Celtic challenge rowing race
Encyclopedia
The Celtic Challenge Rowing Race is a 96 mile (150 km) rowing
race from Arklow
in Ireland
to Aberystwyth
in Wales
. It is a biennial event which usually takes place on the first Saturday in May. Crews from Wales, Ireland, England
and as far afield as Germany
compete.
The race is open to all 4-oared boats with a cox. No sliding seats or out-riggers are accepted. Normal class entries are Celtic Longboat
, Pembrokeshire longboat, Irish East Coast skiff, Irish All Ireland class boat and a variety of Thames skiff
s. Each crew consists of 12 people, therefore crew changeover strategies are a must. There is a Senior Men's category along with Senior Ladies, Veteran, Mixed and Miscellaneous categories.
The Celtic Challenge on 4 May 2002 had favourable weather conditions. The overall challenge that year went to the senior men's crew from Arklow Rowing Club, who beat off the Challenge holders, Aberystwyth senior men, who, after 90 miles and 14 hours and 46 mins, were 47 seconds behind the Arklow men.
In 1989 a crew from Aberystwyth Lifeboat rowed from Arklow to Aberystwyth to raise money for the Bronglais Hospital Scanner Appeal, raising a sum of approximately £4000, taking well over 22 hours to complete the course. In 1991 the Lifeboat crew did another sponsored row from Arklow to Aberystwyth raising money towards the new Lifeboat Station at Aberystwyth. It was from these two sponsored crossings from Arklow that the idea for Celtic Challenge was conceived. In 1993 the first Celtic Challenge Rowing race took place staring from Arklow and ending in Aberystwyth and since then the challenge has taken place in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2006 and 2008. The 2001 event was cancelled due to foot and mouth and in 2002 14 crews took part. 2006 had 17 entries. The 2004 challenge was cancelled due to bad weather.
The next challenge took place in early May 2010, leaving from Arklow.
A documentary of the 2008 Celtic Challenge, called 'Crossing the Irish' was completed by Rob Garwood in 2009.
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
race from Arklow
Arklow
Arklow , also known as Inbhear Dé from the Avonmore river's older name Abhainn Dé, is a historic town located in County Wicklow on the east coast of Ireland. Founded by the Vikings in the ninth century, Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 rebellion...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It is a biennial event which usually takes place on the first Saturday in May. Crews from Wales, Ireland, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and as far afield as Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
compete.
The race is open to all 4-oared boats with a cox. No sliding seats or out-riggers are accepted. Normal class entries are Celtic Longboat
Celtic Longboat
The Celtic Longboat is a rowing boat used for coastal and ocean rowing, racing, training and recreation. It has four sweep oared rowers and a cox.Racing this type of boat has a long and interesting history on the West Wales coast....
, Pembrokeshire longboat, Irish East Coast skiff, Irish All Ireland class boat and a variety of Thames skiff
Thames skiff
A Thames skiff is a traditional River Thames wooden rowing boat used for the activity of Skiffing. These boats evolved from Thames wherries in the Victorian era to meet a passion for river exploration and leisure outings on the water.-Construction of a skiff:...
s. Each crew consists of 12 people, therefore crew changeover strategies are a must. There is a Senior Men's category along with Senior Ladies, Veteran, Mixed and Miscellaneous categories.
The Celtic Challenge on 4 May 2002 had favourable weather conditions. The overall challenge that year went to the senior men's crew from Arklow Rowing Club, who beat off the Challenge holders, Aberystwyth senior men, who, after 90 miles and 14 hours and 46 mins, were 47 seconds behind the Arklow men.
In 1989 a crew from Aberystwyth Lifeboat rowed from Arklow to Aberystwyth to raise money for the Bronglais Hospital Scanner Appeal, raising a sum of approximately £4000, taking well over 22 hours to complete the course. In 1991 the Lifeboat crew did another sponsored row from Arklow to Aberystwyth raising money towards the new Lifeboat Station at Aberystwyth. It was from these two sponsored crossings from Arklow that the idea for Celtic Challenge was conceived. In 1993 the first Celtic Challenge Rowing race took place staring from Arklow and ending in Aberystwyth and since then the challenge has taken place in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2006 and 2008. The 2001 event was cancelled due to foot and mouth and in 2002 14 crews took part. 2006 had 17 entries. The 2004 challenge was cancelled due to bad weather.
The next challenge took place in early May 2010, leaving from Arklow.
A documentary of the 2008 Celtic Challenge, called 'Crossing the Irish' was completed by Rob Garwood in 2009.
External links
- http://www.celtic-challenge.org.uk/
- http://www.welshsearowing.org.uk
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=/health/2006/04/04/hrowing01.xml#aa
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/sites/aberystwyth/pages/celtic_challenge06_photos.shtml
- http://www.littlemanfilms.co.uk