Training will resume on Tues 5^th Jan. for all groups. Coaches gave out programmes or arranged sessions with groups for the holiday period, but many athletes were missing in the weeks beforehand. All competitive athletes who missed this should try to keep running and keep fitness levels up, as competition starts early in January for many of you.

 UPCOMING COMPETITIONS

1. The National 'B' XC Championships are being held in ALSAA (beside the Airport) on Sat. 9^th Jan at 11.30am. These races are open to all athletes who did not medal at the National XC. (correction to previous note, which said qualifiers couldn't run) Races for U11/13/15/17 age groups (2015 ages and athletes can move up 1 yr) and distances are shorter than the 'A' XC Championships. Form is now on the website and entries need to be in asap if you would like an opportunity to represent your Club & your County at this event! Very poor entry so far, but hoping for a big improvement over the next few days.

2. Masters XC (age 35 & up) will take place in Ashford on Sun. 3^rd Jan @ 11am. Entries to Theresa.

3. National Indoor League R1 is on Sat 16^th Jan. Open to all athletes from U17 up. If you are interested in being considered for a team or want to guest at this event, please fill in the form on the website asap. Events for R1 are 60m, 60mH, 800m, LJ, SP, PV

4. Leinster Senior XC, an Open Junior XC and XC Relays for U12/14/16 will be held in Kilmacow on Sun. 17^th Jan. Form will go up on the website shortly for this one.

 CLUB CALENDAR

  If you didn't manage to get a copy of our beautiful Club Calendar before Xmas, you'll be delighted to hear that they are still available. You can buy one when we return to training next week, or pick one up at Shoreline Sports Park! Remember this is a fundraiser and all money raised will go to help support our club and help our fees remain low!

 So far the calendar has not been very well supported. You will appreciate that equipment needs to be maintained and replaced throughout the year. The calendar will become, with your help, a source of regular annual income for this purpose. The calendar contains all competition dates for 2016 known at the time of publishing. Please feed photographs into the club following each event or occasion during the season so that this initiative will be more successful. Support your athletes please. 

 AWARD WINNERS

 Once again Greystones AC athletes are the recipients of both County & Provincial awards, with club athletes winning 3 of the 4 Juvenile award, both the Junior awards in Wicklow and both Juvenile awards in Leinster for 2015.

 Congratulations go to Alana Ryan & Josh Pyper for the U14-16 section, Louis Lalor for the U16-19 section & Ara Freeman & Conor Dempsey for the Junior section in Wicklow. These will be presented in Ashford on Fri. 22^nd Jan. along with awards for International selections and other achievements during the year. Slí Cualann Fit4Life & other club awards will also be presented that night and club members are welcome to come along and support our many winners!

Congratulations go to Alana Ryan & Conor Dempsey for the Leinster Juvenile awards, which will be presented on Sat 9^th Jan. at The Seven Oaks in Carlow. GAC would like to congratulate Tim Grummell on winning the Senior award at Leinster.

 REGISTRATIONS FOR 2016…………..VERY IMPORTANT!

 All club athletes now need to renew their registration/insurance for 2016. Registrations will take place at training times for one week only and athletes who have not registered cannot be admitted to the track on the following week, as they will not be covered by insurance. Club committee members will accept registrations in the room behind the reception area on Tues.12th Jan. Wed 13th Jan & Fri 15^rd Jan. during training times only. Adult registrations can be accepted at Fit4Life training times. If you have changed address or phone number, or wish to change the mob. we use for webtext messages, please fill out a new club form when registering. These forms will be available at registration, or can be downloaded from our website. Up to U19’s need to fill the Juvenile form and Parents/Guardians must sign the form at the back, but please do not sign your child’s name. If your child is too young to sign, just leave that line blank. Athletes born 1997 and before should use the adult form. There is no need to fill another form if details haven’t changed. Fees remain the same as previous years, €30 for 1, €50 for 2, €70 for 3 & €90 for 4 or more family members. The club covers all entry fees for juvenile athletes, but covers team entries only for adults.

Overdue weekly subs. need to be paid off at this time, as we want everyone starting 2016 with a clean slate please. Some athletes owe several weeks fees which need to be paid off right away, as it is unfair that some athletes run up debts when most pay weekly.

Please do not leave registration forms/fees in to the Sports Park Reception at any time as they can not be accepted by the staff. Neither can they be accepted by the coaches on the track. If you cannot make registration week, fees may be put in an envelope with the child's name on it and handed in at check-in during the previous week.

 
HELP STILL NEEDED

 You should be aware by now, following frequent appeals, that the club needs more commitment from parents to participate as leaders or coaches. We have significant gaps in the 6-7 pm session on Tuesday. We are obliged to maintain safe ratios between coaches and athletes. Without your commitment athlete numbers cannot be sustained. Please contact Theresa 0868635797 if you can help!

 TRAINING & WEATHER

 We remind you all once again that we train in all weathers, hail, rain or snow. In the very unlikely event that we ever have to cancel training or an event at short notice, a webtext msg. will be sent to all members/parents! Please ensure that you/your child always brings warm clothing and a waterproof jacket to training. While we may very occasionally have access to indoor facilities, we are generally outdoors regardless of the weather, so come prepared for this! On wet nights, gear bags with your change of clothes can be left in the changing rooms at the sports centre.

We hope all our members had a great Christmas, enjoyed the rest, kept up the running and are now ready to get back to training for the New Season!