Hub to host athletics finals
New venue for concluding county competitions of 2016
THE LAST county competition to take place for the 2016 season will be held on Sunday, June 12, when the athletics finals will be held in The Hub in Enniscorthy.
This is a major change for Wexford Community Games as these finals have been so much at home, mainly at the Bree G.A.A. grounds, for many years, with Areas like Rathangan, Craanford and Castlebridge-Crossabeg also hosting them. They were also held at the G.A.A. grounds in Wexford on occasions.
This year it is the turn of the now popular Hub in Enniscorthy, with the children really looking forward to having the best of facilities for the occasion, putting it on a par with the grounds in Athlone where the national finals are held in August.
The day will commence with the annual parade of participating Areas which will get under way at 10 a.m. Wexford Community Games are asking all Areas to make a determined effort to have their children dressed in their Area colours with their banners and balloons etc. on show.
This is a great occasion for them and it’s their day to enjoy, so come on managers and parents, do your bit and help out and let’s make it bigger than ever. This could be the first time for many of these children to walk, let alone run, on the tartan track, so give them every opportunity to do so.
Areas are asked to assemble their children on the upper bank of the Hub (the venue’s ‘Hill 16’) by 9.45 a.m. to be ready to set off around the grounds at 10 a.m.
Good luck to one and all and let’s see all the lovely banners and great colours on display. Following the parade there will be a few short speeches from the guests and then the winners of the parade will be announced and presented with their trophies.
The events themselves will commence at 11 a.m. with the Under-10 and Under-14 hurdles for boys and girls, and these events will be run off to the finals before the heats of the sprint events and 200m/600m will get under way.
The boys’ and girls’ marathon will begin at 12 noon and following this there will be a break for half an hour to allow officials and judges and everyone at the grounds to avail of refreshments.
While the sprint heats are under way, the field events will also be taking place. The javelin, discus and long puck events will take place at the rugby grounds, with the high jump, shot putt, long jump and ball throw events infield at the Hub grounds.
These will begin at 11.30 a.m. at both venues and will be continuous during the day, so please inform your competitors that there is not a specific time for a field event. Children competing in these events must be there by 11.30 a.m. or they could miss out. Keep an attentive ear and listen to the announcements.
The afternoon programme will begin with semi-finals and finals of the sprints/200m/600m and middle distance events before the relay events take place. No starting blocks are allowed, but spikes are allowed for the Under-12s and upwards.
In the relay events, the top three placed team winners in each race must attend at the recording table and hand in the names of all members on that specific team (plus substitutes if any). In turn they must also put all the names and information up online by Monday night.
Names cannot be changed from those recorded on the day. Only the names of children recorded on the day can be put up online, or else that team will be disqualified.
Area Secretaries are reminded that each child must have their Area designated number on their singlet. If you have not as yet ordered same, please do so immediately and contact Jason Moran.
These are a ‘must’ on the day and please include on the number the child’s name and event in which they are competing. This is very important for those who will be recording as it makes it quicker to get the children sorted out and to make sure that the child is in his/ her correct race.
A competitor may compete in an individual event and the middle distance race Under-12/14 to qualify for the mixed distance relay. If the competitor has competed in an individual event, they cannot win a medal in the 600m or 800m.
All Area managers are reminded they must clearly mark a red X on the child’s number (who is only competing to make the team) so that the finishing judges can easily distinguish 800m individual medal winners from team winners.
This event is being organised by Wexford Community Games, of which all Areas are a part of, so to ensure that the events run smoothly, your assistance is needed.
Please ensure that you supply at least two people who can come on board and help with an event, be it helping with the paperwork, or helping to measure a distance in a ball throw/long jump etc.
The county gymnastic finals were held recently in the Gorey Gymnastic Club. Wexford Community Games wishes to thank most sincerely Angie Dooley and her team of workers who had everything ready for the occasion and who saw to it that everything went smoothly.
There were some very good entries in the younger girls’ categories and the standard was of a high quality. Thanks also to the judges who gave of their time to adjudicate and help the children, and to all who competed.
The gold medal winners will now go forward to the national finals to be held in Athlone in August.
The boys’ events have been on a decline for a few years but thankfully we did have competition in all age groups.
In the Under-9 section, Aidan Kavanagh, Jamie O’Donnell (Craanford), Alex Gahan, Franciszek Kondracki, James Luff (Gorey), Rory King (BBBCR) and Rory King from Glynn-Barntown competed.
The gold medal went to Aidan Kavanagh, with James Luff taking the silver and bronze going to Franciszek Kondracki.
In the Under-11 category there were just two competitors, with the gold medal going to Tobiah Walters from Gorey and Ron Holman, also from the Gorey Area, taking the silver medal.
Taylor Dench from the BBBCR Area was the only competitor in the Under-13 section and he is on his way to the national finals in Athlone in August. Joining him will be Jamie Doyle, also from Gorey, who won the Under-15 category. A silver medal was won here by Michael Dineen, also from Gorey.
In the Under-9 category, there were 14 young girls in action and close scoring between the top placings. Those who competed were Lara Butler (Glynn-Barntown), Ciara Laffan, Anna Hughes, Jessica Kelly, Alicia McKiernan (Gorey), Ellie Murphy (Taghmon), Samantha Quirke (Rathangan), Katie Crosbie, Chloe O’Brien (Craanford), Sarah O’Mahony, Síle Rowe (Piercestown-Murrintown), Leah Quigley, Holly Tyndall (BBBCR), and Katie Nolan (Bree-Davidstown).
The gold medal went to Alicia McKiernan, with Anna Hughes taking the silver medal and Katie Nolan winning the bronze medal.
In the Under-11 category, 13 children competed: Ciara Doyle, Bebhinn McDonald (Craanford), Robyn Wiggins (Taghmon), Caoimhe Browne, Eabha Martin, Saidhbhe Sheil (Gorey), Orla Griffin, Ellie O’Mahony, Aoibhe Ormonde (Piercestown-Murrintown), Eva Darcy, Ella McCann, Rebecca Prendergast (BBBCR), and Alannah Cummings (Glynn-Barntown). The gold medal winner was Aoibhe Ormonde, with Saidhbhe Sheil taking the silver medal and Caoimhe Browne winning the bronze medal.
In the Under-13 category we had eleven children competing: Eva Murphy, Aoife Quinn (BBBCR), Holly Byrne, Robyn Cousins, Aalayiah Watters (Gorey), Aoife Kavanagh (Craanford), Nessa Dunne, Mary Rowe (Piercestown-Murrintown), Issy Kavanagh (Castlebridge-Crossabeg), Aine Doran (Kilrush-Askamore) and Saoirse McDonald.
The gold medal winner was Robyn Cousins, with the silver going to Aalayiah Watters, and Aoife Kavanagh taking the bronze medal.
In the Under-15 category, Ali Bushe, Sarah Gleeson, Nian McCormack (Gorey) and Róisín Kennedy from Kilrush-Askamore competed, with the gold medal going to Ali Bushe, silver to Nian McCormack, and Sarah Gleeson making it a clean sweep for Gorey.