Rowing, on-water and indoors, is a fast-growing sport in Ireland. We have World and Olympic champions in both individual and team rowing events. In January some of these elite athletes will be competing at the 2026 Irish Indoor Rowing Championships at the University of Limerick. But indoor rowing is a sport for everybody regardless of age or ability. There is no qualification required for most indoor rowing competitions, including the IIRC. It’s all about inclusion and accessibility and many competitive indoor rowers have never rowed on the water.
At the IIRC individuals can choose between a 500m sprint, a 1K row (attention Hyroxers!) or the standard Olympic distance of 2000m. You compete alongside your peers in your age group category. There is even a team relay event.
At Community Rowing we emphasize the team aspect of rowing because we are stronger when we pull together. It is a shared journey of effort and reward plus it is a lot more fun to row in a team than it is to row on your own. Myself and some Community Rowing members of various ages will be competing at the IIRC and we are looking for motivated rowers to join our team. A relay team can consist of 4 men or 4 women or a mixed crew of 2 men and 2 women.
Alternatively you can experience the excitement of indoor rowing competition without having to travel any further than your local gym. In February Concept2 and World Rowing will host a virtual indoor rowing competition which will take place entirely online and is open to all comers. The aim is to bring together rowers and fitness enthusiasts from around the world and to encourage participation from as wide a range of competitors as possible, by offering a choice of three individual race distances of 1000m, 5000m and 1 minute plus two team-relay races. So there is something here for everyone and each race distance will have age-group categories. A seasoned rower may choose to race the 5K while gymgoers and Hyroxers might choose the 1K and who can’t row one-minute for max distance!
To coincide with the WRVICH on Saturday February 21st Community Rowing in collaboration with Rowing Ireland will host a compatible on-site indoor rowing competition in Greystones Co. Wicklow that will feature the same race format as above and age group categories. This competition will be open to everyone. And times can be submitted to the World Rowing website to potentially qualify for the finals which will be held live online and broadcast on World Rowing’s YouTube channel.
As a Rowing Ireland ‘Get Rowing’ community coach my goal is to make indoor rowing more inclusive, more connected and more inspiring for everyone. So whether you are a seasoned rower, Hyroxer or Crossfitter or a gym-going fitness enthusiast this is an indoor rowing competition that has something for everyone and will make a great fitness goal for the New Year. There is plenty of time to train for it but February will be here before you know it so join the rowing revolution now and get going!
For more information email mike@communityrowing.ie
