Last weekend, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 April, the Royal Cork Yacht Club hosted the Schools National Team Racing Championship 2008.

POWER BOATING: Rachel Rabbitte, Cait Hardiman, Kevin Gannon, David Burke,Stephen Caulfield, Jessie O'Regan and Finbarr O'Regan.

Representing Connacht were six students from St Oliver Plunkett National School from Newcastle in Athenry, organised by Bow Waves Galway Sailing and Power Boat School for the 2008 entry. Ten teams from all over Ireland attended, with two national schools and eight secondary schools. The event is a great level playing field. The age ranges were from ten to seventeen all competing against each other.

Several schools were eliminated at the first phase. Those who continued to battle for the championships finally narrowed it down to, third place Crosshaven, second place Schull and first place Schull.

Newcastle NS is one of the most recent schools to add sailing to its list of activities with the help of Bow Waves Galway Sailing and Powerboat School.

Team racing is growing in popularity among schools and universities, according to Finbarr O'Regan of Bow Waves Sailing and Powerboat School.

Bow Waves Galway Sailing and Powerboat School is actively promoting and developing programmes for schools in the Connacht and Galway region. A school team consists of six members who will sail three boats around an s shaped course. The team will go through a number of heats to work their way to the finals, eliminating teams as they go. The pupils from Newcastle NS began their training for this event only last summer with some of the crew only having started to sail in spring of this year. The funding for the training for the six students was provided by Bow Waves Galway Sailing and Powerboat School.

There is little financial cost to the team, just time and commitment. Bow Waves Galway Sailing and Powerboat School is to able to help schools access dedicated government funds that are already allocated for these programs which will cover training, equipment and transport. Bow Waves Galway Sailing and Powerboat School are already well advanced in negotiations to gain financial support from other local Galway businesses to support schools who are getting involved in the program. They currently have three companies lined up, who are willing to sponsor three schools to cover the training for this program, which would result in County Galway having four schools ready for the Connacht Championships next year.

This is a great time to get involved in sailing, with the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race which is stopping over in Galway next year creating a fresh new interest in sailing in the west.

If you are a teacher, parent or student and would like to get your school involved in Team Racing, you can contact Bow Waves Galway Sailing and Powerboat School for further information and assistance or for information on the Schools Team Racing Open Day. Contact 091-560560, www.bowwaves.com.

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