COACHING TO BENEFIT

ATHLETICS: The maths are simple: 60,000 members each contributing €3 equals an additional €180,000 that Athletics Ireland will have at its disposal for coaching and development next year, and given the slew of recent underage successes it’s never been more welcome, WRITES CATHAL DENNEHY.

The decision to raise membership fees was made at congress back in April, and since then those at Athletics Ireland have busy working out how to best funnel that finance.

A huge step forward was the appointment of Daniel Kilgallon as National Sprints Coordinator back in May, and last week Athletics Ireland announced Matt Lockett will be the new National Endurance Coordinator, replacing Steven Macklin who has taken up a job as Head Endurance Coach at the Aspire Academy in Qatar.

Dave Sweeney is the current Field Events Coordinator on a part-time basis, though the plan is to make that a full-time position by 2019, allowing three event leads who oversee the various moving parts of Irish athletics.

“In terms of our ability to manage the investment and transition the talent, committed, energetic talent like them is going to make a big difference,” says Paul McNamara, Director of High Performance

The carding scheme, which currently supports 130 athletes, is also set for an overhaul with reduced numbers to allow for more investment in services like training camps, the goal being better allround support for the athletes.