ROWING Students turn out for Rowing Irelands new Get Going...Get Rowing! initiative

One hundred and forty students from eight schools from Dublin, Offaly and Wexford took part in Rowing Irelands Get Going...Get Rowing! initiative which took place at Dublin City Councils Municipal Rowing Club last week.

The afternoon event involved focused sport for all and was about encouraging students to try out the large range of activities on offer which included indoor rowing competitions and a try-it-out session in real boats.

Rowing Irelands Development Officer and event organiser, Lisa Hayden, said that the Get Going...Get Rowing! initiative has really taken off in schools. We also recently ran a teacher training session to outline this new rowing initiative and received an extremely enthusiastic response, particularly for the range of games and activities that they can achieve on indoor rowing machines. What has been particularly rewarding has been the positive participation from students who do not normally engage in sports.

There was an equal split in the ratio of boys and girls who attended last Wednesdays event, illustrating the effectiveness of this programme. The Dublin European Capital of Sport roadshow also came along on the day to promote the importance of participation in physical activity.

This Rowing Ireland participation programme is funded by the Irish Sports Councils Women In Sport initiative, under which indoor rowing machines have been installed in schools throughout the country.

Participating schools

• Mount Sackville, Chapelizod , Dublin 20 Colaiste Phadraig, Lucan, Co. Dublin
• Castleknock Community College, Dublin 15 Synge St. CBS, Dublin 8
• St. Marks Community School, Tallaght, Dublin 24 Blackrock College, Co. Dublin
• Colaiste Bride, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford Sacred Heart School, Tullamore Offaly.