The secondary schools Track & Field competition was held on 21st April in Claremont Stadium. 18 schools were involved this year, 2 more than last year. St Peters College Dunboyne once again took both the girls and boys school titles but by a smaller margin. Next years competition should be a closer contest.
The secondary schools Cross Country competition was put back till the 17th November due to the number of cross country races taking place at the end of September and start of October. The schools felt that the extra preparation time was beneficial, however, it coincided with Christmas exams and therefore some schools did not attend. 16 schools did compete, an increase of 3 on last years figures. As always the grounds and conditions at Gormanston College were perfect.
The wintry weather conditions which we experienced in December affected a number of events both at county and national level. Due to cancellations and rescheduling at a national level, this left few free dates which meant the new interclub cross country competition did not take place as planned. Hopefully it will get up and running next year.
The primary schools Cross Country competition has got underway. Again this was affected by weather conditions, however, we hope to run the county final for this in March. Any schools still wishing to take part can do so. We also hope to run a similar competition consisting of 4 x 100m relays in May.
The implementation of the Little Athletics Programme in the primary schools has continued and is still proving to be very popular. The importance of the work done by Paul Tully, Moira Peppard and previously Adam Geoghegan in the schools cannot be underestimated. Some clubs have experienced an increase in membership following a visit from the team to the local school. Perhaps the most encouraging point is that schools are continually requesting them to return on a more regular basis.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped out over the course of the year. Thanks especially to Sharon, Oprah and all the girls in the office. These events would not have been as successful without all the help we received.
There have been many ideas and plans developed to improve the standards of not only our athletes but also athletics within the county, eg the development squad and the floodlit runs being just two. Sadly we have not fully availed of these and they are missed opportunities. Yes we have some very good athletes who can compete at a National level and who have brought pride to both club and county. However, if we want this trend to continue then we should be focusing on raising the standards within our clubs and supporting such events and suggestions as mentioned above.
Marguerite Higgins
Bridget Clarke
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