AS THE CLUB IS RUN ENTIRELY BY VOLUNTEERS WHO ALL HAVE DAY JOBS, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR US TO  CONTACT EACH MEMBER INDIVIDUALLY ABOUT COMPETITIONS AND OTHER CLUB INFORMATION, SO WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ OUR REGULAR  NEWSLETTERS  AS THEY CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ATHLETES AND PARENTS.

TRAINING
We are back in action for three weeks now and are settling into our new training regimes. These first weeks back are always hard, as we work on getting fitness levels back up and getting ready for the rapidly approaching Cross Country (XC). Regular attendance at training will help you get fit quickly and will make it easier for you to keep up with your group.

All athletes are expected to attend training regularly and need to bring water with them to all sessions. They should  wear proper runners and tracksuit, shorts or leggings please. Children will not be allowed to train in jeans, sandals or street shoes. If wearing shorts, please bring tracksuit bottoms to wear over them for warm-up & cool down as the evenings are getting cold now. Always bring a light rainjacket to all training sessions, as we do not have indoor facilities if it rains!

Groups 1 & 2 are required  to attend a minimum of two sessions per week to enable them to keep up with the training level. Training sessions take place on Tues/Wed/Fri from 7-8.30pm. While we hope you can do all three, if only doing two nights, it is better to do Tues/Fri or Wed/Fri if at all possible, rather than two nights together with 5 off. We also have an organised Sunday morning run at 10am, which is a very important part of the training week. If you cannot make this, you will need to do the run yourself later in the day.

So far this season the attendance on Fri nights & Sunday mornings is very poor indeed, but we expect to see a huge improvement from here out.

We take this opportunity to remind everyone that athletes who disappear for over 3 weeks without letting us know why, (ie illness, injury etc.) are deemed to have left the club and their places are offered to those on the waiting list. We will always hold the place for an injured/ill athlete and once we are made aware it is not necessary to notified us at every session.

For Insurance reasons, parents and brothers/sisters are not allowed inside the track during training sessions, but are welcome to watch from outside the fence. Please note that the Outdoor Gym Equipment is for age 14 up only and children should not be allowed to play on this! (Health & Safety)

URGENT-------- UPCOMING COMPETITIONS
We are now looking forward to a great Cross Country (XC) season which is coming up very quickly indeed, with the Wicklow XC League begins this coming Fri evening on the Murrough in Wicklow Town.
ROUND 1 : The Murrough, Wicklow Friday 26th September. 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. There will be a toddlers race if required U/6.   Certs for all finishers at League events.
Entry form is now up on the website  and anyone who wants to run this Fri in the Murrough will need to complete it by 6pm Thurs 25th latest.  Athletes must be registered to compete. Cerates 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 this Friday, as coaches will be at the XC. The 7-8.30pm training will go ahead for those who are not running in the league!

County Wicklow XC Championships, (separate events to the league), will take place on the first two Sundays of October. Both events are in Rathdrum this year, exact venues TBC later. The even ages on Oct. 5th and uneven ages on Oct. 12th, both starting at 11am. All registered athletes are eligible to compete in all competitions, as athletes can move up one age group at XC. We will be trying to fill teams for these events, so hope to see everyone making a big effort to attend.. Athletes up to U10 all receive certs for completing their events. Form for Oct 5th will be up shortly.

DAY TRIP
The 2013/2014 club trip for good attendance took place on Sat 20th & Sun 21st Sept. and we are delighted to report that everyone had a really good time at Jumpzone on both days. Well done to everyone who made the 60% attendance and don’t forget that we are already counting for next year. All attendance’s. are counted and scored out of the full number of training nights for the group, with additional points added for attending competitions. If you regularly miss one night a week or miss a week here and there, it is very easy to drop below the qualifying score, so keep your attendance up and add those points for competing, to guarantee making next year’s trip.

CLUB SHOP
The club shop will be open on Tues.30th Sept. from 6-8pm. We have club singlets, shorts, t-shirts, rainjackets, hoodies etc. available. Athletes should have either a club singlet or T- shirt for competitions. All other items are optional. We also have Foam Rollers on sale at a very reasonable €14 if anyone wants one.