Hon. President, Fellow Officers & Delegates,
On behalf of all of us I would like to thank our county president Sheila Mallon who attended our functions and events throughout the year. On my own behalf I want to extend a special word of thanks to my fellow officers for all their hard work during the year because without their combined efforts it would be impossible to successfully run the programme of events that we have on our yearly calendar. I want to thank all the clubs who gave their own facilities or organised facilities to host our championships. I would like to thank Philip for all his work during the year especially on the IT end. A special thanks is due to Treasurer Tommy Boshell who in his first year as treasurer kept as tight a rein on our finances as ever Rita did. Thanks is also due to Sharon & her staff in the Sport’s Development Programme, who do so much of the clerical work for us, which facilitates the efficient running of all our events and also to Moira Peppard and her team that bring athletics to the schools. I would like to thank our PRO and all the local media for their coverage of our events throughout the year and the Meath Local Sports Partnership who are doing so much to promote active lifestyles within the community.
It has been a good year both collectively and individually for Meath Athletics. Our juvenile athletes continue to make their mark at National level as is evident by the numbers receiving certificates at our Annual Awards Night. We tend to be stronger in the field events but this year we have seen the emergence of new talent in the younger age groups especially at the National Cross Country Championships.
At this stage I have to thank Gerard Heery for all his work as the senior team manager. The cross-country season was an unqualified success this year with both juvenile & senior teams doing well. The highlight of the cross country calendar was Sara Treacy’s victory in the senior ladies cross country and Andrew Ledwith taking silver in the men’s event. All our junior and adult teams now compete in section A of the all cross country championships – a feat only equalled by three other counties in the country. The disappointing aspect of the senior athletics was the National T&F League team which in 2011 did not seem to have the commitment to the competition that we had in previous years – now maybe this was due to our young team that had quite a few athletes tied up with exams. For 2012 we would hope to renew that commitment and make sure that we are in Tullamore for final’s day in August. As Gerard has said he will no longer managed the National T&F League team I want at this stage to thank him for the effort & work that he has put into his job over the last 5or 6 years - I can assure you unlike Premiership club chairmen I did not give him the push.
Our membership finished the year with a little over 2400 members, which was on a par with 2010. This year with the new club in Rathkenny hopefully we will break the 2500 barrier. The key to this will be maintaining our development in the schools, having top quality coaching for all levels of athletes within the county and that we have more events for all levels of athletes so that the athletics year does not end for some with just the Meath T&F Championships. At this stage I must acknowledge the help & support that we receive from our RDO Bart Rogers. Thanks is due to Maggie Higgins and Brigid Clarke in Development and Tom Clinton in Coaching for all their hard work in this regard. A worrying aspect however is the proposed cuts in the community employment scheme and how this will impinge on our Primary Schools team and also on the work done by the Sport’s Development Project, which is essential to us as a sporting body that relies wholly on the work and time of volunteers.
The beach run was again a great success and I would like to especially thank the members of my own club for their in help making the BBQ successful and to Paddy Mangan for marking out the course.
Last year I said that we needed to establish an athletic club in the north of the county. I am delighted that tonight we will formally welcome the Ratkenny club to the county board. We will help them in every way possible both financially and with coaching expertise to get them started in their first year so that they can get off to a good start. This week while looking at Meath county registrations I certainly have to compliment Ratkenny as already they have 75 members registered.
We will have our National Congress in April and while at this stage the battle lines for positions have not been drawn there will be changes at board level as the President and some of the chairs of national committees have completed their terms in office. I will however endeavour to have our full voting strength of 25 delegates in Cavan to push forward the views of Meath Athletics
Finally, I wish all our athletes, officials, county officers and club members a very successful and enjoyable year.
Brendan Meade
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