Juvenile News
Fixtures for Day 1 and Day 2 of the CCORK COUNTY A.A.I. CHAMPIONSHIPS which take place in May
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Schedule for the upcoming East Cork T&F Championships 2015. Best of luck to all of our Athletes who will be representing the club.
The 38th Annual Ballycotton 10 mile road race took place last Sunday 8th March in glorious spring sunshine. Large crowds gathered from early morning in the beautiful fishing village in East Cork for this much anticipated race. The weather played its part in creating a great atmosphere for this well run event. St. Catherines had 9 athlete’s competing on the day, a smaller than usual number due to injuries. Mike Byrne finished in under 1 hour and also finished in the top 100 athletes home. Both John Beecher, Kevin Hayes and had excellent runs also and finished in the top 200. Our other participants on the day were Catherine Clancy, Alan Carr, Aidan & Patricia Barry and Colin & Georgina Cunningham. Well done to all and also a word of thanks to all those who supported our athletes on the day.
Congratulations to Meghan Carr who recently took part in the indoor track & field championship’s in Nenagh. Meghan competed in many events on the day and achieved a personal best of 4.39m in the long jump, winning her a bronze medal and earning her a place in the Nationals.
As part of the ongoing development of our club and attempting to improve services for our athletes, we have purchased a defibrillator which is located in the club house rooms in Conna Community field. A training course in CPR and AED was completed by coaches and members of our club, St. Catherines GAA and local schools, last Saturday 7th March.
Group Photo at the recent CPR & AED Training
We will be shortly venturing outdoors as the evenings brighten in preparation for upcoming track & field events.
Training continues in the hall on Monday nights from 7 to 8pm for Little Athletics and Thursday nights 8-9pm for all Juveniles.
Adult training continues in Conna pitch on Tuesday 7-8pm and fit 4 life on Wednesday at 7pm.
For more information see our website www.stcatherinesac.org or on Facebook
In conjunction with the GAA the Athletics Club are hosting a seminar on Monday 9th March, 7:30pm Conna Hall. This is available to all juvenile athletes aged 13 and older, adult athletes, coaches and parents of juvenile athletes. We would encourage all eligible athletes to come along and take this change to learn more about the role of diet in their general well being and sports development.
Last Friday 20th February Midleton Park played host to the East Cork Athletics Board awards night. 3 of our juvenile athlete’s received an award in recognition of their All-Ireland achievement during 2014. The awards were presented by Club President Dan McCarty. Here is a brief summary of Laura’s, Meghan’s and Kevin’s achievements.
Meghan Carr
Meghan Carr receiving her achievement award from Dan McCarthy
Meghan was St Catherine’s only juvenile athlete to compete in the nationals track and field events last summer , she jumped 4.03 m in the long jump. Megan has been in top form throughout the cross country season coming 4th in West Muskerry U12 and 2nd in Conna U13. Following on from two very solid performances in the Munster’s , the Nationals took place in Dundalk and Santry where Meghan came home in 7th and 13th place respectively, contributing to her county winning gold and her province silver. Meghan was a member of the St. Catherines’s under 13 team that won bronze in the East Cork cross country in November.
Everyone at St.Catherines’s wishes you the very best as you commence the indoors competitions at the end of February.
Laura Hayes
Laura Hayes receiving her achievement award from Bill Allen
Following on from her silver medal in the East Cork cross country in late September , Laura finished 4th in the girls under 16 in West Muskerry. A week later Laura won bronze on home turf as St. Catherine’s hosted the County A’s . Following on from two solid performances in the Munster’s, Laura participated in the National’s in Dundalk , where she was the 3rd Cork athlete to cross the line winning a bronze medal for her county. The previous day Laura was cheering on her father Frank Hayes in the British and Irish Masters International Cross Country in Nottingham.
Prior to winning a bronze for her county and province in Santry , Laura won gold in the East Cork u15 in Carraig-Na-Bhfhear.
Kevin Barry
Kevin Barry receiving his achievement award from Dan McCarthy
It was at the County B’s hosted by St. Nicholas’ that Kevin really tested himself but he would have to wait for the Munster B’s in Watergrasshill before he won his first individual medal and a county gold medal. Thanks to the support and encouragement from club coaches who continued to train and prepare our athletes throughout the winter enabling Kevin the experience of running in an All-Ireland and winning an individual medal and silver for Cork, coming home in an impressive 9th place.
Training continues in the hall on Monday nights from 7 to 8pm for Little Athletics and Thursday nights 8-9pm for all Juveniles.
Adult training continues in Conna pitch on Tuesday 7-8pm and fit 4 life on Wednesday at 7pm.
For well over four decades, Dan McCarthy has made a major contribution to athletics, not just in his local East Cork domain but also at County level. A native of Ballynoe on the Cork/Waterford border, Dan’s first love was hurling in which he won East Cork Junior ‘A’ and ‘B’ medals with his beloved St Catherine’s. With the formation of BLE in 1967 came a new athletic club in the village, also named St Catherine’s. Dan’s involvement here led on to him becoming Vice-Chairman of the East Cork Athletics Board. In September of 1979, Dan was elected Chairman and he remained in that same position until August 2009 – 31 years of service to what was one of the first divisional boards of athletics in this country. During his tenure as chairman, he was responsible for the introduction of a road race championship and also for re-introducing a number of perpetual trophies which had lapsed over the years. Those three decades also saw many well-known athletes emerge from the East Cork region, including two Olympians, Liam O’Brien and Sonia O’Sullivan.
Dan also served for many years as Vice-Chairman of the Cork County Board and it was with great satisfaction he welcomed the revival of St Catherine’s AC in 2009, being elected President on its formation and which position he still holds today. Always willing to help out at any event in a variety of roles, for the vast number of people now involved in road running, Dan McCarthy is the unmistakably figure who fires the starting gun at virtually every race in East Cork.
At probably the best-known event of all, the Ballycotton ‘10’, Dan has been starter on around 35 occasions and has sent an estimated 45,000 runners on their ten-mile journey. There is no doubt that not one of those 45,000 could say they didn’t get a fair start – because impartially, fairness and a willingness to help others have been the hallmark of Dan McCarthy’s sporting life.
He is indeed a worthy recipient of this Hall of Fame award.
Dan McCarthy receiving the Hall of Fame Award
A great crowd from st catherines ac travelled to tallow on 26th for the annual 5k road race. Congratulations to frank hayes who was first home and to caoimhe hayes who was first under 16 girl home and well done to all club members all running very well.
A total of 55 runners and walkers traveled to Conna to support our annual Christmas 3k with proceeds going to St Vincent De Paul. A big thank you to everyone who took part on the night. Thanks also to everyone who helped out. On behalf of St Catherines A.C. we would like to wish you all Happy Christmas and we will see you in the new year. You can find the full results below.
Starting Line
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Congratulations to Laura, Caoimhe and Meghan who recently competed in the All Ireland Juvenile Cross Country Championships which took place in Dundalk on Sunday Nov 23rd and Santry on Sunday 7th Dec. Between them the girls represented County Cork and Munster and won a combination of medals. We are very proud of the girls and everything they achieved. Shortly after their race in Dundalk, one of our senior athletes, Sara, took the opportunity to interview the girls about the day and their experiences:-
Caoimhe
Q: Was the day any different to a normal day’s racing?
A: Yes it was because there were tons at the start and there was a rope in front of you so you couldn’t step over the line.
Q: Which County do you think was the best attended and how many people were there in the race?
A: Most people were from Dublin and there were about 115 in the race.
Q: How did you feel at the starting line?
A: I felt quite nervous.
Q: Would you like to experience it again?
A: Yes I would.
Q: What was the distance of the race and how did you think you would do?
A: It was 4km long and I felt I would do OK.
Q: What was the terrain like?
A: It was a boggy pitch!
Laura
Q: How was the day in Dundalk?
A: It wasn’t as big as a normal All Ireland because we were just back from England and so I was tired, but the atmosphere was good.
Q: Was there much mud in the race?
A: Not as much as other cross countries I have run in but there was still a good bit.
Q: Was the course any easier than other days?
A: It wasn’t a very hard course, it was very flat because it was through pitches but I wouldn’t have said it was easy either.
Q: How did you feel after the race?
A: Tired but I was kind of satisfied with where I came and how I got on.
Q: What was the terrain like?
A: It was fine but a bit rough in places because it was like pitches so the ground wasn’t perfect.
Meghan
Q: How did you find the race?
A: It was good but some of it was hard.
Q: And how many people were in the race, and how far did you have to run?
A: Probably about 200 in the race and the distance was on 2.5km.
Q: What colours did you wear and were you proud to wear them?
A: Yes I was. I wore the Munster jersey and shorts.
Q: Were relatives and friends present to cheer you on?
A: Yes, Laura Hayes and Caoimhe Hayes were there.
Q: Do you enjoy running for St. Catherine’s?
A: Yes I do.
