Week ending Saturday 11th January
International Debuts for Amy Geoghegan and Phoebe Bate
This coming Saturday, the Club will see its latest International athletes take to the line in an Ireland vest when Amy Geoghegan and Phoebe Bate swap the maroon and white of Mullingar for the green and white of Ireland to compete in Scotland at the Stirling Cross Country, which includes the Celtic International Cross Country. This is a tremendous honour for Amy and Phoebe and for their families. Everyone at the Club wishes them both the very best of luck in what we hope is the start of long International careers. Fresh from team medal success at the European cross country before Christmas, Claire Fagan will also compete for Ireland in Stirling in the u/23 women race and we wish her the very best of luck too. Having someone with Claire’s international experience nearby is sure to be a big help to calm any nerves and anxiety that Amy and Phoebe might feel on their big day.
As a development opportunity, and to give a taste of international competition, the Club made a decision some time ago to send a number of underage athletes to Stirling to compete in the open races. This means that Amy, Phoebe and Claire will have tremendous support from over twenty Club mates, in addition to a large group of parents and coaches that are travelling with the athletes. With so much support, we expect the race will have a real “home-fixture” feel for Amy, Phoebe and Claire.
Leinster Star Awards for 2019
Athletics Leinster recently announced the winners of the Leinster Star Awards for 2019. Based on the results in Leinster Championships in 2019, the award winners for Westmeath are Mullingar’s Vicky Harris (senior athlete), Shauna Leydon (juvenile girl), Charles Okafor (juvenile boy), and Oisin Lane who will receive the race walk Award for Leinster.
Vicky won gold in the 100m and 200m outdoors; Shauna won gold in the indoor triple jump, silver in the outdoor triple jump, and bronze in the indoor hurdles and outdoor shot putt; Charles had a clean sweep of the short sprint titles by winning 60m and 200m indoors and 100m and 200m outdoors; Oisin won both indoor and outdoor walks in new Championship Records and capped of a memorable season with a fantastic fourth place finish in the 10k race walk at the European Youth Olympics in Baku, Azerbaijan. Congratulations to Vicky, Shauna, Charles and Oisin and they will be presented with their Awards at a Gala Dinner in February.
AAI Junior and u/23 Indoor entries
Online entries for the AAI Junior & u/23 Indoors in Athlone IT on Sunday 25th January are currently open but will close next Wednesday. Junior and u/23 athletes enter themselves on-line, but if any Juvenile athlete wishes to compete, please ask your coach or Greg. If anyone is having trouble using the AAI online entry system, contact Greg as soon as possible.
Leinster Juvenile Indoor entries
The Leinster juvenile indoors will take place on the 1st and 2nd of February in Athlone IT. All juveniles who wish to compete must complete the entry form available in the Club at training and return it to Greg in the next two weeks. No form, no entry.
Annual General Meeting
The Club’s Annual General Meeting will take place in the Annebrook Hotel, Mullingar on Friday week at 8pm. We hope see all our adult members attend and the parents of the very many underage athletes who receive training, coaching and guidance throughout the year. The meeting will take about an hour and a half and we urge everyone to show your appreciation of the work done at the Club by attending the AGM. There will be light refreshments served after the meeting.
Westmeath Juvenile Indoors
Athlone IT AC will host the ever-popular Westmeath Juvenile Indoors on Friday evening 24th January. There will be events for boys and girls under 9 to under 17 years of age, but this fixture will be of particular interest to our younger members aged 8, 9 and 10 that are too young to compete in the Leinster Indoors. We don’t have entry details from Athlone IT just yet, but we expect them very soon, so check with Club officials at training this week.
Membership for 2020
Please renew your membership as soon as you can. If you are not registered, you are not insured and cannot train at the Club or take part in Club competition. This is especially important for anyone wishing to compete in the Leinster Indoors in the coming weeks; all entries are online and only AAI registered athletes will be on the system and may be entered. Membership can be paid any night at training. As always, membership can be paid in instalments if it suits you better.
Finally, the Executive and members of the Club extend sincere sympathy to Conor Geoghegan and the Geoghegan and Mooney families on the death of his grandfather, Joseph Mooney, before Christmas and to Rachel Murphy and the Murphy and Dolan families on the recent death of her grandfather, Vincent Dolan. May they both rest in peace.
For the latest results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com.
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