CLUB REPORT 2007

Secretaries Report 2006-07

The past 12 months have proven to be a very satisfying spell for the club. The athletes from the club have consistently produced excellent performances in a huge variety of events throughout Ireland and beyond. This success was well earned and is a credit to the athletes themselves and to the many adults who have contributed to the club throughout the year.

The following is an outline of some of the main performances by Sliabh Liag AC athletes in the past year.

Cross Country

Kelly Carr was the star of the cross country season taking a bronze medal in the Donegal under 15 championships and followed it up with another bronze in the under 14 championships in Milford a fortnight later.

Sportshall Athletics

Following a series of trials throughout the County four athletes were selected on Donegal teams for the West Ulster Championships in Enniskillen.

The athletes were

Pauric Carr (Under 15 boys)
Hannah McNelis (Under 13 girls)
Sarah Donovan (Under 13 girls)
Ryan Byrne (Under 13 boys)

All four teams progressed to the Ulster finals with all of the Sliabh Liag athletes getting among the medals.

The Ulster final took place in Antrim in March with the Under 15 boys emerging victorious and earning a trip to the UK finals in Birmingham. Pauric Carr led the Donegal team to victory in the 4 X 2 lap relay .

In the under 13 boys event Ryan Byrne won the high jump and took bronze in the 2 lap race, and was a member of the silver medal winning relay team, the Donegal team finished 2nd overall just missing out on the trip to Birmingham.

The under 13 girls performed well with Hannah and Sarah contributing well to the team but like the under 13 boys they missed out on the trip to Birmingham.

The UK final took place in Birmingham on 22nd April. The outstanding performance from the Donegal contingent came in the Under 15 boys 4 X 2 lap relay final in which they won the silver medal, narrowly loosing out to Birmingham. Pauric Carr led the team on the first leg running what team manager Neil Cullen described as an awesome leg in both the heat and final .

Indoor Competition

The Ulster Indooor Championships took place over 3 days 2in the odyssey arena Belfast and one in Antrim (outdoor)

On Sat 10th Feb Shane O Gara was the only athlete to make the trip to Antrim. It turned out out be a worthwhile journey as Shane took sliver in the shot with a throw of 11.42m.
On Sat 17th Feb a large group of young athletes made the trip to Belfast.

Highlight of the day was a win for Ryan Byrne in the under 15 high jump with a height of 1.49m
Barry Quigg also qualified for Nenagh when finishing 3rd in the 60m hurdles with a time of 11.5sec..

The following day Darragh O Donnell got a very successful high jump season off to a winning start with victory in the under 16 boys event with a jump of 1.55m.
Paul Donovan got on the podium twice finishing 2nd in the high jump with 1.65m and 3rd in the shot with 11.59m.
Ciaran O Leime threw an excellent 13.05m to win the shot.

Irish Indoor Championships Nenagh

While no medals were won at the Irish Indoors many performances were worth noting. No less than three Sliabh Liag athletes were in very close contention in high jumps. Paul Donovan Came closest to a medal finishing 4th with a jump of 1.78m the same height as the bronze medallist.
Both Darragh O Donnell(under 16) and Ryan Byrne (under 15) jumped one height below the bronze medal winner Darragh cleared 1.55 while Ryan cleared 1.50. Barry Quigg made the final of the 60m hurdles.
In the under 17 shot Ciaran O Leime was one place off the medals in 4th with a fine throw of 11.55m.

Outdoor Track and Field

The track and field season ran from April to August with numerous top class performances at local provincial, national and International level.

Carrick VS had an outstanding year winning the best overall school at both the Post Primary track and field championships and winning back the McGinley motors cup as best overall school at the Donegal Vocational schools sports. These two events featured a multitude of fine performances from a whole host of athletes.

At the Ulster Schools E District championships Kelly Carr, Ryan Byrne, Paul Donovan, Ciaran O Leime and Darragh O Donnell all qualified for the Ulster Schools finals.
Best performance at the finals came from Paul Donovan who finished 2nd in the intermediate boys hammer.
Paul then advanced to the Irish schools finals one week later where he improved his personal best to 42.73m to finish 5th.
Paul's good performances earned him selection on the Ulster schools team for the Tailteann Games where he took 3rd place in both the high jump (1.70m) and hammer (44.99m) narrowly missing out on International selection in both events.

Ulster Track and Field

The Ulster championships are the main stepping stone for athletes who wish to progress to the Irish championships. This year they took place on June 9th in Antrim
The following athletes finished in the top 3 positions earning their place in the Irish final.
Pauric Carr, under 16 200m, 2nd 24.73 sec.
Darragh O Donnell Under 16 high jump 1.65m
Chloe O Donnell Under 16 Discus 19.29m
Ciaran O Leime Under 16 Discus 28.89m. Shot, Hammer.
Paul Donovan Under 16 hammer 43.15m, 2nd High Jump 1.80m
Barry Quigg Under 15 Hurdles 2nd 16.50sec, 250hurdles 3rd, 44.2sec
Catriona Haughey Under 17 discus 3rd

Like the Indoor Championships the Irish outdoor championships yielded no silverware despite many good efforts.

National Juvenile Relays

For the first time ever Sliabh Liag AC entered teams in the national juvenile relays, none of the three teams progressed from the heats but the experience will have helped the athletes.

Celtic Games, Antrim Aug 4th

Two athletes were selected for the Ulster team in the Celtic International. Paul Donovan in the under 18 hammer and Darragh O Donnell in the under 16 high jump. Selection alone is a great achievement for this event as only one athlete is selected for each event.
In the competition itself the lads produced what is probably the best day in the history of the club. Darragh improved his PB in the high jump by a massive 10cm to 1,75m to take the silver medal, only beaten on countback. While Paul added more than 4meters to his PB in the hammer to take bronze with a throw of 50.17m.

National Combined Events and B Championships Aug 5th & 6th

The same weekend the national juvenile combined events and B championships took place in Tullamore.
The great weekend which started in Antrim continued in Tullamore. In the combined events Paul Donovan showed no ill effects from his efforts the previous day when taking the silver medal in the Under 17 octathlon. While Simon McIntyre finished 4th in the same event. Ryan Byrne just missed out on a medal in the under 15 pentathlon when finishing 4th.

In the B chamionships a series of fine performances saw the club return with 3 medals. Sarah Donovan got her first taste of national success when taking silver in the under 13 girls shot putt with a throw of 8.00m
In the under 16 shot Natasha Kelly had her best ever result, winning the bronze medal with a throw of 7.22m. In the same competition Lauren Jones was just behind with a throw of 7.15. In the under 15 boys High Jump Ryan Byrne made up for loosing out on a medal in the combined events the previous day by winning the silver medal with a jump of 1.45m.

Community Games Aug 26th

Darragh O Donnell brought the curtain down on a fine season in style by becoming the first Sliabh Liag athlete to win a community games title when taking gold in the under 16 boys high jump.

While success in competition was wide and varied throughout the year in competition it is well worth noting that many athletes who are not on the list above also deserve a mention. Sliabh liag AC at present has the largest group of athletes training on a regular basis in its history. The young club members have shown dedication and a willingness to work that is admirable. Congratulations to all - medal winners and others alike.

RIP

Just before Christmas last year the club lost a great friend and helper with the untimely death of Darren McGinley. It would be difficult to meet a more pleasant helpful individual than Darren. His passing is a great loss to the club and community.

Thank you to the many people who made the club a success in the past 12 months. Hopefully we can continue to improve in the coming year.