CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to Alana Ryan, 2013 National 60m indoor champion and to Conor Dempsey who won  bronze medals in both the 60m and the long jump. Conor also finished 4th in the 60m hurdles. Well done also to Padraig Lennon 800m, Aisling Moore triple jump, Steven Diggin and Dylan Grimes Larkin 1500m, who all represented our club so well.  Unfortunately, several of our athletes were unable to attend the Championships, due to illness.

As many members, who had committed to compete in recent competitions, subsequently failed to show, significant sums of money were wasted on entry fees. Requests for payment of those fees are now being issued to athletes who put their names forward for recent competitions and who then failed to take part. We cannot accept further entries from these athletes until these costs have been cleared.

HELP NEEDED
A number of our coaches/helpers are no longer available to us, due to changes in their family/work circumstances and so we are urgently seeking help at all training sessions. Numbers in all training groups remain large and we require two coaches, or a coach and a helper with each group, particularly the younger groups from 6-7pm. We need 8 people each night for the 6-7pm session and at least 5 for the 7-8.30pm sessions.  If you can spare an hour a week, every second week, or even once a month, and are prepared to lend a hand, as a coach or a helper, please call Theresa (0868635797) right away. Nobody will be thrown in over their heads and all help will be greatly appreciated. If you are unsure or have any questions about this, please call and ask …..….. the call is not a commitment! If we fail to get more help, we will be forced to make radical changes to the numbers that we facilitate. Remember the welfare of the children is paramount and your attendance as a helper provides the opportunity for safe participation of the athletes.

AWARDS NIGHT
Our awards night has been arranged for Thurs 18th Apr and will be held at Charlesland Golf Club at 7pm. Awards for Attitude, Achievement  & Attendance will be presented as well as our 5yr & 10yr club membrships awards, team awards and Senior and Juvenile ‘Athlete of the Year’ for 2012. Refreshments afterwards. All athletes and their families are most welcome. This is a great opportunity to meet the coaches and have a chat!

ATTENDANCE DAY TRIP
Atendances at training and competitions are almost tallied up, and the list of athletes who qualify for the Day Trip will shortly be posted on our web-site. This year, to help things run more smoothly, we will be sending an email to the qualifying athlete’s parents to sign up or decline the invite on the new form available. This year’s trip is being held on Sunday 28th April. Athletes should arrive at Bray Bowl at 11am. They will have unlimited access to bowling, qazar, pool, fussball, air hockey, and all games machines for 4 hours. Lunch will be supplied and athletes should be collected at 3pm.

TALKS
We have arranged talks on Nutrition & Hydration for Sat. 20th April at Shoreline Sports Park, Greystones, from 11am -1 pm. Open to all coaches and athletes from age 12 upwards. Please contact Theresa asap if you wish to attend this event, as places are limited.

COACHING COURSE
For those coaches who have not yet done a course, or anyone who would like to start helping out with coaching, there is an Athletics Leader Course on Sat 13th Apr. from 10am-5pm at Shoreline Sports Complex (Gym), Greystones.

XC LEAGUE
The final round of the XC League takes place on the Murrough in Wicklow town on this Fri 5th April. Registration from 6.30pm, races start 7pm. Competition for uneven ages this time. Car parking in either car park on The Murrough (race start is between the two). Please note there are no toilet facilities at this race venue. We are still in the running for the overall trophy, so we need lots and lots of our athletes out on the night to try and win it. Athletes who intend to compete, should text Joanna 0872270167 or Pauline 0861954783 by Thurs. latest. There will be NO TRAINING for our younger athletes on Fri. next, as we hope you will all be down in Wicklow competing!

COUNTY  ROAD RACE
Athletics Wicklow 5K Road Race Championships in Ashford on Wednesday 3rd of April. Registration from 6.15pm. Start Time 7.00pm . Junior/Senior/Masters categories. All athletes participating must be registered with AAI. It would be really great to have Greystones teams in this event. Please contact Theresa (0868635797) if you are available to compete.

RELAY TRIALS
The Leinster relays will be held in Greystones on Sun 19th May and we will be entering a number of teams. We will arrange trials for these relays in the next week or two and anyone interested in being considered for a team, needs to attend these trials. Selected teams will be posted on our web-site shortly after these trials. Where possible, these teams will also compete in the Wicklow Championships on 11th/12th May.