The win by the boys J16 eight was one of the biggest Jes victories at the national championships for several years and the first win in this event since 1999. In the run up to the regatta, the Jes boys had just lost out in a number of tight races to Portora and the Bish. Nevertheless, they came to Cork in a positive mood, determined to turn the tables on their rivals. In a very strong start, they were quickly out into the lead and took a firm grip on the race. Controlling the race from the front, they built on this lead as the race progressed. They were never in trouble and comfortably won by two lengths with a highly impressive display of rowing in extremely difficult weather conditions that received considerable praise from the on-course commentator. The victorious crew was Luke Mulliez, Robert McInerney, Brian Maye, Thomas Power, Daragh Coughlan, Shane O’Halloran, Mark Ryder, Philip Buckley and David Young (cox).
The 2nd year girls J14 quad had several victories during the year and they continued their good form at the Championships with yet another clear cut win. The crew was Ruby Murphy, Ruth Griffin, Roisin Gavin, Anna Coyne and Anna Young (cox).
The win for the girls J15 quad was in one of the most exciting races of the regatta with just one length covering the first three boats. It turned out to be a battle between two Jes crews who took 1st and 2nd places. In another twist, the two boats were coxed by brother and sister, David and Anna Young with David taking the honours on this occasion. The winning crew was Eimear Sheridan, Hannah Power, Roisin Gavin, Anna Coyne and David Young (cox) while the runners up were Rachel O’Malley Raecke, Anna O’Donoghue, Aoife Dempsey, Jessica Barrett and Anna Young (cox).
Elsewhere at the championships, the girls J16 8+ did not have the best of days and finished fourth in the final. However, this crew can reflect on a highly successful season in which they had many notable wins including the Irish Schools Championships and the Galway and Cork Regattas. A feature of the Galway Regatta was the girls J16 8+ where the Jes had two boats entered and both crews made the final. It proved to be a very tight race with the younger girls in the B boat (all U15) pushing the A crew all the way to the finish before the A crew eventually got the win by a mere half a length. It was tremendous to see two Jes eights competing head to head against each other to such a high standard.
The Championships capped off a highly successful season for Jes rowing. A big thank you must go to all of the coaches (almost all ex-Jes rowers themselves) who so willingly give their time to the coaching. Without their tremendous efforts, the club would not be enjoying these successes.
