CONGRATULATIONS
The last few weeks have been extremly busy for GAC with non stop competition at all levels and it is set to continue for the foreseeable future.
If you didn’t make it down to the track on Sat 10th, you missed out on an absolutely top class competition, which saw many of the top athletes in the country competing here in our town. We witnessed an Irish Record being set in the Men’s 300mH and saw a number of top athletes achieve qualifying standards for upcoming European and World events.

Well done to our young GAC athletes who took on the challenge of competing with seniors in a very high calibre competition. This event is an opportunity for athletes to test their metal against athletes they would not normally meet as a juvenile. It affords our young athletes a “no pressure” arena to gain more experience. Results speak for themselves, with Ara Freeman winning her 100m in 12.87 and clocking 26.46 for the 200m, Amaris Borel clocking 67.37 for the 400mH, Conor Dempsey clocking 54.19 for 400m and in the 800m we had Jamie Lennon with 2.03.14, Richael Browne with 2.25.30 and Aoife Conroy 2.37.10. Tremendous running in far from ideal conditions. We are very proud of all of them!

The previous weekend we had the Wicklow County Championships, where GAC athletes dominated many of the events and produced many fine performances throughout the competition. Club athletes put their hearts and souls into the weekends events and took home barrow loads of medals, with lots and lots of PB's and top class performances! Well done to each and every athlete who came out and competed and a huge Thank You to all the coaches & officials who looked after our athletes and who ensured that this was an excellent Championships for everyone.
It was great to see so much red & white around the track, but it may surprise many to know that we still had well under 50% attendance. Full results on www.athleticswicklow.com  shortly.
A huge amount of preparation work goes into the organisation and set up for events like these and it would not happen without the very dedicated and committed people who put so much time, effort and behind the scenes work into it all.  Many thanks to all involved.

Many of our club athletes were out competing for their schools in the week leading up to these championships and there were a host of great results here also. Those we know about are as follows: Seniors: Padraig Lennon gold in 2K Steeplechase, Cillian Browne gold in 1500m, Katy Conroy silver in 800m, Jamie Lennon set a new PB in 800m,  Intermediate: Amaris Borel gold in 400mH & silver in 300m, Richael Browne silver in 800m & bronze in 1500m, Ara Freeman silver in 100m & 200m, Steven Diggin silver in 1500m, U16: Alannah O’Carroll silver in 200m, Junior: Alana Ryan gold in 100m & 200m, Noah Daly gold in LJ, Rachel Purcell 4th in Jav. Minor:Lorcan Lalor silver in LJ and hurdles, Troy Scully bronze in 1500m.

Greystones AC athlete Niamh Kearney continues her medal winning performances in the US where she took bronze in the 3K steeplechase in 10.38 on Sat and followed up on Sun with a 4.38 in the 1500m. This helped Niamh’s college to a 2nd place finish overall in the Sunbelt Conference. Niamh also picked up a prestigious award from Georga State University  recently. Well done Niamh!

FUNDRAISER
There will be no training next Friday evening as we are holding a fundraising event with the emphasis on FUN. One of our own athletes, Ellie Hartnett, who joined GAC when she was 7 yrs old and who is now studying Physiotherapy in UCD, is heading off to India to spend her summer holidays helping poor children out there. Not only does she have to pay her own expenses, she also has to raise funds for the project. Ellie and her friends ( many are club members) will host a fun event next Fri on the track. Check-in will open at 5.30pm, teams will be arranged and the fun will start. It will be all fun events, Obstacle relays, Wellie throw, Bean bag war, Backwards t-shirt races etc……… fun, fun, fun!  This event is open to everyone (you don’t have to be a club member) all ages and the entry fee is just €3, which goes to the charity. There will be a bucket available also if anyone would like to make a donation. Please come along and support this event!

JAMBOREE
Athletics Ireland are hosting a series of Little Athletics Jamborees around the country to showcase Little Athletics as they have a new sponsor on board. This is a Sportshall Competition for up to U12’s, with fun indoor games and activities and relays which will largely be of a non-competitive nature. Just something for the kids to have some fun with. It will be held in the Hall in Shoreline Leisure Centre in Greystones on Monday May 26th from 7.30-9.30pm. Form will be up shortly and closing date is Fri. 16th May, as they need to get an idea of numbers.

COMPETITIONS
A busy time ahead with
 Date 15/05/14: Primary Schools Invitational event on Thursday next 15th in Greystones
 Date 15.05/14: Fit4Life on Thurs evening 15th in Greystones
 Date 14 & 17/05/14:Leinster schools are on Wed 14th & Sat 17th in Santry
 Date 18/05/14: Round 1 of the National League is in Waterford on Sun 18th
 Date 24/05/14:Leinster Relays and the Leinster Juniors, in Greystones on Sat 24th May.
 Date 26/05/14:Athletics Jamboree, (Up to U12) Mon 26th May in Shoreline Leisure Centre, Greystones

Entry forms are now up for:
  Date 01/06/14: Senior/Masters on Sun June 1st in Tullamore
  Date 02/06/14: U9-U15 Team event on Mon June 2nd in Tullamore.
Entries close on Wed next 14th May. We need teams of four for the ‘Team Event’ This is an excellent competition and fosters a great team spirit, so we would love to see lots of names going down in order that we can fill the teams. 

Forms going up shortly for:
 Date 07/06/14: U9/10/11 pairs and U12/13 Championships Sat 7th June in Tullamore
 Date 14/06/14: U14 up Combined events Sat 14th June in Drogheda
 Date 28& 29/06/14: U14-19 Championships Sat/Sun 28th/29th June in Tullamore
Please watch out for these forms and make sure you don’t miss the closing dates, as we are no longer able to do late entries to these events.

TRAINING
As notified in previous newsletters, athletes who go missing for up to 3 weeks without contacting us to explain why, are deemed to have left the club and their places are given to those on the waiting list. Consequently several names have now been removed from the check-in sheets and these athletes will have to go back on our waiting list if they wish to return. If you have not attended for over 3 weeks, you will no longer be on the list and cannot be admitted to training, as places have been filled. We are constantly under pressure with requests from potential new members to join and these are currently on the waiting list.

ADULT RUNNING
Adult sessions take place on Mon/Wed at  6pm & again at 8.30pm & also Wed/Fri at 10am.  All these are run in conjunction with Shoreline Sports Park, so you don’t have to be a club member. Our road run also continues on Tues evenings at 7.15pm and again we would hope to see lots of additional runners coming along to join the group. This one is for club members, as is the Sunday morning run, but you are welcome to come along for a trial session before joining.

HEALTH & SAFETY REMINDER
We remind parents that they should not drop children off at the track without ensuring there are coaches present. GAC is only responsible for the athletes after they have checked in at the bottom track gate. We recommend that younger children be accompanied to this gate and collected here after their session, to avoid having them wandering around the busy Carpark/Sportspark on their own. We have a limited number of coaches available and cannot supervise drop off/collection, as coaches are trying to get ready for the training sessions.
We take this opportunity to remind parents using the carpark to be extra cautious on the premises. Inconsiderate driving or parking may cause injury to a child or inhibit emergency access. Also note that not all vehicles accessing the carpark during our club times are associated with the club and these drivers may not be anticipating the presence of small child.