Great to see so many athletes make it back to training during the last two weeks and we hope you are all going to keep up your attendance level during the coming months, as attendance levels were very poor during November and December. We don’t expect to be notified every time an athlete has to miss training, but we remind everyone that athletes who go missing for more than 3 weeks without contacting us are deemed to have left the club and places are passed on to those next on the waiting list.

 

Please ensure all athletes bring a coat, hat and gloves to all training sessions, as we are out in all weathers. It is far too cold to be turning up in shorts and t-shirt or hoodie at this stage. 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! Athletes should also wear appropriate runners and clothing to training sessions, as several are wearing astro turf shoes or street shoes and some children come in jeans which are not suitable.

 

 

REGISTRATION FOR 2020

Registration for 2020 is now due and fees remain the same as last year. Club Registration/Insurance is €35 for 1 family member, €60 for 2 family members, €80 for 3 family members or €100 for 4 or more family members. Those who are renewing membership do not need to fill out another form. New members can either download a form from our website www.greystonesac.com under ‘Training Times and Club Info’ or pick one up when checking in at training. This year you can either put fee (with signed form if needed) in an envelope and post it in our club dropbox at reception or pay your fees directly to our bank account during the next two weeks. Acct details: BIC BOFIIE2D, IBAN IE42BOFI90113213191432. It is crucial that you include the athlete’s name in the narrative, otherwise we will not have a record of your payment and your athlete may be refused admission. A small number of athletes owe varying amounts for unpaid weekly subs. during 2019 and these will need to be paid when registering for 2020. A text message with amounts owed will be sent to all concerned this week.

Un-registered athletes will not be allowed on to the track from Tues. 28^th Jan. as they are no longer insured. There will be no exceptions to this!

 

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Jack McGlone on winning the Juvenile Boys Leinster Star Award for 2019, and to Niamh Kearney who won the Senior award. We are delighted to see GAC athletes winning awards again this year. They will receive their awards at the annual dinner on Sat. 15^th Feb. in The Radisson Blu Hotel.

 

 

CLUB AWARDS

Our club Awards night will take place this year on Friday 31^st Jan. at 7pm in Greystones Ridge Angling Club, down at the Harbour. This will take a similar format to previous years, where athletes get certificates for Attendance, Attitude & Achievement during 2019, with those who achieve all three getting an added award. There will also be 5yr, 10yr & 15yr membership awards, Achievement awards & our Athlete of the Year award. Light refreshments will be served afterwards with some treats for the athletes.

While these awards are for athletes who were with us during 2019, all athletes and their families are  welcome to come along and be part of the celebrations on the night. This is a great opportunity to come along and meet our volunteers and maybe have a chat with the people who coach your child each week. To facilitate this Awards night, there will be no training on Friday 31^st Jan. We promise not to keep you all out too late as we hope a large number of the athletes will be competing on Sat. & Sun. in the Leinster Indoors in Athlone. The entry form is on our website and must close Tues 21^st Jan.

 

 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS (Keep a look out for entry forms)

 

National Combined Events Sat 18^th Jan, Athlone Entries closed. Good luck to our athletes competing.

 

 

East Leinster Schools XC Tues 21^st Jan, Avondale. Good luck to our athletes competing.

 

 

National Junior/U23’s, Sat 25^th Jan, Athlone. .Good luck to our athletes competing.

 

 

National Indoor League R2, Sun 26^th Jan, Athlone. Gust entries on the day.

 

 

Leinster Juvenile Indoor Championships Day 1, Sat. 1^st Feb, Athlone. Entriy form closes 21^st Jan.

 

Leinster Juvenile Indoor Championships Day 2, Sun. 2^nd Feb, Athlone. Entry form closes 21^st Jan.

 

Intermediate, Masters, Juvenile B and XC Relays. Sun 8^th Feb. Avondale. Entry form closes 28th Jan.

 

AAI Games, Sun. 9^th Feb., Abbottstown. Entries to Theresa

 

 

Leinster Schools XC , Wed 12^th Feb. Santry

 

 

AIT Grand Prix Wed 12^th Feb, Athlone

 

 

Leinster Star Awards Radisson Blu Hotel Sat.15th Feb.

 

 

Leinster Jun/Sen/Masters Indoor Championships, Sat. 22^nd Feb, Abbottstown. Entries to Theresa by 11^th Feb.

 

 

Leinster Indoor Relays Day 4, Sun 23^rd March, Abbottstown. ( see note below re relay squad)

 

 

National Senior Indoors, Sat.29th Feb and Sun.1st March. Abbottstown. Entries to Theresa by Tues 11^th Feb.

 

AAI Juvenile Star Awards Sat 29^th Feb, Bridge House, Tullamore

 

All Ireland Schools XC, Sat 7^th March, Santry

 

National Masters Indoors, Sun 8^th March, Athlone. Entries to Theresa.

 

RELAY SQUAD

We will be organising training sessions for athletes who are interested in being considered for relay teams at the Indoor Championships on March 3^rd in Abbottstown. Athletes who wish to be considered for teams, will need to attend training sessions regularly. Sign up at training next Tues. & Wed. 21^st/ 22^nd Jan. if you want to be included in the squad. Teams will be selected from the training squad!

 

 

NATIONAL XC IN AVONDALE (VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE)

Athletics Wicklow have the honour of hosting a National XC event this year in Avondale. The event is the National Intermediate & Masters XC with the Juvenile B XC (shorter distances) & the U12/14 Juvenile XC Relays (4x500m). The Juvenile events will be 2019 ages, so a last opportunity to compete in this age group

The event takes place in Avondale on Sat 8^th Feb. and the organising committee will need lots & lots of help to make this a huge success. All County Wicklow clubs must supply at least 8 stewards to cover all positions on the day. If a good number of people volunteer to help out then everyone can do a couple of hours rather than the same few working all day long. You don’t need to have experience at Cross Country as there are many positions to be filled stewarding on the course and helping with directing traffic, car parking etc. etc. Please text Theresa on 0868635797 or contact us through our website if you are available/willing to help out at this event. Names are needed asap, so that arrangements can be finalised quickly. We really need your help, so please volunteer if you possibly can!!!

 

 

CLUB AGM

The club AGM will be held on Thurs. 27^th Feb. at 8pm in Shoreline 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 will not put pressure on anyone, so please come along on the night.

 

 

ATTENDANCE DAY TRIPS

Our club day trips, for those who met the required attendance percentage during 2019, will take place shortly. List of qualified athletes will be posted on the website shortly and full details of trips will be sent out once arrangements are completed. Looking forward to great days out for everyone again this year!

 

 

CLUB SHOP

As we have a number of athletes looking for club gear, the club shop will be open on Tues. 28^th Jan. from 4.45-5pm & from 7-8 pm only, for singlets, shorts, leggings, T-shirts, hoodies, rainjackets, showerproof bottoms etc. We also have a good number of 2^nd hand spikes and hoodies available. If you don’t have club gear a plain T-shirt (preferably red) is fine for the County events. Please note that all athletes competing at Leinster & National events must wear a club singlet or T-shirt and red, white or black shorts! If you have outgrown your spikes & they are in good condition we are happy to exchange them for a larger size, if we have one in stock. We have a good selection at present!

 

 

FINALLY

A reminder to all members that GAC is a voluntary organisation, where all coaches, helpers and committee members give their time freely and without financial reward. Most are trying to fit this in to their already busy lives with work and family commitments, like everyone else. The present group are overstretched trying to cover all the training hours and while we want to offer a big ‘Thank You’ to those who have joined our coaching team in the past couple of months and are delighted to welcome them on board, we are still very much in need of more helpers as we have to maintain the correct ratio of coaches to athletes at all sessions. Help is also needed for about 20 mins. each night to assist with the check-in for the 7pm sessions.