CLUB NEWS & INFORMATION

March proved to be a fairly chaotic month, with high winds, lots of rain & even more snow, which resulted in competitions having to be re-arranged, but we managed to hold all training sessions despite the weather. Well done to all the coaches & athletes who turned up in all weathers to train.

Glad to report that we finally finished the Indoor competitions yesterday and we congratulate all the athletes who performed so well, especially our fantastic medal winners. No time to sit back however as the first of the outdoor track & field events is this coming Thursday evening. Round 1 of the Juvenile League will be held this Thurs. 12th April on the track in Arklow. Check-in at 6.30pm, with 1st race at 7pm. Entry form is on our website and will close on Wed. evening. This one is for even ages, U6,8,10,12,14/15, but athletes may move up one age group, so everyone up to U15 can take part. Round 2 will be held in Greystones on Sat. 28th April.
 
NEW AAI SAFEGUARDING POLICY
As a member of the Athletics Association of Ireland, Greystones Athletic Club adheres to the Child Safeguarding Policy of the organisation. A copy of their new policy is on display on our Notice Board in Shoreline Sports Park, along with all our club policies and also photos & contact nos. of our Child Welfare Officers. You can also find this policy here & on our website. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzJWHOC0iH1qU1BFemt3WHdVd0NvMUNwTDkwUHp3RkNWRXBB/view?usp=drive_web
 
CONGRATULATIONS
Well done to all the athletes who performed so well at the recent Indoor Championships and congratulations to all the medal winners and those who got new PB’s.
Leinsters Results: Gold Medals to Emer McNally in the U16 Long Jump & Triple Jump, with a CBP in the Triple Jump. Gold also to Alana Ryan in the U19 60m & 400m, to Ailbhe Gordon in the U13 Shot Putt and to the U19 boys relay team of Louis Lalor, Noah Daly, Marcus Lennon & John O’Connor. Silver Medals to Joe Prendergast in the U16 800m, 1500m & Long Jump, to John O’Connor in the U18 400m, Aodhan Daly in the U17 Long Jump, Emma Quirk in the U16 Triple Jump, Jack McGlone in the U15 60m & the U13 boys relay team of Daniel Connerty, Rory McNally, Tom McCarthy & Daniel Quirk. Bronze Medals to Sarah Farrell in the U16 60m Hurdles & to Daniel Quirk in the U13 60m Hurdles.
National Results: Silver Medals to Alana Ryan in the U19 200m & to Ellen McNally in the U16 Long Jump
Bronze Medals for Ailbhe Gordon in the U13 Shot Putt & Daniel Quirk in the U13 Long Jump.
 
TRAINING
Our training times are Little Athletics Tues 5-6pm, age 7-11 yrs Tues & Fri 6-7pm, 11+ 7-8.30pm Tues, Wed & Fri. All athletes should strive to arrive on time and all juvenile athletes (up to age 18) must remain on the track until the end of the training session. If your session is finished a little early some evenings, use the opportunity to do some extra stretching after your cool down, but do not leave the track until your coach tells you it’s time to go. If you do need to leave early on occasions, please arrange this with your coach at the beginning of the session.
Attendance at training has been poor for quite a few athletes recently and we will expect to see a big improvement over the coming weeks. We will be working hard to prepare for the Wicklow Championships which are coming up very soon and it’s important not to miss out on the opportunity to try out the different events before the competition.
Please ensure all athletes continue to bring a coat to all training sessions, as we are out in all weathers. While the weather is improving, it can still be very cold on the track in the evenings. It’s easy to take something off when you get too hot, but miserable if you have nothing to put on when you’re cold or don’t have a jacket when it’s raining. Athletes also need to wear suitable runners and not street shoes or Astro Turf shoes, which are unsuitable for athletics.
 
UPCOMING EVENTS
Wicklow Juvenile Track League R1, Thurs.12th Apr, Arklow Track.
Wicklow Sec. Schools T&F, Tues 17th Apr, Shoreline Track, Greystones.
Wicklow Primary Schools Relays, Tues. 24th Apr, Avondale.House & Gardens.
Wicklow Juvenile Track League R2, Sat. 28th Apr., Shoreline Track, Greystones.
East Leinster Schools T&F Day 1, Mon..30th Apr, Santry.
East Leinster Schools T&F Day 2, Thurs. 3rd May Santry.
GAC/IMC T&F event Sat. 5th May, Shoreline Track, Greystones.
Wicklow County Championships, Sat/Sun 12th/13th May, Shoreline Track, Greystones.
 
CLUB AGM
The club AGM will be held this Thurs. April 12th at 8pm. at the Sports Park. All members and parents of juvenile members are invited and encouraged to attend. The AGM is an opportunity for members to find out more about the running of the club, put ideas/suggestions forward and maybe get involved in helping the club to progress in the future. While we would welcome new members on to the club committee or any of our sub committees, we promise we will not put pressure on anyone, so please come along on the night.
 
CLUB AWARDS NIGHT
Our club awards night for 2017 was held in Greystones Tennis Club on Friday. 23rd March and a great evening was had by all who attended. While some didn’t manage to make it, it was great to see so many athletes collecting their Awards for Attendance, Attitude & Achievement during 2017. We had 5yr club membership awards for Ava Foley, Hannah Large, Keelin McGuire, John O’Connor, Sarah O’ Connor, Chase Scully, Troy Scully this year & 10yr club membership awards for Katie Lawless & Conor Dempsey. There were International selection awards for Alana Ryan & Conor Dempsey and Championship Best Performance awards for Alana Ryan & Niamh Kearney. This year the Juvenile Athlete of the Year went to Joe Prendergast, the Senior to Niamh Kearney, the Masters to Carol Costello and the overall Athlete of the Year went to Alana Ryan. A huge Thank You to those who put in all the work preparing for this event and thanks also to everyone who supplied the lovely cakes & to all who helped out on the night. I think the Easter Eggs for all the athletes were probably the hit of the night.
 
CLUB SHOP
The club shop will be open on Tues. 17th April from 4.40 - 5pm & from 7 - 8 pm only, for singlets, shorts, leggings, T-shirts, hoodies, rainjackets, showerproof bottoms etc. We also have a good selection of 2nd hand spikes and hoodies available. Please note that all athletes competing at Leinster & National events must wear a club singlet or T-shirt and red, white or black shorts! This will be the last opportunity to buy club gear before the County Championships!
 
SUNDAY RUN
It would be great to see more GAC athletes attending the organised Sunday Run, which takes place each Sunday we don’t have a competition, in a variety of beautiful locations around the County. All of you are welcome to join in our Sunday run, so hope to see you there, as it’s a very important part of the week’s training, especially for the endurance athletes !!! Venues are posted on our website & FB page each week.

Forest Feast Launch with GAC 2015

https://youtu.be/XNR7iuI6ufg

SUNDAY RUN

Selection of Relay Teams

UPCOMING EVENTS

Closing dates for entries.

Entry form for the Leinster Uneven Ages XC on Sat. 2nd Nov. in Tinahely is closed. Best of Luck to our athletes taking part.