Local Skiff crews win some of the silver at Skiffieworlds
County Down Coastal Rowing clubs have brought home medals galore from the week-long Skiffieworlds competition in Holland.
The international event at Kortgene in the Netherlands attracted 54 teams from Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Scotland, the UK and the USA.
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Several of County Down’s towns and villages took part including Ardglass, Dundrum, Killyleagh, Sketrick and Strangford.
The overall winner of the competition – for the third successive year – was Dundrum. Other local clubs scored highly overall with Sketrick coming 2nd and Strangford placing joint 5th with Scotland’s Ullapool and Eastern.
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Strangford’s club Chair Natalie Reilly said: “I am so proud of what our club has achieved. We won Silver in the Open Women race, Bronze in the 60+ Women event and on the final day our juniors won 15, yes 15, medals!”.
Strangford juniors, aged from 12 to 16, won Silver in the Under-17 Mixed race and Bronze in the Under-17 Boys event. Young rower Cathal Quinn (aged 15), who won both a Silver and Bronze medal, said: “Going to the Netherlands with the whole Strangford team was just brilliant. It makes all those training sessions worth it!”
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The competition may have been fierce but local clubs also collaborated to put teams forward too. This tactic clearly paid off with Patrick McGurnaghan (Strangford) winning Gold in the Under-40 Mens event by combining with rowers from Killyleagh and Sketrick.
Some of the Strangford juniors also combined with Killyleagh teams to pick up Bronze in the Under-19 Mixed race.
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Strangford’s team also included the youngest competition cox in the whole competition. Sally Reilly, aged just 16, proved her coxing credentials by leading several teams to medal wins.
Sally said: “I’m delighted to win some medals of course but rowing is about so much more. I love getting out on the water every weekend and it’s a great way to make friends as well as keep fit.”
To find out more about getting involved in coastal rowing email:
or find them on Facebook.
Strangford Wins Silver in Open Women event: (left to right) Pauline Hunter, Val McGouran, Tom Murphy (cox), Jennifer Moore, Carol Cummings