CLUB NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS
Nationals Indoors in Athlone last weekend and it was yet another great weekend for GAC !  We had 5 teams in the National relays on Sat. of which 4 made the finals. The 5th, moving a little

too quickly, unfortunately exchanged just outside the zone just exchanging. Our U16 boys, Josh Pyper, Noah Daly, Louis Lalor & Ben Mooney led from the gun and took the gold medals comfortably, while our U18 girls Alannah O'Carroll, Isabel Kenny, Rosa Kirwan & Ara Freeman put up a great battle to take the bronze, while U17 girls Alannah O'Carroll, Niamh Conroy, Richael Browne & Alana Ryan finished 5th and U13 boys, Joe Prendergast, Danny Jones, James Nicholson & Michael O'Shea finished 6th. Sunday was individual events and all of our 60m sprinters comfortably made their finals. In the U 16 boys Josh Pyper & Ben Mooney put in another terrific effort and this time Josh took the bronze medal with Ben finishing in 4th place. Alana Ryan had another fantastic race, pushing all the way to the line to take yet another gold medal and National Championship in the girls U16. Ara Freeman had her usual fantastic start in the girls U18 and she too fought all the way to the line where she unfortunately took a nasty fall at the finish line. Delighted to report that she is recovering well and has a bronze medal for her efforts. Many thanks to all her well wishers! Cillian & Richael Browne were in action again in the 1500m. Richael had another great race to finish 4th in the girls U17 in a time of 4.58 with Cillian running 4.14 for 8th place in the U19 boys. Amaris Borel & Conor Dempsey both qualified for their 400m finals wih Amaris finish 5th & Conor 6th after a clash at the break line. Alan Gordon cleared 1.30m in the HJ for 12th place. Well done to all who competed and good luck to everyone next Sat. when we get to do it all again!

STILL VERY  IMPORTANT
Please come to training properly prepared for training! Despite constant reminders that we train in all weathers, wind, hail, rain or snow, and regular requests that our athletes always brings warm clothing and a waterproof jacket to training, we still have many who don’t bring sufficient clothing with them. It is easy to remove layers if you get too hot, but there is nothing we can do if you are cold and you don’t have enough clothing with you and you cannot train properly if you are cold. So wear plenty layers, bring a jacket and gloves and don’t forget your water bottle!

AWARDS NIGHT
Our awards night for 2014 has been arranged for Tues. 23rd Apr 2015 and will be held at Charlesland Golf Club at 7pm. Consequently there will be no training that night! Awards for Attitude, Achievement  & Attendance will be presented as well as our 5yr & 10yr club memberships awards, team awards and Senior and Juvenile ‘Athlete of the Year’ for 2014. Refreshments will be served afterwards. All athletes and their families are most welcome. As this is being held on one of our regular training nights we hope that this year everyone will be available to attend. This is a great opportunity to meet the coaches and have a chat!

COACHES MEETING
A reminder to all coaches that we have a coaches meeting tomorrow evening at 8pm at the track. If anyone is interested in getting involved with coaching or helping out at training session, you are most welcome to come along to this meeting.

SPECIAL COACHING SESSION
We are arranging a specialised coaching session for athletes from U12 up (born 2004 or before) who intend to compete throughout the coming Track & Field season. As we have limited places available, athletes who take advantage of this extra coaching will be expected to compete at Leinster competitions as well as at County level.. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis, provided the applicant is a regular attendee at club training sessions.
The coaching sessions will take place on Good Friday 4th Apr from 10.30 – 12.30am and athletes may take part in two events during the morning. Events being coached will be
 Long Jump  High Jump  Hurdles  Javelin/ Turbo  Shot Putt  Discus  Sprints (concentrating on starts/blocks )
Form will be on the website shortly and will close on Wed. 2nd Apr. Please give your name and list three events in order of choice. We will do our best to give you your first two choices, but it may not be possible, when dividing the groups, to facilitate everyone. There will be a €5 fee to help cover costs for the day.
Please note that athletes will need to arrive on time, as the Sports Centre is closed for business on Good Friday and there will be nobody to open the gate once we have gone on to the track. Gates will only be open from 10.20- 10.35  latest. I’m sorry, but we can not be running up and down to open the gate to late comers, as this disrupts the coaching sessions.

RELAY SQUADS
Next training night for our Relay Squads is Fri. 4th April. It is particularly important that all members of the squads attend these training sessions!

UPCOMING COMPETITIONS
XC LEAGUE ROUND 5
Don’t forget that the last race in the XC League takes place on this Friday 27th March in Bray Emmets. Registration 6.30pm. First race 7 pm. This one is even Ages U/ 8, 10, 12, 14.& 15, but athletes can move up one age group. Entry form is on our website www.greystonesac.com  and can be found under  Entry Forms at the top of the page. Entries will close on Thurs 26th at 6pm. Athletes must be registered to compete. Certs to all finishers. Medals are awarded at the end of the League to athletes who accumulate sufficient points by attending regularly.
Please note that there will be no 6-7pm training on this Friday 27th March, as coaches will be at the XC. The 7-8.30pm training will go ahead for those who are not running in the league!

FIT4LIFE RACE
The next Fit4Life race will be held in Shanganagh Park on Thursday 2nd April. Check-in at 7pm, race at 7.30pm. This is open to everyone from 14 up and while there are prizes for each category and some spot prizes, it is very much  a participation event and a great way to start racing.  Refreshments afterwards!

COUNTY ROAD RACE.
The Athletics Wicklow 5k Road Race Championships for Juniors & Seniors men & women will take place in Ashford on Wed 22nd April. Juniors are age 16-19 in 2014. Check in from 6.15 pm.  Start Time 7.00 pm. Entries to Theresa by Sunday 19th April latest.

CO. CHAMPIONSHIPS.
This year’s Wicklow Championships will be held on two evenings & 1 full day, Fri 1st May, Fri 8th May & Sat 9th May. Full programme is posted on the sidebar of our website. entries in advance this year. A reminder will be posted nearer the time!

Forest Feast Launch with GAC 2015

https://youtu.be/XNR7iuI6ufg

SUNDAY RUN

Selection of Relay Teams

UPCOMING EVENTS

Leinster Indoor Champs.

2nd & 3rd March - Leinster Juveniles Day 1&2 - TUS Athlone

 

9th March - Leinster U20, Senior & Masters Champs - TUS Athlone

 

10th March - Leinster Juveniles Day 3 - TUS Athlone

 

ENTRY FORM OPEN!

MINI LEAGUE

R3 of our Juvenile League.

 

New date :Saturday 17th Feb at 11:00 am Venue: Shanganagh Park

 

Sat March 23rd  Greystones

Track

 

Sat Apr 13th Arklow

2K Challenge

REMINDER!!!
Please keep your race number from County XC's, as you will need it again for the Mini League events coming up shortly!