Community Games activities under way

WEXFORD COMMUNITY Games held its first meeting for 2018 last week, with newly-elected Chairman Pádraig Byrne taking over the reins for the coming season.

Alongside him was newly-elected County Secretary Michelle Carr. We wish the new committee the very best of luck and know that they will have the support of the other committee members and the affiliated Area committees.

This was a very productive meeting with many topics down for discussion. Sub-committees and updates on games and new rules concerning Leinster Games were also discussed.

This year the first and second rounds of the Leinster team games (where Wexford teams will play Carlow and Kilkenny) will now be played on the one day, in Carlow on April 15.

The Leinster semi-finals and finals will be played in Trim, Co. Meath, on April 29. The closing date for receipt of all entries for the Leinster winners is April 6.

If your team should make it through to the Leinsters and cannot fulfil the fixtures, please let the County Secretary know so that the runners-up may get the chance to represent the county. We will keep you advised about this in the coming months.

To date the county finals of the draughts and chess tournaments have been played. Well done to all the participants and to the winners, and to Bree/Davidstown and Piercestown-Murrintown committees for hosting these events.

Areas should now concentrate on handball, table-tennis, badminton and indoor soccer, and entries are being taken for same. Areas interested in these events should contact the County Secretary as soon as possible.

Other events coming up in the coming months include the table quiz, art and handwriting, swimming, gymnastics, and stage events.

The county swimming finals take place on March 27 at Enniscorthy pool at 10 a.m.; there is a deadline of March 16 for receipt of entries.

The art and handwriting competitions take place in Castlebridge National School on March 11 and times will be given out closer to the event as soon as entries have come in. The stage events will be held in Bree Hall on April 21. The county athletic finals will be held on June 24.

A Development Officer is needed so if there is someone out there in your Area interested in becoming involved, please let the County Secretary know as soon as possible.

Jason Moran, Jim Doyle and Anne Daly offered their services as committee members. Adrian Carr will still take care of the Area maps. An Appeals committee was also elected. Vice-Chairman John Hanlon will be the Chairman of the committee and he will have the assistance of Adrian Carr, Melanie Ryan, Michelle Byrne and Jim Doyle.

The new County Child Officer is Steven Carr. His e-mail address is steven.c@live.ie

The county wishes also to have a female Child Officer, so if there is someone in your Area interested in helping out, again please inform the County Secretary.

A number of Areas have still to affiliate. Please note that the closing date to headquarters is March 31. If your Area is not affiliated by this date, then you cannot compete in any of the summer events, so please get affiliated and don’t disappoint the children in your Area.

We are asking that only the Area Secretary contact the County Secretary with queries and try to keep these queries to evening time (after 6 p.m.) if possible. Queries on any aspect of the games should be directed to the Games Director Jason Moran.

A number of county tracksuits have not been returned from the 2017 season. If there are some still in your Area, please collect them and return to the county committee.

The county are also looking for some Area to store the tracksuits. Melanie Ryan has offered her services with the distribution of the tracksuits for the May and August festivals, and this was gratefully accepted by the county committee.

Garda vetting for a number of volunteers is now out of date. A reminder to Area Secretaries to check and ensure that their officers, team managers and anyone helping out in any way is vetted with Community Games.

The county Secretary has a full list of all vetted so if you need to know who is or is not vetted in your Area, contact the county Secretary. Volunteers not vetted cannot help out at any event.