The Summer Transfer Window closed on Wednesday March 24th. Transfer forms may be submitted at any time but will not be dealt with until the next Transfer Window closes, on August 24th 2021.
Twenty five (25) athlete transfers within the county will be put forward for approval at a Virtual meeting of the Officers of Cork Athletics County Board, on Wednesday April 2nd.
In case of any issues with these transfers, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 0861713500 BY 6PM on Wednesday next, April 7th, at latest
Forename | Surname | Outgoing Club | Incoming Club |
---|---|---|---|
Sean | Crowley | Clonakilty RR | Bandon |
Jess | Collins | Leevale | Belgooly |
Annie Rose | O'Brien | Togher | Belgooly |
Eugene | O'Connor | Eagle | Belgooly |
Cian | Lenane | Carraig na bhFear | Blarney-Inniscarra |
Jamie | Cronin | Liscarroll | Bweeng T.B |
Grace | Cronin | Liscarroll | Bweeng T.B |
Eamon | Flanagan | Abbey Striders | Cork Track Club |
Ben | Donovan | Abbey Striders | Cork Track Club |
Daniel | O'Mahony | Leevale | Cork Track Club |
Barry | Donovan | Leevale | Cork Track Club |
Rachael | O'Shea | West Muskerry | Cork Track Club |
Ken | Ince | Watergrasshill | Eagle |
Paul | Hartnett | Midleton | East Cork |
Neasa | Wall | Togher | Leevale |
Sorcha | Daly | Carraig na bhFear | Leevale |
Sophie | Fuller | Togher | Leevale |
Lucie | Fuller | Togher | Leevale |
Jessica | Strain | Midleton | Leevale |
Claire | O'Connor | Ballintotis | Midleton |
Emma | O'Connell | Liscarroll | North Cork |
Clara | Whelan | Liscarroll | North Cork |
Coleen | Whelan | Liscarroll | North Cork |
Robert | Kelly | Eagle | Togher |
Una | Buckley | St Finbarr's | Tracton |
Inter-County Transfers for Approval
There are ten (10) inter-county transfers, with five coming into Cork, and five going out.
Forename | Surname | Outgoing Club | Incoming Club | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Barry | O'Shea | Midleton | Carrick-on-Suir | |
Shona | O'Brien | Gneeveguilla | Cork Track Club | |
Noreeen | Mackey | Kilmurry Ibrickane N/C | Cork Track Club | Club only |
Kane | Collins | North Cork | Donore Hrs | |
Michael | Kerrin | GCH | Leevale | |
Jessica | Coyne | Dooneen | Leevale | Club only |
Andrea | McNamara | Sportsworld | Midleton | |
Kaodichinma | Ogbene | Leevale | Titans | |
Adam | Farrell | Carraig na bhFear | Waterford | |
Tom | Galvin | North Cork | West Limerick |
There may be other Inter-County transfers being processed by other Counties that have not yet been presented to Cork Athletics.
March 31st 2021
Full details of the updated (March 31st) Government Level 5 restrictions can be found on Gov.ie
Arising from this Government release, Athletics Ireland issued its own updated guidance
Excerpts from these documents
From 12 April
Activity & Guidance
Meeting other households: You can meet 1 other household outside but not in your garden or theirs
Travel: You can travel within your county or within 20km of your home if crossing county boundaries
From 19 April
Elite sport: High performing athletes, as approved by Sport Ireland, can resume. (AAI elites are high-performance athletes who have an exemption to continue to train. These athletes have a letter of exemption from the AAI High Performance Director). [Cork Athletics note: Letters/documents from any other body/person/coach have NIL validity]
From 26 April (subject to prevailing public health situation)
Activity & Guidance
Outdoor sport: Outdoor sports facilities can reopen (for example: pitches, golf courses and tennis courts, other facilities as appropriate)
Underage sport: Underage non-contact outdoor training in pods of 15 or fewer can restart
From April 12th, people may travel within their own county, or up to a radius of 20km from their homes, if that brings them across a county boundary.
There are no races permitted in Ireland for the foreseeable future, however with the May 31st Olympic Marathon Qualification deadline looming, several elite Irish athletes will be attempting to achieve the qualification times, at an event in England, on Sunday April 24th. The event was originally planned for Wrexham, in Wales, however as Wales is still under lockdown, and England has lifted its restrictions, the event has been moved approx. 20 miles away, into England.
As of now, six Irish elites are running, two men; Hugh Armstrong and Mick Clohissey, and four women; Breege Connolly, Ann-Marie McGlynn, and two athletes with Cork Clubs; Aoife Cooke (Eagle AC) and Dylan Hassett (Leevale AC).
Over 50 other Irish athletes from the Republic, along with several more from Northern Ireland, are entered. While those from Northern Ireland are free to travel freely within the UK, those from the Republic, who likely entered, probably some time ago, in the hope/expectation that restrictions would have been relaxed by the time the race is scheduled to take place.
Included are 22 athletes from Cork, who, reportedly, have hired several buses, and several for other Munster counties. Reportedly, a few plan to travel via Northern Ireland [Please don't do this - there will be plenty of media & social media coverage of the event, and the results will be published, and risks grave repercussions for athletics]
It appears that even the six Elite athletes are faced with, severe travel difficulties. Word on the 'grapevine' is that accomodation in the region around the event is proving difficult to get.
Travel out of the country is easier than returning, but those travelling, except those in posession of legitimate documentation from Sport Ireland/Athletics Ireland High Performance Director, are liable to fines.
Returning is more restrictive:
ALL persons MUST have a negative / not detected result from a pre-departure COVID-19 PCR test, taken within 72 hours before their arrival in Ireland
They must complete an online Passenger Locator Form with information about where they are living/staying in Ireland.
They must self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival in Ireland.
In addition, ferry and airline websites state that no passengers will be allowed to travel without the necessary documentation.
Elsewhere, in the past 24 hours, Covid has scuppered the Hamburg Elite Marathon, scheduled for April 11th, as an Olympic Qualifier for Germany's Olympic hopefuls
Athletics Ireland FAQs - July 8th 2020
Return to Activity Guidelines (Previously Issued):
Road Race Event Organiser Guidelines
Road Race Volunteer, Staff and Marshalls Guidelines
Road Race Participant Guidelines
With all the World Marathon Majors now postponed until the autumn, in the expectation that, by that stage, Covid vaccination across the world will have changed the pandemic landscape enough to for health, travel, accommodation and race protocols to have been relaxed sufficiently to enable the events to go ahead.
Races are already happening in the U.S., with varying degrees of Covid protocols. Time will see how the various Covid protocols pan out. The feedback will be of great interest to race organisers and participants alike.
The Glass City Marathon, in Toledo, Ohio, USA, on April 25th, with 10,000 entrants, and a waiting list of 500, recently emailed all entrants, to say that they MUST have a negative Covid test, within 72 hours of the marathon, or else they MUST provide proof of full Covid vaccination, completed at least two weeks before the marathon.
However, for other upcoming large events, it is likely that similar requirements to those being implemented in Toledo will be required for all the components in the majors; travel, accommodation and the race itself.
Saturday March 20th 2021
Last weekend, the 44th Annual Gate River Run, doubling as the US National 15k Championship, took place in Jacksonville, Florida, with a significantly reduced field on previous years. 6,733 finished, from a 2021 cap of 8,000, compared to approx. 12,500 every other year. There were also several hundred in a 5k section of the race.
Covid brought several changes to the event, including the use of two different starts, with several waves going from each wave.
Speaking in the lead up to the event, Race director Doug Allred said that this year’s race would be a little different due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We intend to put in place a number of social distance guidelines,” This field is limited to 8,000 runners at 15K. There are also two different starting lines
“You’ll actually experience the course. Most water stations are still there, they run a little differently, and the finish lines will look exactly the same,” Alred said. “As long as people work together and wear the mask for its intended purpose, I think it will work. It’s a safe event for everyone and most people who come will find it a traditional run. Probably. “
A mask is required except when it is running.
“It needs more,” Alred explained the preparation. “We’re doing some small races and we’re using some of the guidelines we use at River Run to see how they go, so they really worked.”
Probably the key lesson is in the last sentence: “We’re doing some small races and we’re using some of the guidelines we use at River Run to see how they go". For race directors here, get involved with the organisation of smaller events, and see what goes right, what went right and what to improve. All race organisers should be doing that, but now, with Covid hee, we need to share our lessons learnt.
Will similar requirements be the norm for other races? Probably, but time will tell. Large race or small, such requirements would introduce a large burden of administration - Larger events may be able to absorb the workload, or build in scanner systems into their registration, but smaller events probably won't have such luxuries, or the manpower to work them ...time will tell
For the vast majority of us, the past year has been frustrating – and that’s definitely understating things! Everyone is, literally, ‘chomping at the bit’, hoping that racing, as we knew it, will resume again soon. However, even among runners, like the population at large on opening up society in general, opinion is divided as to how to organize races safely. Some people will run in races no matter what, while others remain very apprehensive, with the majority somewhere in the middle.
When it comes to virus transmission, races can be both safe and unsafe. Normally, runners aren’t in large groups, except before the start, and after the finish. Road races are entirely outdoors, with complete ventilation and fresh air. ....But Covid loves social mixing, as do runners and spectators.
In the short to medium term, everyone attending an event will, at the very least, need to complete a Covid questionnaire. Another possibility is that Covid vaccination passports, or proof of immunity, will be required.
Vaccine Passport
In many races, you will have water stations along the course, where volunteers dispense water, sports drinks, energy gels, fruit, and more. You'll certainly have them after the finish.
No race could function without these volunteers. But, there is always some degree of contact as drinks and other material is passed to the runner, and the water stations are often congested areas, with runners gasping and breathing heavily as they get their hydration drinks, gels, bananas and other goodies.
Then there are, particularly in the longer distances, the inevitable few who finish (or not) in distress. Voluntary first aiders must deal with these. Covid has brought a major source of risk for these invaluable first-aiders.
Clearly the return to racing will bring many headaches for organisers, and, while keeping participants and volunteers safe, the control measures and systems, are probably not going to make the race experience more enjoyable for all. It's certainly going to be a learning experience for everyone involved.
Remember ... We all need to look out for each other if we're going to progress in the short/medium term.
Recently, Athletics Ireland published a draft calendar for 2021, including Munster Athletics events.
Following the AAI release, Cork Athletics County Board has provisionally booked the MTU (CIT) Track for the last Sunday in August, and the first two Sundays in September. No events or Age-Groups have yet been assigned to these days, and more dates may be needed.
The format for each day is, as yet, unclear. It would be great - but probably unlikely - if we could have "Normal" T&F days. It may be that we will need to run them similar to the Cross-Country Day held in Riverstick last October, with the site being cleared after each event, hopefully with bigger numbers - we were limited to 200 people on site on that day in October.
Month | Day | Date | Organiser | Event |
---|---|---|---|---|
May | Sat-Sun | 1 - 2 | WORLD ATHLETICS | World Athletics Relays |
May | Sun | 16 | EUROPEAN ATHLETICS | European Race Walking Team Championships |
June | Sat | 5 | EUROPEAN ATHLETICS | 24th European Athletics 10000m Cup |
June | Sat | 5 | ISAA | Irish Schools |
June | Sat | 12 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Games + CE Championships (Youth/Junior/Senior/Master) |
June | Sun | 13 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Games + CE Championships (Youth/Junior/Senior/Master) |
June | Sat | 19-20 | EUROPEAN ATHLETICS | EUROPEAN ATHLETICS First League |
June | Sat | 19 | ISAA | Tailteann Games |
June | Sun | 20 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Junior Championships + U23 specific events |
June | Sat | 26 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Senior & U23 Championships |
June | Sun | 27 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Senior & U23 Championships |
July | Sat | 3 | Munster | Munster U14-U19 Girls T&F Day 1 |
July | Sun | 4 | Munster | Munster U14-U19 Boys T&F Day 2 |
July | Tue | 6 | CCS | Cork City Sports |
July | Thu - Sun | 08-11 | EUROPEAN ATHLETICS | EUROPEAN ATHLETICS U23 Championships |
July | Fri | 9 | Morton | Morton Games |
July | Sat | 10 | Munster | Munster U12 & U13 Girls T&F & Girls Childrens Games |
July | Sun | 11 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI League 1 |
July | Sun | 11 | Munster | Munster U12 & U13 Girls T&F & Girls Childrens Games |
July | Thu - Sun | 15-18 | EUROPEAN ATHLETICS | EUROPEAN ATHLETICS U20 Championships |
July | Sat | 17 | ISAA | SIAB Schools Track & Field |
July | Sat | 17 | Munster | Munster U14-U19 Girls T&F Day 3 |
July | Sun | 18 | Munster | Munster U14-U19 Girls T&F Day 3 |
July | Sat | 24 | Munster | Munster U11-U15 'B' T&F |
July | Sun | 25 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI League 2 |
July | Sun | 25 | Leinster | Leinster Childrens Games and U12 & U13 |
July | Fri - Sun | 30-8 | WORLD ATHLETICS | Olympic Games |
July | Sat | 31 | Munster | Munster Senior & Masters Men & Women T&F |
August | Sat | 7 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Juvenile Day 1 14-19 Championships |
August | Sun | 8 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Juvenile Day 2 14-19 Championships |
August | Sat | 14 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Juvenile Day 3 12-19 Championships (12-13 Field Events) |
August | Sun | 15 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI League Final |
August | Tue-Sun | 17-22 | WORLD ATHLETICS | World Athletics U20 Championships |
August | Sat | 21 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Childrens Games + 12/13 Track Events and CE U14/U15/U16 |
August | Sun | 22 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Juvenile Relays & B Championships |
August | Mon - Sat | 23-28 | IUAA | FISU Universiade (Athletics) |
August | Thu-Sun | 26-29 | EUROPEAN ATHLETICS | EUROPEAN ATHLETICS U18 Championships |
August | Sun | 29 | Cork Athletics | T&F Championships Day 1 |
September | Sun | 5 | Cork Athletics | T&F Championships Day 2 |
September | Sun | 5 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Masters Championships |
September | Fri | 10 | ATHLETICS NORTHERN IRELAND | Northern Ireland International EUROPEAN ATHLETICSP Meet |
September | Sun | 12 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Road Relays |
September | Sun | 12 | Cork Athletics | T&F Championships Day 3 |
September | Sun | 19 | Cork Athletics | Cork Women's Mini-Marathon |
October | Sun | 17 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Autumn Cross |
October | Sun | 24 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI National Marathon Championships (Dublin Marathon) |
November | Sat | 13 | IMAA | British & Irish Masters XC |
November | Sun | 21 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Senior, Junior & Juvenile Even XC Championships |
December | Sun | 5 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI Novice & Juvenile Uneven XC Championships |
December | Sat | 11 | ATHLETICS IRELAND | AAI National 30K World Athleticslks |
December | Sun | 12 | EUROPEAN ATHLETICS | 27th SPAR European Athletics Cross Country |
Win for Alex Wright Highlight for Irish Contingent at Dudince 50 2021
Dudince, Slovakia
Saturday March 20th 2021
Alex Wright, Leevale AC, won today's Men's 35km racewalk, at the Dudince 50 racewalk meet, in Dudince, Slovakia, covering the distance in 2:36:29
Alex Wright
Men's 35k Racewalk Results
Womens 20k
Kate Veale, Brataslava, 2018
Kate Veale, West Waterford AC, walked 1:38:40, in a top-quality womens field, for 22nd place.
David Kenny, Brataslava, 2019
David Kenny, Farranfore Maine Valley AC, walked a 1 second PB for 1:23:06, for 12th place in a very competitive Men's 10k.
Emily McHugh, Podebrady, 2019
Emily McHugh, Naas AC, walked 50:33, for fourth place in the women's 10k, just 3 seconds off her own 50:30 vest, set in Altyus last September.
Birmingham, Alabama, USA
March 13th 2021
NCAA Division II Indoor Mile National Champion 2021
Stephanie Cotter coasting to victory in the NCAA Div II Women's Mile
Results of NCAA Div II Indoor Women's Mile Championship 2021
NCAA Div II Women's Mile Results 2021
NCAA Div II National Indoor Championship 2021 - Women's Mile Final from Webmaster - Cork Athletics on Vimeo.
Stephanie Cotter, Adams State University and West Muskerry AC, retained her NCAA Division II Indoor Mile crown, in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, last night, running 4:51.72. Stephanie won the event in 2019, however the 2020 edition was cancelled due to Covid-19.
Early stages of Women's Mile
The race started at a pedestrian pace, going through the first 400m in approx. 93 sec. Allied Ludge, who eventually finished fourth, then upped the pace, with Stephanie content to follow in the wake, on the inside, with Ludge taking a slightly longer pat outside. Ludge upped the pace with about 600 to go, but Stephanie, looking very comfortable throughout, stuck with her. With just over a lap to go, Stephanie changed gears decisively and went for home, leaving the field trailing in her wake. Going into the first bend on the final lap, Stephanie gave a brief glance to her left, to see if she could see/sense anyone chasing, but there was a large gap at that stage.
Stephanie continued, even easing up coming off the final bend, and literally, jogged across the line. Meantime, Hailey Steff had made a great run over the final two laps, coming from fifth place to take silver, with Ludge, who had led for much of the race, falling back to fourth.
Related Articles
Cork City Sports Athlete of the Month December 2019 - Stephanie Cotter
Stephanie Cotter - NCAA Div II Woman Athlete of the Year 2019
Stephanie Cotter Continues in Winning Way - NCAA Div II Regional 2019
Stephanie Cotter wins RMAC XC Championship and Named NCAA Athlete of the Week
Stephanie Cotter Wins NCAA Div II Outdoor 1500m Title 2019
Stephanie Cotter Wins NCAA Div II Mile Title
Stephanie Cotter Named as Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Female Freshman of the Year 2019
Stephanie Cotter is Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Female Freshman of the Year 2018
Stephanie Cotter Heads for Adams State
Stephanie Cotter Runs for Europe in Edinburgh International 2018
Stephanie Cotter Third in Antrim International Cross-Country 2018
Cork City Sports Athlete of the Month May 2017 Stephanie Cotter
Athletics Ireland TV YouTube Channel
Carl Lewis Sail technique video
Hitch-Kick and Hang technique video
Coaching Aspects of the Shot Put Technique for Young Athletes
Fundamentals of the standing shot put
Glide Shot Put in three simple steps
Athlete Mobility & Injury Prevention
The March 2021 transfer deadline for the return of fully completed transfer forms, Wednesday March 24th, has passed. Any further Transfer Forms that have been received after that date will NOT be accepted, except, only, Inter-County transfers which will have already been processed by the outgoing county.
The next transfer window will close on August 24th 2021
Late Forms are .....Late...and will NOT be accepted for this transfer window - NO EXCEPTIONS
August 2021 Transfers
Transfer forms may be downloaded from the Athletics Ireland website.
The Procedure on the form MUST be followed.
Completed forms should be give/posted to Cork AAI County Board Registrar, John Copithorne, Belgooley, Co. Cork.
By the:
• Member (in the case of a minor by the parent or guardian)
• New Club
• Outgoing Club
• County Board (outgoing club)
• County Boards (out of county club transfer)
• County Boards (inter county transfer)
Incomplete, improperly or incorrectly completed forms will be rejected.
93rd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays
Mike A. Myers Stadium, Austin, Texas, USA
Thursday/Friday March 25th/26th 2021
Grace Mckenzie, McNeese State University and Belgooly AC in action at Texas Relays
Grace McKenzie, McNeese State and Belgooly AC multi-event athlete consolidated her position on the Irish All-Time Pentathlete Tables and, as written in Lake Charle media "one of the greatest in Cowgirl track and field history", when she broke her own McNeese State heptathlon record, scoring 5,734 points, eclipsing her previous record 5,619 by 115 points the 93rd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
McKenzie’s 5,734 total gave her third position, and second college athlete. Overall winner was Taliyah Brooks, Asics, on 6,252 points, with Kristine Blazevica, Texas, second on 5,813.
Grace remains in third place on the Irish All-Time Pentathlete Tables
Grace started with third place in the 100mH, in 13.77 sec, for 1011 points. Next up was the High Jump, in 1.7m, 5th place and 855 points, followed by eight place in the Shot Put, with 11.36m and 6199 points.
On Day 2, Friday 26th, McKenzie was third in the 200-meters, in 24.98 sec, for 889 points. She followed this with second in the long jump, jumping 6.15m (20-2.25), adding 896 points to her score. McKenzie capped off her meet by scoring 577 points in the javelin where she threw 35.26m (115-8)
110m
High Jump
Shot Put
200m
Long Jump
Javelin Throw
Final Overall Position
March 20th 2021
Paddy Coleman, R.I.P.
The Officers and Officials of Cork Athletics County Board extend their condolences and deepest sympathy to the Coleman family; his wife Ann, sons and daughters Claire, Jack, Deirdre and Robert, and his extended family, on the death of our esteemed colleague Paddy Coleman, former Chairman of Youghal AC, and member of several Cork National Senior Cross-Country Championship winning teams.
Paddy's contribution to athletics leaves a lasting legacy
Summerfield, Youghal, Cork / Aghabullogue, Cork
Paddy passed away, suddenly, but peacefully, at the Mercy University Hospital Cork. He will be sadly missed by his wife Ann, sons and daughters Claire, Jack, Deirdre and Robert, grandchildren, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, extended family and friends.
Paddy's funeral will take place privately in keeping with current Government guidelines on Covid 19.
Funeral Mass will be live-streamed on the Church Services website from Our Lady of Lourdes Church, The Strand, Youghal, from 11am Tuesday morning. Alternatively the Youghal Parish website.
Please leave your messages of support for Paddy's family in the condolences section.
Tribute by John Walshe
The death has taken place of Paddy Coleman from Youghal, one of Cork’s outstanding middle-distance runners of the 1960s. Although his career was cut short due to injury, his performances as a 21-year-old during the summer of 1965 are still recalled today.
At the Cork City Sports, one of the finest fields seen in NACA competition assembled for the 1500m. The line-up featured Dick Hodgins of UCC, along with Bobby Buckley (Grange), Denis Buckley (St Finbarr’s) and Mick Heery from Dublin.
At the bell, Hodgins had a slight lead from Heery, Coleman and the two Buckleys. Down the back straight, Coleman made his move and despite the best efforts of Bobby Buckley he held on for victory in 3:53.0, just outside the then Irish NACA record of 3:52.3.
Coleman’s performance won him the prestigious John O Jagoe Memorial Trophy (later known as the American Trophy) for the most outstanding performance at the City Sports.
Four days later, he won the Munster mile title at Cobh in 4:20.0 and then at the NACA championships in Banteer he won his second Irish title, this time again over the classic one mile distance. The time was a slow 4:21.5 (compared to his best of 4:12) but, as he explained a half-century later, “it was all about the winning.”
After such a successful track season in 1965, Paddy was offered a scholarship to East Tennessee State University which he didn’t take up. A problem with deep seated varicose veins would signal a premature end to his all-too short athletics career.
Paddy later became chairman of Youghal GAA and was one of the driving forces behind the wonderful facilities now enjoyed by the seaside club.
Related Articles
Paddy Coleman, Former Youghal Athlete Honoured
Bandon AC Driving Ahead with New Track and Indoor Facilities
March 17th 2021
Bandon AC Facility Schematic by Sadbh Ní Fhlaitheartaigh
Bandon AC is to develop it's own 6 lane all-weather track, complete with filed event areas, along with combined clubhouse and indoor facility, at Clancoolbeg, Bandon, on the Bandon-Kilbrittain Road, approx. 2km from the Bandon Bypass.
The venue will have parking for over 150 cars, along with several buses
Planning Schematic
Track Location - Clancoolbeg, Bandon
The development is a very welcome addition to athletics in Cork, and West Cork in particular, and comes quickly following news of the Mallow track development. Several other clubs have 'works' in the pipeline, so it's an exciting time for athletics in Cork.
Bandon AC chose today, St Patrick's Day, to announce details of their new development, in recognition of the club's original name, St Patrick's AC, under which it competed for it's first two years, from 1964 to 1966.
The delevopment, which has seen many year's of planning and attention to detail, has passed all stages of planning, will start shortly, and is expected to be complete by next year, 2022.
Congratulations, Best wishes and well done to Bandon AC on this tremendous news.
Bandon AC Release
Billy Good and Phil Healy, pictured at Catherine Duggan Memorial Sports 2018
Bandon AC’s Phil Healy summed it up well recently after her fantastic 4th place in the 400m final at the European Indoor Championships:
“Explore so many events, because you never know which is the best for you. Don’t be afraid, and the main thing is have fun. If you know you’ve done your best then you can be delighted with your performance. It is not all about winning and it needs to move away from that mentality and thinking. If you give it your all, and walk off the track happy, then you’re winning for you. If you think you can do better then the next day is another opportunity to try that. I didn’t make finals or win anything until I was 17/18. You’re never too old. Just enjoy it, make new friends and most of all have fun.”
Bandon Athletic club and the coaches have always had the long term development of the athlete as the primary driving force and it is with that same commitment we are about to embark on a new journey.
Bandon Athletic Club are extremely excited and proud to announce that it has recently concluded the purchase of an 8 acre site, just outside Bandon. Full planning permission has been granted for the development of a 400m all-weather track, field event area’s and an indoor training facility.
This is a huge step forward for the club, and massive vote of confidence by the club in the talent within Bandon and the wider West Cork athletics community.
The site which is located at Clancoolbeg will see work commence shortly with the expectations that the all-weather track will be installed in 2022. The timeline for the development of the indoor training area will be determined by various fund-raising activities the club will be undertaking as well as grant allocations received. The indoor area, as well as having space for sprints and long distance, will also include jumps and throws areas.
This development, unlike majority of other all-weather tracks in this country, will be owned and controlled by the club. Bandon AC, for the last numbers of years, has been one of the largest Juvenile clubs affiliated to Athletics Ireland, but, due to lack of access to our own facilities, it has not always been able to accept members, and we frequently have a waiting list.
Once this development is complete, the club expects that it will eliminate waiting lists. Currently athletes frequently travel to Cork, and even further afield, to avail of tartan track facilities. Providing top class facilities close at hand, will enable athletes to focus on training and recovery, and not on travelling time.
Our club also caters for recreational sport, which is called Fit4Youth. This aspect of the club is vital to ensuring athletes have opportunities to partake in athletics in a friendly social environment and progress at their own pace while getting all the health benefits from athletics.
Bandon AC which already has great working relationships with local schools and organisations, such as Bandon Special Olympics and West Cork Athletics, and is looking forward to working even more closely with these schools and groups once the development is ready. This is a development which will greatly enhance the wider community and the athletics scene in West Cork.
It has been a long road to get the club to where it is now, with a lot of time and commitment from a large number of club members, but some people do deserve special mention. One of the founding members, Mr Billy Good, has played a large part in obtaining this site and the associated planning permissions.
A dedicated Track Development sub-committee put in a huge amount of work in recent years trying to find a suitable site, and get the planning permission.
Current members of the sub-committee include Michael Weldon, Paul Kingston, Michael McKeon, David Gibson and Una Hutchinson. Landowner Liam Crowley has been very helpful to the club throughout the long planning process.
As a tribute to all past members, the club decided to make this announcement on St Patrick’s Day, as the club was known as St Patrick’s AC for the first two years following its formation in 1964.
The club will shortly announce exciting fundraising activities to ensure this development is completed as soon as possible. We will be hoping that the community of Bandon and the wider athletics community will respond in a positive manner.
This is truly an exciting time for the athletics fraternity in Bandon and West Cork.
South Alabama Invitational
Mobile, Alabama
Friday March 12th 2021
Grace Mckenzie, McNeese State University and Belgooly AC in action at the 2019 NCAA Div I Pentathlon - Photo: Michael Wade
Grace McKenzie, McNeese State University and Belgooly AC set a new McNeese state college Long Jump record at yesterday's South Alabama Invitational, in Mobile Alabama, USA, jumping 6.21m, to break Shaterica Washington's 26-year-old record, set back in 1995. Pentathlete Grace also won the 100m Hurdles in 13.95 sec, and ran 25.056 sec for 4th place in the 200m.
Grace's 6.21m jump is a big improvement of 0.18m on her previous best of 6.03m, set indoors, last year, in Houston, Texas in Feb 2020. This propels Grace from joint 19th on the Irish All-Time listings to 5th.
Irish Women's All-Time Long Jump Standings - March 12th 2021
"McKenzie adds to her legendary status in her McNeese career with another school record." She now holds the McNeese college outdoor records for the 400-meter hurdles, the heptathlon, and the long jump.
McKenzie said "I'm so happy with my jump". "More importantly I'm happy with the series of jumps I had. Since I compete in the heptathlon, it's important that I can get my jumps in early and secure points.
"I think what happened today was definitely a good starting point for us as a team but we have a lot of work to do and a lot more to show for what we've been doing behind the scenes."
Grace Mckenzie Regains Irish Pentathlon Record - March 2019
Grace McKenzie Sets New Irish Indoor Pentathlon Record
Grace McKenzie Takes Southland Conference Gold
McKenzie's Maiden 400mH and PBs for Curtin and Cronin on US College Circuit
News April 14th - Euro Qualifier for Healy as Walsh and McKenzie Honoured
Further US Collegiate Circuit Successes for McKenzie & Cronin - April 2018
US Collegiate Circuit Successes for McKenzie & Curtin
Grace McKenzie Breaks Pentathlon 4000 Barrier
Grace McKenzie Named Southland Conference Womens Track Athlete of the Week
Cork Athletics Facebook page
Athletes wishing to transfer clubs are reminded that the deadline for the return of fully completed transfer forms is Wednesday March 24th. Forms received after that date will NOT be accepted.
Transfer forms may be downloaded from the Athletics Ireland website.
The Sequence and Procedure on the form MUST be followed.
Completed forms should be given to Cork AAI County Board Registrar, John Copithorne, or posted to him at John Copithorne, Registrar Cork AAI County Board, Belgooley, Co. Cork.
[Every transfer window, one of more forms are sent directly to Dublin, bypassing Cork County Board.
This results in, at best, delayed transfers, whilst the transfer may be held over until the next Transfer Window. (e.g. for the current deadline, of March 24th, it is unlikely that Cork Athletics will receive incorrectly directed forms back from AAI HQ by it's April meeting, so it may be May or even June before the transfer is approved.)]
Closing date is Wednesday March 24th
Completed Transfer Forms may be submitted at any stage, but will not be reviewed by Cork Athletics County Board until after March 24th. However early submission allows time for the return and resubmission of forms that are incomplete or contain an error of some form or other
By the:
• Member (in the case of a minor, by their parent or guardian)
• New Club
• Outgoing Club
• County Board (outgoing club)
• Outgoing County Board (for out of county club transfer only)
• Incoming County Board (for inter-county transfer only)
Incomplete, improperly, or incorrectly completed forms will be rejected.
Next Transfer Window, following March 24th 2021, will close on August 24th 2021
Note: Cork Athletics County Board has asked Athletics Ireland to consider extending the transfer deadline until "One month after Athletics is allowed to resume".
Please note that there is no guarantee that Athletics ireland will agree to this. If AAI agree with the request, an update will be posted on this website and on Cork Athletics social media. In the meantime, please ensure that completed forms are with John Copithorne, Cork Athletics County Board Registrar, by Wednesday March 24th 2021