of Virginia and Michigan State University respectively. Both these girls rowed for Ireland at the Junior World Rowing Championships and these scholarships are a reward for years of dedication and hard work.

Following the performance of our athletes on the national and international stage and the pathway of our athletes to American universities in recent years, we have become regularly inundated with enquiries from American universities seeking to enquire about our athletes.

However, it is not only the top performing rowers that can benefit from the sport. Rowing is an excellent sport to have on your UCAS form, demonstrating positive qualities gained from the sport including team-work and dedication.

Portora Boat Club recent achievements

2017

Men’s and Women’s J18 8+ Irish Champions
Men’s and Women’s J18 4 Irish champions
Men’s and Women’s J 16 8+ Irish Champions
Men’s J 18 2- Irish Champions
Men’s and women’s J18 & J16 8+ Ulster Champions
Winners of Home International Women’s J 4
9 athletes Selected for the Irish Junior Rowing team

2016

Men’s J18 8+ Irish Champions
Men’s Intermediate 2- Irish Champions
Men’s J15 4x+ Irish Champions
Women’s J15 8+ & 4x+ Irish Champions
Men’s Ulster J18 & J16 Schools Champions
Men’s first eight bronze medallists at the British National School’s Regatta
8 athletes selected for the Irish Junior Rowing Team
Winners of the Home International Senior Men’s 4-

2015

Men’s J18 8+, 4+ 2- Irish Champions
Women’s J 18 8+ and Club 8+ Irish Champions
Women’s J16 8+ Irish Champions
Men’s J 14 4x+ Irish Champions
Men’s Ulster J 18 and J16 Schools Champions
13 athletes selected for the Irish Junior Rowing Team
Winners of Home International Junior Men’s 4+

2014

Men’s J18 8+ Irish Champions
Men’s and Women’s J16 8+ Irish Champions
Men’s Ulster J 18 and J16 Schools Champions
Men’s junior 15 1x Irish Champion

2013

Women’s J18 2- Irish Champions
Men’s and Women’s J18 8+ Silver at Irish Championships
Men’s and Women’s J16 8+ Irish Champions

ERNE Head of the river

We are very much looking forward to hosting this year’s 62nd Erne Head of River on Saturday the 2nd March 2019.

This year’s race has attracted record entries and we are looking forward to welcoming all teams and racers to ERBC for what promises to be an excellent day of racing.

Please click on the links below to download the Race Day Programme and Starting order.

Race Day Programme

Starting order

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Rowing

Rowing

Race Schedule 2022-23

Why row?

Can my son/daughter try the sport first?

Fees

What should my son / daughter bring with them?

I’ve heard rowers train very hard, is this true?

Can my son / daughter do another sport or another activity?

What do I do if there are adverse weather conditions?

Does rowing affect academic performance?

What monitoring is there of the rowers?

Race Selection Policy

University Opportunities

Portora Boat Club recent achievements

ERNE Head of the river

Latest News

U16 Tennis vs RS Dungannon

Danska Bank Girls Schools’ player of the year.

Colours Awards for Excellence and Sustained Achievement in Sport, Music and Drama (Full Report Attached)

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