West Waterford Athletic ClubWest Waterford Athletic Club

Senior News,December 24 2023

29th ANNUAL FORDE’S DAYBREAK WINTER LEAGUE.

 

MAKE THE MOVE ON JANUARY 4th AND JOIN THE 470 REGISTERED RUNNERS AT THE WINTER LEAGUE.

 

Once again we were blessed with a beautiful night for round 5 of the Fordes Daybreak winter league as we now take our customary Christmas break. The second half of the West Waterford Athletic Club Fordes Daybreak winter league kicks off again on Wednesday 3rd January at the sports centre, Quanns, Dungarvan at 6.40 pm. A large crowd is expected for the first night of 2024 and we hope that all those of you who have made the New Year resolutions to improve your health and fitness will come on down and join the league and the other .Our motto at the winter league is that it’s never too late, so why not come along and get on your way to a healthier and fitter 2024. Newcomers are welcome each night of the league and if you haven’t been along to date why not come along on January 3rd   and bring a friend or two with you, the more the merrier! Now that we all have had a break from the league it’s time to get back on track and concentrate on the next five weeks of the league. The starting times will vary each week in order to make each run as interesting as possible and also to give us all that extra push and motivation to get to the finishing line as quickly as possible. Don’t forget to look after your reflective bib and your number for the resumption of the league . See you at the Sport’s Centre on 3rd January.

 

CHRISTMAS BREAK INDICATES THE HALF WAY ON LONG COURSE LEAGUE.

 

Last Wednesday night was the last night of the Fordes Daybreak Winter League for 2023 before our break for Christmas and once again there was a great number of 163 running. The first runner home on the night was Deirdre Hassett in a time of 44.30.2nd past the finishing post was Sean O’Hare in a time of 41.55,Sean was running his very first league round tonight so a great start for him. Tara Ni Reachtagain was next with a fast time also of 42.50.You can join in this league any week and we love to see newcomer’s added to the list. There are more people registering for the league each week, so come along and give it a go – in the New Year you have nothing to lose. You can make it a new year’s resolution even and join us for the next five weeks after Christmas starting on January Wednesday 3rd.

 

IT’S A  DESERVED CHRISTMAS BREAK FOR SHORT COURSE RUNNES.

 

 

Conditions were a little misty but temperatures were ideal for the 5th round on the short course  of the Fordes Daybreak winter league before our Christmas break. There was a great number out again last Wednesday when 90 runners took up the challenge, on what was our 5th and final night of the winter league for 203.. It was great to see some new runners that were trying out the league for the very first time as section of the league specifically has first timers and beginners in mind and is a manageable distance for most as it covers 2.4 miles in total. First on the night was Lorraine Ryan 26.05. Lorraine was followed by Tine Crotty in  22.48 and Dearbhla Flynn in 25:15 was next, giving the short course a clean sweep 1,2,3, for the Females in the final round of the year.For the record the first Male to finish was Kilgobnet stalwart J.J.Fitzgerald in 6th place with a time of 18.20.Well done to all competitors over the past number of weeks especially our short course runners many who are trying the event for the first time, do try and keep up a little bit of running over the Christmas break and come back to us fresh and ready for action in 2024.Enjoy the Christmas break and see you all again on January 3rd.

 

 

DUNGARVAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ASSOCIATE SPONSOR.

 

Our sincere thanks to Dungarvan Chamber of Commerce who have come on board to sponsor a spot prize( €25 each) at the Fordes Daybreak winter league. One voucher will be awarded for each of the distances, one for the short and one for the long each night for the remainder of the league. Dungarvan Chamber of Commerce do superb work in representing the businesses and retailers of our town, so this Christmas we urge everyone to buy locally where possible. This week’s voucher winners were short course Fiona O’Rourke  and on the long course it was Eanna Loughrey were the lucky winners.

 

 

LEAGUE LEADERS ON LONG COURSE.

 

 

Grainne Moore

Kellie Shalloe

James Meagher

JJ Fitzgerald

Sean Costin

Michelle Hynes

Michael Cummins

Clodagh Stapleton

Gerry Cummins

Linda Croke

 

After 5 weeks of the league we have 5 men and 5 ladies in the leading 10 position’s, but as we know the real test comes after the Christmas break and you can expect to see many changes at the top end of affairs before this league is finally over, we will publish the points totals on resumption of the league.

 

 

 

LEAGUE LEADERS ON SHORT COURSE.

Conor Hennebry

Colm O’Connell

Mark Dunford

Peter Cunningham

Ian Walsh

John Coade

Ger Reilly

Liam Fitzgerald

Eoin  Walsh

Carol Gaffney

 

 

 

 

 

We currently have 9 from the top 10 placings filled by the Men with just 1 Women in the mix, but plenty to play for yet ,early days. Full tables will be posted after Christmas break keep an eye on the club face book page.

 

 

THANKS TO ALL OUR WINTER LEAGUE RUNNERS AND HELPERS.

 

 

Our final round of the winter league just before our customary break for Christmas, the league will resume again on Wednesday January 3rd.Now that the first half of the league is over we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all those involved in the league as without their help and support the league could not possibly to organise each and every week. We are most fortunate to have a dedicated team of stewards, time-keepers, administrators and traffic controllers who help out week after week regardless of the weather or conditions and we are extremely grateful for their invaluable help. And a very special well done to all of you our winter league runners who have now reached just over the half-way point of this year’s league each and every one of you should be well pleased and proud to have made the start, we wish you all a very happy new year and injury free running 2024 see you all again for the 2nd half of the best league in town on Wednesday January 3rd. Remember please do bring a friend.

 

PLEASE NOTE COLLIGAN CUP- GUESS YOUR TIME TONIGHT AT WINTER LEAGUE.

 

 

We will start back the league for 2024 on January 3rd with the Colligan cup style guess your time run. It’s always a great fun night with just about everyone having a chance of coming out on top on the night. Both clocks will operate in the hall “only” on the night and both will be starting at the same time. For the short course runners the clock will start at 30.30 and it will count backwards, so whatever time you think it will take you to run the league short course route you leave at that time and the first runner past the finish line after the clock hits 00.00 is deemed the winner. The long course runners will have the clock starting at 60 minutes and counting backwards also, again you leave the hall at whatever time you predict it will take you to run the course, the first runner crossing the finish line after the clock hits 00.00 is deemed to be the winner .Simple.!

 

FORDES DAYBREAK WINTER LEAGUE TEE SHIRT.

 

A bespoke long sleeved Tee Shirt  will be awarded to all winter league participants who complete 7 of the possible 10 rounds of the Fordes Daybreak winter league.

 

 

33rd ANNUAL KIELY MONUMENTAL COLLIGAN CUP ON SUNDAY 14TH JANUARY.

 

Date for the diary and one of the most popular events on our calendar is the 33rd  annual Kiely Monumental Colligan Cup which will be held on Sunday 14th January.The Juvenile race starts at 11.00 pm and the Senior event will be at 12 noon. The senior race is over the usual 5 miles Colligan wood circuit and Juveniles will have a single 1-mile circuit to run. The Colligan cup is a unique event in that it is run on a handicap basis where you simply predict your finishing time over a 5 mile run, with the winner being the person who is nearest to that predicted time. This makes the race open to all no matter what your standard is, everyone has the same chance of taking the title. Now in its 33rd year we would like to thank sincerely our sponsor for all of those 33 years David Kiely of Kiely Monumental for his on-going support for the local running club West Waterford AC. So for a great fun event on the yearly running calendar Colligan is where you need to be come Sunday 14th January.

 

 

 

 

2024 TRACK AND FIELD INDOOR DATES ANNOUNCED.

 

13th January National Indoor Masters Athlone 

20th January National Indoors under 20 and 23 Athlone

5th February Day 1 Munster Indoors under 20 and 23 seniors and Masters Nenagh

11th February Day 2 Munster Indoors under 20 and 23 seniors and Masters Nenagh

17th and 18 th February National Senior Abbottstown

ANY MEMBER WISHING TO TAKE PART PLEASE HAVE YOUR ENTRY IN ON TIME TO JAMES 086 8184762.

 

32nd ANNUAL JOHN TREACY DUNGARVAN 10.

 

ENTRIES NOW FULL AND CLOSED.

 

West Waterford athletic club are delighted to announce that entries for our 32nd annual John Treacy Dungarvan 10 mile road race are now full. The event now in its 32nd  year has established itself as a must run race on the Irish road running calendar with participants from all four corners of the country and beyond participating. The race has grown year on year from humble beginnings 32 years ago. This year our entry limit was 3.750  and it is now fulland we look forward to seeing you all on Sunday February 4th 2024.The John Treacy Dungarvan 10 brings together the ideal race combination of fun runners, joggers, club athletes and top class internationals who compete over a fast flat 10 mile course around the historic town of Dungarvan as we all look forward to an even bigger and better event on Sunday February 4th next. To stage such a big event of course requires good sponsor and we are fortunate to have the support many associate sponsors and many local businesses and individuals who are all giving valuable support helping to make the day a great occasion for the town of Dungarvan.

 

€2.760 RAISED AT ST. STEPHEN’S DAY JOLLY JAUNT IN AID OF ST JOHNS SPECIAL SCHOOL HYDROTHERAPHY POOL FUND.

 

 

 

The 22nd annual St Stephen’s Day fun run/walk jointly organised by Dungarvan GAA in association with West Waterford athletic club was held again this year, the weather was ideal which brought out a great  attendance for the popular events which is now in its 22nd year.Once again the runners and walkers dug deep in the pockets and donated €2.760  to this most worthy local cause which will benefit the whole area when it comes to fruition.Grace O’Callaghan on behalf of the Dungarvan GAA club would like to sincerely thank all those who came along in such big numbers and who donated so generously on the morning. Very special thanks once again this year to the Ladies and gent of the catering crew  who provided the cuppa and the sandwiches which greeted the participants on their return to the centre. Thanks also to Tony  who looked after the stewarding and parking.

 

CLONMEL 4.

 

The annual St Stephen’s day Clonmel AC promoted 4 mile road race was held with 424 runners competing the course.First home this year was Local  man Sean Tobin Cl0onmel AC with a time of 17.46 with An Riocht’s Shona Heaslip 19th overall winning the Ladies race in a  time of 20.46 , a new ladies course record. The club had a good number fo athletes who made the trip with Aiden O’Connell 20.56 the first runner home, Damien Murphy  was next in 21.12  and Naoise Mac Murchadha 21.38 was 2nd Junior Man.Kate Veale 22.55 was our first lady finisher  Cathal Reynolds 23.07 was next and Joe Gough 24.47 was first over 70, Madeline Hearne ran a time of 28.31 with Fiona Connell breaking the 30 minutes in 29.13, Michael Coakley who has ran more races in 2023 than many of us put on a pair of runners was 32.14 and Onra Power was next home in 32.25,  Patricja Daly fin8ished in 25.28 one of the clubs newest members David Reynolds finished in 41.35.

 

CLUB MEMBERSHIP 2024.

 

 

The club membership for 2024 can now be paid. The club membership is for the calendar year January to December. The membership stays unchanged at 25 euro. You can pay your membership online by logging onto the athletics Ireland web site and just follow the instruction under membership.

 

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