By Katie Finnegan
To be published in SIN in February 2012, Published on Studenty.me 21/01/2012
GALWAY-Mayo Institute of Technology
Castlebar is to host the Irish Kayaking Intervarsities this year bringing an estimated
500 competitors and spectators to the area.
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| Kayak Varsiteis in Galway 2010 - Photo from www.nuigkc.com |
The annual event kicks off on the 17th
of February where students from 18 colleges, including the two Galway colleges will
compete for prestigious titles in events such as whitewater, freestyle, canoe
polo and long distance kayaking.
GMIT Galway will be competing with
their counterparts in Castlebar and NUI Galway will be entering separately. NUI
Galway has been awarded the overall trophy 16 times in the last 23 years with
the most recent being in 2007. They also placed second in 2010 when they hosted
the event here in Galway.
Captain of NUIG Kayak Club, Alan
O’Dwyer is looking forward to this year’s event. “This year we’re sending
around 50 club members to Castlebar to compete in the varsities. We’ve been
training for the last few months and have solid teams in place. Last year due
to internal issues we were not allowed to compete in all events and hence placed
uncharacteristically low. This year we will be competing in all events, and are
aiming to reclaim our position at the top."
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| Kayak Varsiteis in Galway 2010 - Photo from www.nuigkc.com |
Commenting on the event, Stephen
Hannon, lecturer on the GMIT BA in
Outdoor Education Programme, said: "GMIT Castlebar is delighted to host
the Irish Kayaking Intervarsities. GMIT Castlebar is a small campus but
is a genuine “adventure-sports hub” with hills, rivers and the sea
close by. The Kayaking Intervarsities will be a good way to highlight
this adventure sports hub and the excellent town centre watersports
amenity of Lough Lannagh.”
The competition commences on Friday the 17th of February with the Polo event being held on Lough Lannagh in Castlebar. On Saturday the whitewater event will be held on the Clydagh River, Castlebar, with the freestyle event running in Tuam on the Clare River. On Sunday, the final event will be the long distance race. It will take place at Moorehall just outside Castlebar. The closing awards ceremony and presentation of prizes will take place in GMIT Castlebar in the afternoon.
Outdoor Education Programme, said: "GMIT Castlebar is delighted to host
the Irish Kayaking Intervarsities. GMIT Castlebar is a small campus but
is a genuine “adventure-sports hub” with hills, rivers and the sea
close by. The Kayaking Intervarsities will be a good way to highlight
this adventure sports hub and the excellent town centre watersports
amenity of Lough Lannagh.”
The competition commences on Friday the 17th of February with the Polo event being held on Lough Lannagh in Castlebar. On Saturday the whitewater event will be held on the Clydagh River, Castlebar, with the freestyle event running in Tuam on the Clare River. On Sunday, the final event will be the long distance race. It will take place at Moorehall just outside Castlebar. The closing awards ceremony and presentation of prizes will take place in GMIT Castlebar in the afternoon.
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| Kayak Varsiteis in Galway 2010 - Photo from www.nuigkc.com |
The public is encouraged to come along
to watch the events and can witness the entertaining events from the shore and
join the celebrations.
GMIT Sports officer Nigel Jennings, said: “The 2012 Kayaking Intervarsities will bring the very best kayakers from all the colleges and universities in the country to Castlebar to battle it out for this year’s honours and for our part GMIT Castlebar is extremely proud to host this prestigious event. It’s a huge occasion for Castlebar with over 300 competitors taking part in addition to the abundance of supporters, which will obviously be an economic boost to the locality.”
GMIT Sports officer Nigel Jennings, said: “The 2012 Kayaking Intervarsities will bring the very best kayakers from all the colleges and universities in the country to Castlebar to battle it out for this year’s honours and for our part GMIT Castlebar is extremely proud to host this prestigious event. It’s a huge occasion for Castlebar with over 300 competitors taking part in addition to the abundance of supporters, which will obviously be an economic boost to the locality.”
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| Kayak Varsiteis in Galway 2010 - Photo from www.nuigkc.com |
The NUIG Kayak Club is one of the
biggest clubs in the college, and one of the largest and oldest kayak clubs in
the country. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Club. For
information on sessions, visit www.nuigkc.com.
The varsities run from the 17th-19th
of February. For more information check out the facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002326542279
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