News

Posted: 22 September 2025

Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way is known for it’s captivating, dramatic and windswept coastline, and this sentiment was even truer as Narin Beach in Portnoo, Co. Donegal welcomed the fourth annual Home International Rowing Beach Sprints Regatta (HIRBS). Hosted by Rowing Ireland & Loughros Point RC, the four home nations came together with teams of 10 athletes to compete for Guin Batten Trophy.

Conditions presented challenge and brought excitement to the racing throughout the day. Over the time trials, all crews made a good start and familiarised themselves with the wild atlantic conditions. Over the course of the day the wind strengthened and swell sharpened testing the skill and steering of each crew.

Scotland’s first win for the day came in the Coastal Women's Solo from Team Captain, Megan Hewison, who had this to say: 

“It’s always an honour to represent Scotland racing and I’m really happy to have come away with the win! Today handed us difficult conditions and I think the team dealt with them really well and showed a lot of strength. I’m excited to see how all the athletes on the team develop in years to come!"

 
Image:Swift Racing Ireland. Team Captain, Megan Hewison, makes her way back up the beach following her time trial.

Our team was formed of athletes from several clubs and experiences. From Edinburgh University BC’s Isla MacCallum racing at her 4th Home International Beach Sprints and her 5th consecutive HIR Competition (she was Senior Women’s Captain at HIRR 2025), to the University of St Andrews BC‘s dynamic duo of Tom Mitchell and Hansine Marshall, achieving their first Scotland Rowing Team vest at the end of their first year in the sport. In the final race if the day, Tom and Hansine raced to the line in the CMix2x to take home Scotland’s second gold of the competition.

Tom shared his thoughts from the weekend with us: 
"It has been a great experience racing and being part of the Scotland Rowing Team here in Donegal, allowing us to gain more racing experience in rougher conditions. Winning the Senior Mixed Double (CMix2x) after 3 races in rough and wavy conditions has been a great way to finish off both of our first years in rowing."

 
Image: Swift Rowing Ireland. Tom Mitchell, sprinting through the surf having leapt from the bow seat of the CMix2x

Scotland finished third overall in the Team Points, three points behind England and three ahead of the Irish Team. Congratulations to the Welsh team for being the first Nation to win the Guin Batten Trophy away from home.

 The Scotland Rowing Team has always prided itself on selecting athletes outside of the GB Rowing Team for Home International Rowing events as an opportunity for next-generation athletes to nurture their racing skills and gain valuable experience at International standard competitions. This year’s Scottish athletes negotiated the turbulent sea conditions fearlessly, playing their part in some of the days most exciting toe to toe races against the top athletes from the Home Nations.

 
Image: Swift Racing Ireland. The U23Mix2x racing through the surf with a helping hand from the boat handling team

As the new season begins, we'll continue to expand and develop our coastal sculling pathway by unveiling our new Beach Sprint Academy programme’s. Keep an eye on our website and social media for details so that you can develop the skills necessary to be part of next year's HIR Beach Sprint team.

See below for a summary of the weekends results:

CJW1x (Smith) – 4th

CJM1x (Sloan) – 3rd

CJMix2x (Khan & Cochrane) – 4th

U23 CMix2x (MacCallum & Bisset) – 4th

CW1x (Hewison)- 1st

CM1x (MacCallum) – 3rd

CMix2x (Mitchell & Marshall) – 1st

A full round up of the regattas results, including a link to the livestream, can be found at www.homeinternationalrowing.org

Image: Scottis Rowing. Scotland Rowing Team – HIRBS 2025