Fiachra & Anna qualify for Nationals

Congratulations to Fiachra Henry and Anna Corcoran who both qualified for the Athletics Ireland Even Ages cross-country championships with strong performances at the Connacht Championships on Sunday in Galway.

On a superb new course at Southpark in Galway City, just beside Claddagh and the Spanish arch, we had just three athletes in action as Iarlaith O'Brien joined the two older runners in action on what was an ideal day for running.

Fiachra & Anna finished in the top 12 to qualify for the Nationals in Abbottstown at the end of November.

Fiachra produced a very strong race in the U16 boys, running strongly and aggressively in the early stages of a good quality race. Fiachra was as high as seventh at one stage but came under pressure over the latter half of the race. But even as he was being threatened, Fiachra produced a strong finish over the last 300m to ensure an 11th place finish and a place on the Connacht team.

Anna had a tougher experience in her U16 race as she got out strongly and put in a strong first half of the race but struggled a bit on the second half. However, like Fiachra, Anna showed great determination to finish strongly and hold onto 12th place, the last spot on the Connacht team.

Iarlaith O'Brien was bothered by a troublesome injury before the race started but insisted on taking part in the U14 Boys race. Despite being clearly hampered, Iarlaith ran strongly to finish in 30th place.

Congratulations also to Ellie O'Rourke, who trains with our distance gang, on winning the U14 Girls race in Galway with a commanding display, leading all the way before pulling away to a comprehensive win in the final stages. Congrats also to North Leitrim who won the U14 Girls team competition and Leitrim who finished second in the County race.

The action moves to Westport House next Sunday for the Connacht Uneven Ages Cross-country Championships.

Successful Carrick-on-Shannon AC AGM

Thanks to everyone who turned up on Wednesday evening, October 12, for our Annual General Meeting in The Bush Hotel. It wasn't the largest of attendances but we got a good bit of work done so a successful meeting.

Tribute was paid by our Chairperson Mary Finn to all our athletes who performed so well during the past year and in particular Eanna Madden on his great achievements which included competing in the European Senior Track & Field Championships in Amsterdam. 

The following were elected as officers for the coming year: 
Chairperson: Mary Finn
Vice-Chairperson: Clive Glancy
Secretary: John Connolly
Treasurer: Jenny McCabe
PRO: John Connolly
Coaching Officer: Siobhan Murtagh
Adult Co-ordinator: Graham Allen

Treasurer Jenny McCabe delivered her first AGM report and was happy to report on a good financial position for the club.

Secretary John Connolly also reported on the year past (see below) and he paid particular tribute to our internationals Eanna Madden, Clive Glancy and Gerard O'Donnell.

The meeting also passed the following motion: That all selections for County, Connacht and National competitions in individual events and relay teams are at the discretion of the qualified Club Coaches.

Carrick-on-Shannon Athletic Club Secretary’s Report 2016

A short year as it is less than ten months since we held our last AGM. It may be a short time span but it has been a year full of great achievements, some wonderful developments for the club, a few problems but generally, it has been an outstanding year.

An Olympic year always heightens expectations in the athletics world and as a club, we were incredibly lucky to have two athletes chasing Rio qualification. That they didn’t make it does not lessen the excitement we felt at the progress and achievements of Eanna Madden and Gerard O’Donnell throughout the year. At this point, I’d like to congratulate Kinlough’s Breege Connolly who qualified for the marathon in Rio and did the county proud last August - it was great to see another Leitrim person on the Olympic stage.

Eanna won the National Senior 200m, represented Ireland at the European Championships on the 4 x 100m relay team, won National U23 titles indoors and out over 400m and 200m and broke into the top 20 All-Time Irish performances - and he did all of this while battling a persistent hamstring injury that greatly hampered his season. Eanna was a late comer to our sport but what an example of what can be achieved with dedication and focus.

Gerard O’Donnell took second in the Irish Indoor 60m Hurdles and seemed to be building a head of steam as he was destined for Amsterdam. Unfortunately, injury struck incredibly hard, knocking him out for the entire Summer but Gerard is fully back on track. Clive Glancy donned the Irish vest at the European Police Cross-country and turned in an incredible performance. As I wrote last year, Clive, and indeed Eanna & Gerard, is a great example of an athlete who has kept working hard over the years and has made some huge personal breakthroughs.

We didn’t get any National medals at juvenile club or school's level this year and Ellis Conway took home a fourth place medal from the U16 200m at the National Community Games but perversely, 2016 was one of our best years ever in terms of depth of performances. Toyosi Fagbo, Gerard Murtagh, Ellis Conway, Elise Bruen, Sean Brennan, Lauren Reynolds, Fiachra O’Dowd, Sophie McCabe, Luke & Oliver Charles, Diarmuid O’Connell, Dara Holmes, Caitlin Surlis, Evan Corcoran all finished in the top eight in National Finals while the relay teams of Callum Whelan, Brian Finn, Tom McCabe & Fiachra O’Dowd; Dhani Keane, Ben Finn, Daniel Martin & Gerard Murtagh and Patrick Charles, Emmet Regan, Gerard Murtagh and Toyosi Fagbo all qualified for National Indoor Finals.

Once again, I want to thank all our athletes for their hard work and dedication, it makes it so much easier to be a coach when you have athletes as interested and committed as we have.

That work was never as important as the numbers joining the club seems to have exploded again this year. Luckily, we have a dedicated bunch of volunteers and the impact that Siobhan Murtagh, Orla Keaney, Diane Charles, Karen Brennan and, in recent weeks, Donnacha Holmes and Andrew Brennan has had on the old guard of myself, Siobhan Whelan and Mary O’Donnell cannot be understated. It has restored our enthusiasm and it is a joy to go to training with so many willing hands there to help out.

Having said that, we desperately need more helpers, people who are willing to roll their sleeves up and help out. Everyone is more than welcome to help out as we cannot rely on the same core group of volunteers forever. Remember, we all started out as newbies and every little bit of help is desperately needed and gratefully accepted.

Such success does not happen without great cost, both in terms of time and effort but also financially and our “High Performance Plan” to help support our athletes was a welcome development. But the success wouldn’t happen either with the support and encouragement of our club coaches and our athletes families so well done to one and all. No more than a play on the stage, the stars are out front but an awful lot goes on behind the scenes.

2016 also saw us move to a new supplier of club gear in JOMA/Teamwear Ireland and I think everyone agrees that it has been a huge success. I want to say thanks to KC Sports for their help down through the years. The new JOMA gear has been a massive hit with our members who proudly wear it every chance they get and the fact that there is a club shop online means a lot less work for club officials while the new club vests are simply outstanding.

We also launched a new club website which seems to be a great success and is complimented by our popular Facebook page and is a great way of keeping everyone informed and up to date with club news. We also intend to keep everyone up to date with a newsletter during the athletic year so keep an eye out for that.

Not everything has run smoothly unfortunately and there were a few incidents during the year that upset me personally. I realise parents are concerned for their children but every decision taken in this club is taken with the best interest of the child at heart, be it a decision to enter a child in competition or training arrangements. I can say that without fear of contradiction

I would also like to commiserate with any club members and their families who suffered any bereavements during the year.

I’d also like to thank Chairperson Mary Finn and Treasurer Jenny McCabe for all their work as well as our coaches who were mentioned above while we couldn’t do without Geraldine Lowe, Mary Finn, Jennifer McGwynne who collect our weekly fees.

I want to thank Adrian Jackson, Noeleen Murray Noone and everyone at Carrick-on-Shannon Community School for all their assistance during the year and without the use of the school’s facilities, we would have nowhere to train.

Personally, I want to thank our older athletes who assisted me so much last year when we had such big numbers training outdoors. I wouldn’t have been able to survive without the help of Elise Bruen, Callum Whelan, Cathal McElgunn, Tom McCabe, Brian Finn and Dara Morahan.

Finally, I want to wish everyone a successful year on the track, indoors or out, the roads and the country as we keep the Carrick AC flag flying high.

John Connolly

Secretary

 

Welcome to the 2016-2017 season

Welcome to all our members for our 2016-2017 season. We’d like parents and members to hold onto this sheet as it contains some important information for the year ahead.

CLUB AGM - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12

We will hold our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, October 12, in the Bush Hotel at 9 pm sharp. All parents and members over 16 are more than welcome to attend this very important meeting where we will report on the past year and plan for the year ahead.

TRAINING TIMES

PRIMARY SCHOOL: Tuesday: Athletes aged 8 & 9 5 to 6pm; Athletes aged 10, 11 & 12 6 to 7 pm

POST-PRIMARY: Tuesday: Meet at 6 pm at Sports Complex; Wednesday Gym & Circuits 6 to 7 pm

All sessions are based in or meet at the Sports Complex - Remember there is a €3 weekly fee

CLUB REGULATIONS

• Parents must check if there is sufficient adult supervision at each training session. If there are less than three adults present, training WILL NOT be held. All athletes must be on time.
• All athletes must be on time for training. Warm-ups are vital to help avoid injury
• Athletes must participate in all designated activities at training, unless injured.
• The use of bad language, spitting, physical assault, verbal abuse or name calling will not be tolerated and may result in a warning and/or instant dismissal from the club.
• Athletes must wear appropriate training gear (runners, track-suit, shorts, t-shirt).
• Athletes are requested to respect their fellow athletes, officials, competitors and coaches.
• Equipment is for club use and no abuse of it will be tolerated.

POST PRIMARY GROUP TRAINING

1. Meeting point for all training is the Sports Complex and all athletes must be on time and have their weekly fees paid before 6 pm
2. The  group will leave from the Sports Complex at 6.05 sharp. If you are late, details as to training venue will be left with a club official in the Complex.
3. Athletes must participate in all designated activities at training, unless injured. Training groups are divided based on ability, experience and what events athletes are aiming for. If an athlete is injured or unable to complete a session, they must return immediately to the Sports Complex.
4. Provided the warm-up starts on time, athletes should be back in the Complex by 7.15 after Tuesday sessions.

ONE-WAY TRAFFIC SYSTEM

The management of Carrick-on-Shannon Sports Complex have asked us to point out to the parents of all our members that a ONE-WAY SYSTEM operates in the car park of the Complex.

All motorists MUST enter by the entrance on the main road and exit by the entrance nearest Aura Leitrim Leisure.

With the safety of our members our primary concern, we ask that all motorists exercise the utmost caution in the Complex car park particularly at 5pm and 6pm when there are a lot of young children entering and exiting the Complex.

A failure to do so would see the car park closed for our member's use in the future.

CLUB SHOP

We have teamed up to JOMA/Teamwear Ireland to offer a range of club gear through an Online Shop. Athletes/parents can order gear if and when they want and deal directly with the online shop.

The only item not on the Online Store is the Club Vest which can be purchased through the Club.

The link for the Club Shop is http://www.teamwearireland.com/carrick-on-shannon-1340-c.asp

USEFUL LINKS

Carrick-on-Shannon AC website:  http://carrickac.blogspot.ie/

Carrick-on-Shannon AC Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/carrickonshannon.ac

Carrick AC JOMA Club Online Shop: http://www.teamwearireland.com/carrick-on-shannon-1340-c.asp

Athletics Ireland: www.athleticsireland.ie

HELP WANTED & MORE THAN WELCOME

We are always on the look-out for help, be it coaching, taking an officer’s role in the club, collecting weekly fees on Tuesday evenings or just being a traffic cop to help deal with the big numbers at primary school groups. If you are interested in any role but particularly in a coaching role, we’d be more than delighted to have you. Contact any club official for more details.

CONTACT POINT

If you have queries, contact Club Secretary John Connolly (0879446961), email connollyjohnb@eircom.net or message us on Facebook.

Our Facebook Page is closed to Friends Only so submit a Friend’s Request which will be returned promptly.

FIXTURES

Thursday, October 6: Leitrim Primary Schools cross-country in Leitrim Village

Saturday, October 15: Connacht Primary Schools & Senior League Leg 1 Cross-country in Sligo 12.00

S, October 22: Leitrim County Cross-country in St. Felim’s Ballinamore

Sunday, October 30: Connacht Juvenile Even Ages, Juniors, Senior Leg 2 Cross-country Galway 12.00

Sunday, November 6: Connacht Juvenile Unevens, Senior Leg 3 Cross-country in Mayo 12.00

Sunday, November 27: National Juvenile Evens and Senior Inter Club/County CC in Abbotstown

Sunday, December 11: National Juvenile Unevens and Novice, Dundalk

Saturday, January 14: AAI Indoor League Athlone

Sunday, January 22: National Intermediate Cross-country

Saturday, January 28: AAI Indoor League Athlone

Sunday, January 29: Athletics Ireland Junior & U23 Indoors

Sunday, February 5: AAI Games Athlone

Sunday, February 12: National Masters and B Cross Country Waterford

Wednesday, February 15: AIT International Grand Prix Athlone

February 18/19: Athletics Ireland Senior Indoors Abbotstown

Saturday/Sunday, February 25/26: Western Region Indoors Athlone

Saturday, March 4: IUAA Universities Indoors

Sunday, March 5: Athletics Ireland Masters Indoors

Saturday, March 11: Irish Schools Cross-country Mallusk, Belfast

March 25/26: Athletics Ireland Juvenile Indoors Athlone

Saturday, April 2: Athletics Ireland Juvenile Indoors Athlone

April 7-8: IUAA Universities Track & Field

Saturday, June 10: Connacht Juvenile Team events and U12 T&F in Sligo (Provisional)

Saturday, June 17: Connacht U13-Senior T&F in Sligo (Provisional)