Day 2 of the Finn Valey primary School athletics was again an enjoyable experience went off without a hitch and now its all systems go for May 29th back at the same venue 1 for finals . 31 schools engaged over the 2 days and once again a big shout out to the local officials who do an excellent job each year . Further queries if required re May 29th from Patsy Mc Gonagle 0872226112

Results of the Aviva Leinster Schools Track and Field.

Boys Results
Girls Results

If your club secretary has not yet received an entry form for the 2013 Woodies DIY National League please contact berniedunne@athleticsireland.ie. Closing date for entries is this Friday 17th of May.

Day one of the Finn Valley area primary school athletics was a tremendous success with just in excess of 500 participating and additionally a number of schools that had not engaged previously were present . Good organisation and an enthusiastic response were the themes as youngsters vied for qualifying positions May 29th again at the Finn Valley Centre . Day 2 tomorrow and more of the same fingers crossed for reasonable weather once again .

The final Connacht Development Squad day for the 2012/2013 season will take place at Claremorris AC on Saturday May 25th from 12 noon-3pm. This session will build on the success of recent squads and affords athletes an opportunity to fine tune preparations for the coming outdoor season.

All Connacht athletes aged u15 to u19 in 2013 that finished in the top 3 at a Connacht Schools or Connacht Clubs championships in Indoor T&F, Outdoor T&F, Cross-country or Combined Events in 2012/2013, or are at an equivalent standard, are invited to attend.

Please note, athletes planning to attend MUST email or text AAI RDO Paul McNamara (paul@athleticsireland.ie / 0872693675) to confirm that they will be there by Wednesday May 22nd at the latest.

When doing so athletes MUST also include their chosen event so we can ensure we have sufficient coaching cover for each event. If insufficient numbers confirm attendance in any given event, then that event will not be catered for, and those who have confirmed attendance will be notified of this. Given the proximity to state exams and to Irish Schools T&F it is particularly important that we know exact numbers in advance in this instance.

Athletes are asked to contribute €5 to offset the cost of the event. This will be collected on the day.

Meet at 12 noon in the indoor centre. Training session from 12.15 to 2pm. Guest Speaker from 2.15 to 3pm

Connacht Development Squad
Date: Saturday May 25th
Venue: Claremorris AC
Time: 12 noon to 3pm
Who: Top 3 (or equivalent standard) in any Connacht event in 2012/2013 and aged u15 to u19 in 2013
To attend: Confirm name & event to Paul McNamara (paul@athleticsireland.ie / 0872693675) by May 22nd
Cost: €5
Consider bringing a packed lunch.
Be prepared for inclement weather.

The Irish Team competing at the World & European Championships in Steenbergen, Netherlands over the weekend experienced some very difficult conditions with low temperatures and rain adding to their task.

Eoin Keith covered 234km to be first finisher on the team in 25th place (15th European Champs) with Eddie Gallen covering 212km to achieve 81st (59th European Champs) place. John O’Regan suffered from hypothermia which curtailed his efforts and he covered 162km to finish in 176th place (132nd European Champs). Dan Doherty unfortunately had to withdraw at 78km with injury. Dan has been in very good form recently and was going well when the injury arose.

The team finished in 17th place in the World Championships and 13th in the European Championships.

The team had travelled in the hope of a strong showing after some recent good results and notable performances in this event last year. However luck was against them on this occasion. The team will now focus on recovering before preparing for the upcoming events.

Special mention must go to the support crew of John Collins, Kevin Belton & Gary McConville who did a fantastic job in difficult circumstances.

The Fanahan McSweeney Gathering Sports will take place on Monday June 3rd at 1pm at Mitchelstown GAA Pitch.

GALS & GUYS (Age after Dec 31 2013)
U 6 (2008) 50 m
U 8 (2006) 80 m
U 9 (2005) 80 m, 300 m
U 10 (2004) 80 m, Ball Throw, Mixed Relay
U 11 (2003) 100 m, 300 m, High Jump
U 12 (2002) 100 m, Shot Putt, Mixed Relay
U 13 (2001) 100 m, 600 m, Poc Fada
U 14 (2000) High Jump, Mixed Relay
U 16 (1998) 100 m, 600 m Poc Fada
U 18 (1996/7), Shot Putt, Mixed Relay

Senior (born before 1998):
1500 m, Poc Fada, Wellie Throwing
Mama’s & Papa’s: 100 m
Masters 300m

Entry : €3 Juveniles €5 Adults
Mixed Relay : 2 gals + 2 boys €1 each

Contact: Finbarr McCarthy 086.0712403 / Seamus Fox 087.3589734
FLYER

The Letterkenny AC Sub 4 Minute Mile Challenge Event will take place this Saturday 18th May 2013 along with the official opening of Danny McDaid Athletics Track.

Event by Event Preview

Men 100m

In the men’s 100m, England’s Richard Kilty will be coming to take on the best of the Irish. Kilty, a former European U-23 medallist, nicknamed “The Teeside Tornado” holds a personal best of 10.15 seconds and has been showing some good early season form on the American circuit. Dean Adams, and Chris Russell, along with up and coming athletes Zak Irwin and National Indoor champion Keith Pike will make sure that Kilty doesn’t have it all his own way to show who is the fastest man on the Letterkenny home straight.

Women 200m

Kelly Proper just last week broke the Irish record for the heptathlon in Italy. She will feature in the womens 200m, a distance in which she claimed the National Indoor title earlier in the year. Tir Chonaill’s Mary McLoone will look to challenge Proper on Donegal soil. Louise Holmes, Sarah Lavin & Laura Costello will add further class to the field. Lavin recently recorded a standard for the European Junior Championships in the 100m hurdles, and Costello recorded a standard for the European Youth Olympic Festival over 200m.

Men 400m

Brian Gregan, European finalist over 400m last year, and fastest European indoors this year, will be looking to set his stall out for the World Championships in Moscow in August. Gregan will be challenged over the one lap distance by England’s Luke Lennon Ford who has a PB of 45.23 seconds, which is world class running. This will be some battle and when the lanes even out coming off the final bend, it will be an epic battle to the finish line. However, it is far from a two horse race with four other Irish athletes with bests of 47 seconds, Curtis Woods, Dara Kervick, Jason Harvey and Eoin Mulhall, who will all be looking to steal the thunder.

Women 800m

Womens 800m running has shown a resurgence over the past 12 months with several Irish athletes making the breakthrough to international level. Laura Crowe will lead the field in this event, and with a PB of 2:05, will be looking to get down towards the 2 minute mark. Alanna Lally, who holds a qualification standard for the World Youths Championships for the 400m, will be looking to add the 800m standard, and along with Rachel O’Shea and Clare McSweeney, will further add to the improvement in Irish womens middle distance running, hoping to make it a fast 800m in Letterkenny.

Men 800m

Quoted by many as Ireland’s hottest athletic prospect, local boy Mark English will be looking to impress the home crowd in the 800m. English recently recorded a fine win over 400m in an impressive time of 47.56 seconds, winning the Irish Universities title last month. Having finished 5th in the World Junior Championships last Summer, Mark has already established himself as a world class athlete. Another young talent Shane Fitzsimons from Mullingar will be chasing qualification times for the European Junior Championships, and along with Mark Patterson and Darragh Greene will be looking to get under the 1:50 barrier for the 800m.

Men Mile

The feature event of the meeting will be the mens mile and the field is star studded with Irish and international athletes looking to join the illustrious sub 4 minute club. Showing Letterkenny’s talent at middle distance, local trio of Darren McBrearty, Danny Mooney and Ruairi Finnegan would love to have the honour of running the first sub 4 minute mile on Donegal soil. Derry’s Conor Bradley will also be looking to join his neighbours in this attempt. However, it is from well away from Donegal where the biggest threat will lie. Kenyan’s Jonathon Kiplimo and Hillary Kipkorir will pose a threat, as African distance runners do. Kiplimo recently won the mile race at the Penn Relays in a time of 3:57 so will bring good form in to the race. Belgium’s Jeroen D’Hoedt will also come with a personal best over 1500m of 3:36 and will be looking to go well under the 4 minute mile. Last weekend, D’Hoedt ran 2:22 for 1000m so he is also bringing good form to Letterkenny. There will also be a challenge from England with Anthony Whiteman and James Tartt. Whiteman, a two time Olympian, is the current world record holder for the masters mens mile, having ran 3:58 in Nashville last year. At 41 years old, he became the first man over 40 ever to run a sub 4 minute mile outdoors, with Ireland’s own Eamonn Coghlan having been the first man ever to record a sub 4 minute mile indoors. With such a star studded line up for the 1609m distance, we will hopefully see the first sub 4 minute mile ever recorded on Donegal soil.

Men 3000m

Another athlete with a bright future, John Travers, who had a superb indoor season with a 7:58 clocking to qualify for his first major track championship, will be looking to kick off his outdoor season. London Olympian over the marathon, Mark Kenneally will step down a distance, and will ensure Travers is not alone in the 3000m, also having broken 8 minutes before with a PB of 7:59. Former European Junior Champion over 1500m Colin Costello, double Paralympic champion Michael McKillop, Letterkenny’s own Ciaran Doherty, and recent North Pole marathon winner, Gary Thornton, should all ensure a fast 3000m will be on the cards.

Women 3000m

Double European Cross Country Champion Fionnuala Britton will be the star of the show in the womens 3000m. Britton has shown her promise on the track, having competed in the London Olympics last year over 5000m & 10000m, and also having won a bronze medal at the European Indoors earlier this year over 3000m. She will open her outdoor season in Letterkenny, having recently returned from a period of altitude training. Siobhra O’Flaherty, another athlete with a qualification mark for the European Youth Olympic Festival, will be joined by Eimear O Brien and Teresa McGloin, making it a competitive race.

Men 1 hour track race

This rarely run event will see athletes running against the stopwatch to see how much distance they can run in one hour. John Treacy’s Irish record of 19625m stands since 1987 from Monaco, and it will be interesting to see how close Barry Minnock and Greg Roberts can get to this record. Minnock has a marathon personal best of 2:17 and will tackle the demanding event, and will need to call on all his reserves to hold off the international challenge from Kenya’s Freddy Sittuk. Sittuk recently finished 3rd in the Belfast marathon, and boasts a marathon PB of 2:14. He is currently staying in the North West with training partner Derry’s Greg Roberts, who leads the local charge over the 1 hour race.

Women 1 hour track race

In the womens’ event 1 hour track race, the winner will be assured of an Irish record, as the race has never been run by an Irish woman before. Olympian Maria McCambridge will be looking to see how far she can push this record, having dominated the Irish road racing scene over the past number of years, and the home crowd will be urging her on over the unique distance.

Men 4 x 400m relay

The mens 4 x 400m relay event will provide a fitting finale to the evening of international athletics. The event will include athletes from many different clubs with international selections taking on the best of the Irish talent on display on the night. With two members of Ireland’s 5th placing world class performance at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia just a few weeks ago taking part in individual events, it may just serve up an exciting finish to the track and field programme.

Men Shot Putt

The mens shot putt is shaping up to be one of the events of the meeting and spectators are in for a treat of world class throwing. Denmark’s Kim Christensen and Sweden’s Daniel Stahl hold personal bests of 20.39m and 18.76m respectively. Christensen competed in last Summer’s London Olympics and is known for his crowd antics, and Stahl recently won the European Cup of Winter Throwing in Castellon, Spain. They will be challenged by two of Ireland’s best throwers, multiple Irish champion Sean Breathnach from Galway and Clonliffe’s Tomas Rauktys. In the Junior competition, Finn Valley’s John Kelly will be looking to record another qualification mark for the World Youth Championships.

Women Shot Putt

Niamh Murphy comes in to the womens shot putt with a personal best of 13.04m, and once again Kelly Proper will compete in her third event of the evening, and shows her versatility by working on every aspect of her multi-eventing. This will serve a great opportunity for this, and Fiona Tuite will also be chasing another qualification mark for the World Youth Championships. Local girl Lisa Gibson will be looking to steal a victory for the home crowd and will use her familiarity with the shot circle in Letterkenny to her advantage.

Men Javelin

There certainly will not be too many people keen to stand in the middle of the new Danny McDaid Athletics track when the javelin competition gets underway. It promises to be a hard fought battle between the best of Irish javelin throwers with several having thrown well over 60 metres. Matthew Martin and Aaron Crawford, will return from training in the UK for the competition, and they will face tough opposition from Adam Rice, Danny Mullan and Sean McBride. It will be interesting to see if Damian Crawford’s Strabane charges can take a victory from North Down, who also have decathlete Peter Glass competing. Crawford indeed will compete himself and holds a personal best of 70 metres, and may just show his young prospects how it can be done.

Men High Jump

Kourosh Foroughi leads the field in the mens high jump with a personal best of 2.20m and he will be looking to begin his outdoor season with a good series of jumps. Several other athletes will be looking to get over 2 metres early in the season, with Jaime Murtagh, Andrew Heney & Adam McMullen. McMullen is completing the challenging double of the high jump and 100m, which shows his versatility. Local lads Derek & Aidan Gillespie, and Kevin Grant are also set to feature.

Women Long Jump

Irish record holder Kelly Proper will be looking to set her stall out early in the season, and with her recent successful debut over the heptathlon, it will be interesting to see if this has enhanced her jumping ability. Just as in the 200m, she will be challenged by Tirchonaill’s Mary McLoone, and along with Linzi Herron & Heather Carson, it will make for an interesting competition into the sand pit.

More information and updates on:

www.facebook.com/LetterkennySub4Mile

www.twitter.com/lacsub4mile

Powerade and Athletics Ireland have teamed up to offer Athletics Ireland members the chance to join a training session with 2012 Olympic Champion Jessica Ennis in Sheffield this summer - Plus the chance for Athletics Ireland Clubs to win lots of Powerade Sports Bottles.

Entry into this competition is through nomination by your Club. To nominate someone (or yourself), fill out the entry form which can be found here and submit to your club secretary.

Your club will then decide on a final nomination to be submitted to marketing@athleticsireland.ie. (One nomination per club submitted by Club Secretary will be accepted).

Final club nominations will be placed in a draw and the winner will be announced at The AAI Games on the 9th of June in Morton Stadium.

Closing date for entries is Sunday 2nd June. Competition open to those aged 18+

For more Info See Our Terms and Conditions

The Promotion is open to registered Athletics Ireland members who are residents of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, aged 18 years or over, excluding employees of Athletics Ireland, of the Promoter, their families, its affiliated companies and agents, and anyone else professionally connected with the promotion.

ENTRY FORM
Official Flyer
Like Powerade on Facebook

David Rooney (Raheny Shamrock AC) recorded a double at the Southland Conference in Lake Charles LA over the weekend, winning the 10,000m in 29:50.83 and the 5,000m in 14:22.17.

Tomas Cotter (Dunleer AC) won his third successive MVC steeplechase title in a time of 8:56.87 in Des Moines Iowa.

Jason Smyth (City of Derry AC) was third in the 100m in a time of 10.36 at the NTC Classic in Clermont FL.

Joan Healy (Bandon AC) achieved the European junior B standard when she won the 100m at the South Munster Schools championships at Cork IT on Friday with a time of 11.93 into a head wind of 0.8m/s.

southmunsters_day2

Big Ten Conference Columbus, Ohio
Men’s 1500 M
Heat 3
1 Robby Creese SO Penn State 3:44.93Q
2 Andrew Bayer SR Indiana 3:45.02Q
3 Adam Behnke SR Indiana 3:46.19Q
4 Robby Nierman JR Indiana 3:46.46q
5 Liam Markham FR Illinois 3:46.94q
6 Dan Porter SO Purdue 3:53.31
( Final: 11 Liam Markham FR Illinois 3:56.48)

Southland Conference - Lake Chales, LA
Men 10000 M
1 David Rooney SR McNeese State 29:50.83
2 Jarrett LeBlanc SR McNeese State 30:15.40
3 Matt Johnsen SR Lamar 30:20.62
4 Ryan Creech SO Lamar 30:44.15

Men 5000 M
1 David Rooney SR McNeese State 14:22.17
2 Matt Johnsen SR Lamar 14:37.13
3 Alex Bruce-Littlewood SR McNeese State 14:43.37
10 Ryan Creech SO Lamar 15:09.34

Pac-12 Conference - Los Angeles, Calif.
Women Hammer Throw
1 Cassulo, Chelsea Arizona State 68.00m
2 Ozorai, Jenny Usc 66.26m
3 Storm, Ida Ucla 65.72m
11 Hickey, Aoife Utah 56.50m
56.50m FOUL FOUL

MVC Championships - Des Moines, Iowa
Men 3000 M Steeplechase University
1 Cotter, Tomas Wichita State 8:56.87
2 Betz, Dustin Indiana State 9:00.95

SEC Championships Columbia, Mo.
Men’s 1500 Meter Run
Heat 2
1 Matt Hillenbrand JR Kentucky 3:53.08Q
2 Robbie Farnham-Rose FR Alabama 3:53.40Q
3 Kenneth Cushing SO Missouri 3:53.60Q
6 Anthony Lieghio SR Arkansas 3:55.02

Men’s 3000 Meter Steeplechase
1 Henry Lelei SR Texas A&M 8:38.11
2 Stanley Kebenei SO Arkansas 8:40.23
3 Isaac Spencer SO Texas A&M 8:53.73
7 David Flynn SR Arkansas 9:14.20

NTC Classic Track & Field Meet Clermont FL
Men 100m
Heat 1 Wind: 2.0
1 Keston Bledman TRI 10.14 q
2 Rhoan Sterling CAN 10.32 q
3 Jason Smyth IRL 10.36 q

Wednesday 9th May

Meeting international 2013 de la Grande Région Caraibe Baie Mahault, FRA
100m Haies (84) Finale Vt : +0.0
1 13”15 IDLETTE Lavonne (Dom) REPUBLIQUE DOMINICAINE
2 13”15 JONES Tenaya (Usa) ETATS UNIS 000 _HF SEF/89
3 13”19 COWARD Jackie (Usa) ETATS UNIS 000 _HF SEF/89
4 13”26 NIA Ali (Usa) ETATS UNIS 000 _HF SEF/88 N1
5 13”42 0′ROURKE Derval (Irl) IRLANDE 000 _HF SEF/81 N1
6 13”45 PALACIOS Eliecith (Col) COLOMBIE 000 _HF SEF/87
7 13”49 BELKIS Milares (Cub) CUBA

Atletissima Namur - Namur, BEL
200 metres Sen Hommes
Serie:1 Vent : -1.9m/s
1 Evans Rory 21.20s UK
2 Colvert Steven 21.49 IRL
3 Lighgow Oliver 22.29s Jun 94 UK

100 metres Sen Hommes Finale A
Serie:1 Vent : -1.3m/s
1 Swaray Josh 10.72s UK
2 Hynes David 10.87s IRL
3 Johnen Antoine 11.88s BEL

400 metres Sen Hommes
Serie:1
1 Evans Rory 47.28s UK
2 Morrissey RIchard 47.80s IRL
3 Ennamir Mohssine 48.81s WS

Saut en longueur Sen Hommes Groupe A
1 Krik Chris 7.03m -1.4m/s 85 UK
2 Campener Corentin 6.93m -1.5m/s RESC
3 McMullen Adam 6.91m -0.3m/s IRL

400m haies 0,762m Sen Dames
Serie:1
1 Troest Stina 57.55s Jun DK
2 Dauwens Axelle 57.60s ACME
3 McLean Hayley 57.87s Jun UK
4 McMahon Christine 59.52s IRL
5 Nisha Desai 59.58s UK
6 Coveney Gabrielle 59.62s IRL
7 Richards Shona 61.17s Jun UK

400m haies 0,914m Sen Hommes
Serie:1
1 Rhys Williams 49.11s UK
2 Sumner Ben 51.05s UK
3 Besson Medhi Omara 52.17s FRA
4 Byrne Paul 53.05s IRL
5 Upton Barry 53.58s IRL
6 Magniez Julien 53.93s FRA

As part of Donore Harriers 120th year celebrations, the club is holding a tribute night for Jim McNamara in the form of “This is Your Life” on Sat 18th May at 7.30pm in the Spa Hotel Lucan. The tickets are priced at €15 and are available in the club shop and the office. If you cant make it to the club during the week and would like tickets, please email mauricebahern@gmail.com to make an arrangement.

The night will kick off at 7.30pm in the Boyne Suite of the Spa Hotel, Lucan and will take the form of a “This Is Your Life” tribute to Jim, followed by finger-food, a DJ and dancing until approx 1am.

Jim is a legend in the Athletics World, with his many outstanding achievements, and in Donore Harriers where he has been a member for 50 years and the women’s coach for many of those years. Just recently, Jim was presented with a special AAI Award for outstanding achievement in Athletics.

We hope to see many of the club members there aswell as former members, Jim’s family and friends from the Athletics community.

The SPA Hotel is offering special Room Rates for anyone who wants to stay overnight, but there are only a few left so if you wish to book, do so quickly by calling the SPA at 6208468.

Letterkenny AC’s Ruairi Finnegan was the star performer at Saturdays Donegal Track and Field Championships held in Lifford. In his first race back on the track after a six month lay off through injury, Finnegan ran an excellent 3.50.34 in the 1500m, inside the B standard for the forthcoming European Juniors to be held in Italy in July. The leaving cert student has certainly set down a mark for the season with much more to come.

This was the first Donegal Championships held at the Lifford venue for over 15 years. With a new Mondo track in Lifford, the same as the fast track at last years London Olympics, quick times were expected. Prior to Finnegans European standard, City of Derry’s Conor Bradley ran an impressive 1.53.48 in the 800m. Lifford AC’s Ann Marie McGlynn won the Senior 1500m in 4.30.76, with Galway City Harrier athlete Alanna Lally blazing a trail in the 400m with a 57.68s run. Other impressive performances on the day included Rosses athlete Derek Gillespie taking the senior high jump with a leap of 1.80m and Finn Valleys John Kelly throwing the shot out to 17.35m. Veterans of Donegal Championships Hugh Gallagher from Milford and Killybegs native Bernie O’Callaghan collected golds in the shot and 1500m walk respectively.

A juvenile programme from U12 upwards also saw a number of fine performances from Donegal athletes. The Black twins from Cranford collected medals in the sprints, distance and long jump, Lifford AC’s Charlie McElwaine pipped Letterkenny’s Ben Carr in the U14 1500m, one of the races of the day, while Finn Valley’s Lauren Callaghan and Janine Boyle claimed gold both in the sprint and long jump.

All in all, this was a fine days athletics to bring down the curtain on the Donegal Championships for 2013. With over 200 athletes mid week in Letterkenny and nearly 150 athletes in Lifford on Saturday, this was a very successful Donegal Championships in 2013. A big thank you to all the officials that ensured the full programme ran off successfully and on time. Thanks to Paul and Georgina Drumm for their expertise in bringing electronic timing to Donegal yet again. Thanks to all the clubs and athletes both within Donegal and further afield who turned out to support the Championships.

RESULTS

Dublin City’s O’Connell Street was transformed into a mini-athletics stadium this afternoon to help promote a unique fun-filled family sporting event.

Dublin City Council, together with Athletics Ireland, put on a series of fantastic athletics challenges for all the family in the shape of ‘Street Athletics’, but particularly aimed at children from the age of 6 upwards with the goal of encouraging and inspiring them to continue their sporting endeavours into the future, while have staying active and having real fun with it.

Dublin City’s Lord Mayor Naoise Ó Muirí was delighted with the turn-out and welcomed hundreds of families from near and far to the event.

Along with Athletics Ireland officials, parents and supporters, the Lord Mayor and Mayoress, both keen runners themselves, encouraged all the children on the day to push themselves in the series of varied athletic challenges on offer on O’Connell street, including ‘Speed Bounce’, ‘Standing Long Jump’, and a particular favourite, ‘Speed Gates’, where children had their best sprint efforts over 25 metres electronically timed, while family and friends cheered on outside the historic setting of the GPO.

The atmosphere was aided on the day by the clement weather, the 98FM Big Red Thunder Bus and the fact that O’Connell Street was closed to traffic for the afternoon which really let he children and their parents and friends relax and get stuck into some real active games and challenges.

Joining the young kids on the day to help inspire and cheer them on were one Ireland’s former great race-walking champions Olive Loughnane (Loughrea AC), and Siobhan Eviston (Raheny AC), one of our best up and coming 800m athletes. Both were really impressed with drive and the sheer fun-factor on display from the young challengers!

The main event of the day was the Lord Mayor’s Mile at 4pm which was open to all who fancied a dash on Ireland’s most famous thoroughfare. A sizeable crowd towed the line and ran up, down and around the broad street with gusto and passion, particularly the younger runners who enjoyed trying to outdo their parents and friends.

First across the line was Sligo’s Neal Higgins who broke the tape in a time of 5:53, followed closely behind by the first female finisher Rebecca McNulty of Bray who ran 5:58. McNulty was delighted to be able to run with her two children Noah (9) and Levi (5), who both received, like all runners on the day, a special medal to take home with them.

The real stars of the day however were the hundreds of children who ran, sprinted, jumped and threw themselves into the array of athletic challenges in the centre of O’Connell Street - the 2013 ‘Kids Street Athletics Challenge’ was without doubt a most capital event alright.

Laura Lynn was the focused Charity on the day.

Jane McKenna from Laura Lynn said “LauraLynn were delighted to be the chosen Charity for this event, especially with the lovely involvement of children. LauraLynn, Ireland’s first Children’s Hospice, is now bringing precious care and comfort to sick little ones and their families. A million thanks to all who supported us today, and thank you with to the Lord Mayor and Athletics Ireland and all who took part in this wonderful event”.

Most athletes born in 1997 or 1998 who believe that they will perform inside the guideline standards have submitted an ADC form already, however,

If there is any Youth Athlete (born 1997 or 1998 ONLY) that believes that they will achieve better than the Guideline Standard for the European Youth Olympic Festival 2013 and who has NOT yet submitted an ADC form to the Olympic Council, this must be done immediately by clicking on the link below:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDNfaTdPa3hjOEc0QXlHYjV4ZjFPUEE6MA

On submission of this form, the athlete is asked to also send an email to:

jacqui@athleticsireland.ie stating your name, date of birth, club, your contact email, Event, Season’s best and your Coach’s name and contact details.

If an athlete achieves a performance inside the guideline standards and has not submitted an ADC by the end of this week (May 12th) they cannot be considered for selection as they will not be permitted by the LOC of the competition to compete.

Glenties was the venue today Friday for the first regional Q meet of the 2013 Donegal primary schools athletics at St Columbas Glenties. Despite miserable conditions throughout a full programme was delivered with 200 plus children from the Glenties /Portnoo/Ardara /Killybegs area in action. Further Q meets are organised for Buncrana, Finn Valley ( 2 days ) and the Rosses next week with the finals At Finn Valley Centre on May 29th 10.30 am start.

A new event added to the programme this year is a boys and girls wheelchair 100m which project director Patsy Mc Gonagle has welcomed and hopes to develope further in future years . As with every event such as this a huge shout out goes to the volunteers that organised, the teachers and parents, and on this particular occassion the Principal and staff of the Comprehensive Schol whose welcome was really appreciated .

Once next week is done and dusted its full steam ahead to May 29th . Further details if required from Patsy 0872226112 or email patsymcgonagle@hotmail.com . Its anticipated that in excess of 90 schools county wide will engage this year .

primary-schools-athletics-at-glenties

It was great to see over 150 of the next generation of young athletes out competing on a lovely warm evening at the Finn Valley Centre. From a sprint to a distance race or long jumping to the recently introduced Turbo Javelin, there was plenty on offer for everyone. Whether a child was first or last, each and every one was cheered home by supportive parents and coaches when the most important thing at these ages is that children are participating in and enjoying sport.

Many thanks to all who made the event possible.

RESULTS
Next up in a busy athletics calendar is Day 2 of the Donegal Track and Field Championships for Juveniles, Seniors and Masters which will be held in Lifford this Saturday 11th May with a 12pm start.

The European Race Walking Cup is due to be take place on the 19th of May in Dudince, Slovakia. Athletics Ireland are sending team of seven walkers to the event.

Robert Heffernan (Togher AC ), who placed fourth in the 2012 Olympics, will be looking to better his season’s best time of 1:21:59 which he set down earlier this year in the 20km walk in Lugano, Switzerland.

Cian McManamon (Westport AC), recorded 1:27:35 at the same event and will be hoping to get that little bit closer to the Athletics Ireland World Championships A performance standard of 1:22:30. Olympian Brendan Boyce (Letterkenny AC) achieved the B standard for the 2013 World Championships earlier in April, which sets him up nicely to deliver a good performance in the European Cup.

Micheal Doyle (Tara AC) will be the sole Irish competitor in the Senior men’s 50km walk. Evan Lynch and Luke Hickey (Leevale AC) will both be taking part in the Junior men’s 10km race. Hickey recently achieved a time of 43:52 for the 10km walk - a huge improvement on his previous best of 46:31. This time was also well inside the standard of 44:30 for the European Junior championships in Italy in July.

Olympian Laura Reynolds (Mohill AC) will be the only woman competing on the team and will be racing in the Senior women’s 20km walk.

EVENT

NAMES

COACH

CLUB

20km Senior (M)

Robert Heffernan

Togher AC

20km Senior (M)

Brendan Boyce

Robert Heffernan

Letterkenny AC

20km Senior (M)

Cian McManamon

Micheal Doyle

Westport AC

50km Senior (M)

Micheal Doyle

Daniel Jacinto Garzon

Tara AC

10km Junior (M)

Evan Lynch

Frank Lynch

Clonmel AC

10km Junior (M)

Luke Hickey

Robert Heffernan

Leevale AC

20km Senior (W)

Laura Reynolds

Colin Griffin

Mohill AC

The Roscommon Track and Field Championships are all set for Saturday the 11th May on the AIT track.

Due to the excellent facilities available to AAI Roscommon, all events can be offered to the athletes competing and with the exception of the pole vault, all events will have a competition. There is no Roscommon athlete , at present, training for the pole vault but that will change for 2014.

The competition will start at 11.0 am with entries closing Wed the 8th May.

North Roscommon AC will act as host for the championships on behalf of the county board and will also manage and publish the results. A fantastic day of competition is envisaged.

The Western Regional Track and Field competitions are also being held in Athlone this year with the team events on the 8th June and the individual track and field competition on the 16th June. Two great days of competition are expected.

St. Ronans Athletic Club based in the south of the county of Roscommon have also published details of their new website. The website will be the major source of information for the club and will also publish details of all forthcoming local, county and regional events. All members , past and present , are welcome to contribute to the site: www.ronans.ac

Notice:  Juvenile Track and Field Championships Please note change of Order

Day 3  Saturday 20th July  Inter Club and County Relays    
Day 4  Sunday 21st July Day 3 programme of competition

This change is due to Schools International being held in Ireland this year and accommodating athletes who wish to compete in both.

Athletics Ireland is delighted to announce details of our next Level 2 Coach Education course:

This course is open to all Athletics Ireland registered coaches who have attained Level 1 coaching qualification and have coached at that level for at least one year.

•The course will be three weekends in duration.
•The first weekend will be a ‘generic’ theory weekend.
•The second and third weekends will be event specific.
•Coaches must attend all three weekends and pass both written and practical assessments in order to be certified as a Level 2 Coach in an event area (e.g. Level 2 Jumps/ Level 2 Throws etc.)

Full Details and Dates for 2012/2013 Level 2 Course and on-line registration can be found here