Two Irish 49er Skiffs in High Stakes Olympic Test for Single Tokyo Berth
14th March 2021
Men on a mission - Howth s Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove are determined to move from U23 World Gold medalists to Tokyo Olympians in their first campaign
Two Irish 49er teams have their date with Olympic destiny in just a week s time when the final Tokyo qualifier takes place next week on the Spanish Island of Lanzarote.
One way or another, Sunday week (March 21st) will mark the culmination of five-year campaigns for two Irish 49er teams, bringing the curtain down on an eventful cycle for the Olympic skiff in Ireland.
49er Olympic Qualifier in Lanzarote Brought Forward By Two Days
16th February 2021
Howth s Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove racing in January s Portugal Grand Prix
Credit: Joao Costa Ferriera
Ireland s 49er skiffs that will face a final battle for Tokyo Olympic qualification will race two days earlier than scheduled at the Lanzarote International Regatta. Ireland will know if either team has been successful in securing a men s skiff team for the 2021 Olympics by March 26th.
The change in date for the hastily assembled Canaries Island event comes about due to ferry schedules back to mainland Europe.
Hyeres Regatta in France (the venue for the final European Laser qualification where Ireland is also seeking a final Tokyo place) has now updated its schedule with racing starting on April 5th which means 49er crews can compete in both regattas should they so wish.
The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.
The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with
As Irish 49ers Eye Last Chance for Tokyo, 2021 49er Europeans are Confirmed for Greece
12th January 2021
Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle start a 49er race at the 2020 European Championships in Austria
As Ireland s two 49er campaigns prepare for their last chance to win an Olympic berth in Tokyo, details of the final major championship of the 2020 Quadrennial have been announced in Greece.
After four years of campaigning, minds have been focussed in the Irish camp with the news that the 49er’s Tokyo Olympic qualifier has been confirmed as the Princesa Sofia regatta in Palma, Spain – 26 March – 3 April 2021.
As Afloat previously reported, there are four nations in contention for just one skiff place, including Ireland.