Ranking Standings after 7 races – Who are the main players?
With the 2026 Ribadesella ranking season coming to the business end of the season, it’s time to look at the current standings to see who are the main players. Bear in mind, for our 9 race season a paddlers best 5 results in a division count towards their point total.
Firstly, a huge congratulations to 2 paddlers who earned promotion through the 1st 6 races of the season. Earning promotion is a huge achievement and recognised at end of year like a divisional win.
- Jake Witek earned promotion from Division 2 to the highest level of domestic racing, Division 1.
- Danny Cooper earned promotion form Boys Division 7 up to Division 5.
A reminder on how the points system works. Competitors in all divisions of the Ribadesella ranking series are awarded points which count towards end of season divisional rankings as follows – 1st = 15 points; 2nd = 13 points; 3rd = 12 points; 4th = 11 points; 5th = 10 points; 6th = 9 points; 7th = 8 points; 8th = 7 points; 9th = 6 points; 10th = 5 points; 11th = 4 points; 12th = 3 points; 13th = 2 points; 14th = 1 point; with all other finishers from 15th down being awarded 1 point. Lets look at the standings with 2 ranking races by division.
Div 1 Open:
Ben Higgins currently leads the way with 68 points from his best 5 races. Peter Egan is currently in 2nd place with 54 points. While not having 5 races to count yet, 3 more athletes could make the 5 races for the end of the season. Sean Smyth currently sits on 52 points with 4 races, Senan Forristal on 37pts after 3 races & Sean McCarthy on 34 points after 3 races. Right now, Smyth is the only 1 who can possibly reel in Higgins and take the division from him but the battle for runner up is incredible close with a host of different outcomes possible.
Div 1 Women:
Caoilin Caffrey already has the end of year title sewn up with 5 wins from 5 races, maxing out the points and impossible to overhaul at this stage of the season.
Div 2:
Malcom Banks leads the way with 63 points form 5 races, followed closely by Paul Russel on 61. 3 more paddlers (Kevin Cahill, Deaglán Ó’Drisceoil & David Francis) sit on 4 races and need at least 1 more for a ranking . It is possible for Deaglán (43 pts) & Kevin (51 pts) to take the title with good results in the remaining races.
Div 3:
Currently no paddler has 5 races but 4 have enough races that they could have an end of year total of 5 for a ranking. Matt Robinson leads the way on 49 pts form 4 races followed by Isaac Belov-McDowell on 41 from 3 races, Martin Hearns on 40 from 3 races & Bill Milne on 38 from 4 races. This Division is wide open
Div 4:
In one of the closest divisions, Simon Hearns leads the way on 66 pts from his best 5 races. Simon has currently the only paddler in all divisions to have raced all 7 races to date in a single division. Simon is closely followed by Brendan O’Connell who trails by 1pt. Chasing down the lead 2 are Eoin Roche on 55 & Sean Heneghan on 40 pts. A further 6 paddlers can reach the required 5 races for an end of year ranking with it being possible for both Nicholas Finn & Fiachra McDonagh to take the end of year title with good results. Watch this space for what promises to be a ding dong battle to the end.
Div 5 Open:
Naoise Heneghan leads the way on 68 pts form his best 5 after a storming start to th season, taking the win in the opening 3 races. A recent charge from Oisin Caffrey has him sitting only 4 pts behind the leader. Ethan Noud (51 pts), Conor McCoy (45 pts) , David Comerford (35pts) & Lukas Dziwirek (34 pts) have also completed the required 5 races for a ranking. A further 3 paddlers can still reach the required 5 (Patrick Melia, Darren Foster & Rory Doherty) with Melia being the only one possible to take the title, currently sitting on 54 pts after 4 races. Division 5 has seen some great racing with the highest number of participants to date, with 30 paddlers having raced year to date
Div 5 Women:
Mille Brennan leads the way with 70 pts out of a possible 75. 3 more paddlers can reach the required 5 races by end of year with Breda Keating being the one who poses a threat to Brennan. Keating sits on 58 pts after 4 races. Carol O’Donaghue is currently on 33 pts after 3 races while Barbara O’Donaghue is on 27pts after 3 races.
Div 7 Men:
2 paddlers can reach the end of year 5 required races. Luke Foster Leads the way on 55 pts with 4 races & Daniel Dziwirek on 37 pts with 3 races.
Div 7 Women:
No paddler can reach the required minimum of 5 races for an end of year ranking.
Div 7 Boys U15:
Danny Cooper may have managed to sew up the Divisional title before being promoted with 73 points from a possible 75. 5 more paddlers can reach the required 5 races & of those Tom Kelly is the one posing the threat to Cooper. He sits on 43 points from 3 races. If he wins the 2 remaining races they finish on the same points and are tied on head to heads. It could be close. Finn Noud, Luke Kelly, Tadhg O’Neill & Nathan King can all also reach the 5 required races and it could be very close for the 2nd, 34rd 4th places.
Div 7 Girls U15:
Meghan O’Donaghue is the only paddler who can possibly reach the minimum 5 races required by end of season. Meghan currently sits on 43 pts from 3 races.
K2 Long Course:
No crew can reach the required minimum of 5 races for an end of year ranking.
K2 Short Course:
The Father & Daughter crew of Brian & Alia Harris have the end of year title sewn up with 29 points from 5 races. No other crew can reach the minimum 5 races required.
GP Men:
Fergus Cooper is the only paddler who can reach the required 5 races for end of year and currently sits on the maximum 60 pts after 4 races.
GP Women:
Katie King is the only paddler possible to reach the required 5 races for end of year and sits on the maximum possible 60 pts after 4 races.
Canoe:
No paddler can reach the required minimum of 5 races for an end of year ranking.
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