Dublin T&F League 4 – Report

Tallaght – 28th May 2017

As usual with Tallaght, the Juvenile League 4 started sharply at 10.30am with the weather a lot better than yesterday. U/14 were first to race the 200m to time with Orlagh coming 5th and Eimear 4th in their heats. Meanwhile over at the pit, the only Skerries AC athlete participating in a field event, Chloe was doing practice jumps for the U/12 long jump. There was fierce competition in this event and Chloe did us proud.
Next off the marks were the U/15 boys 200m. These heats were extremely fast with Josh coming 5th and Ben 4th in their respective heats.
When the gun went for the U/10 girls 200m, Keren ran like her life depended on it, and unfortunately was just pipped at the post for 1st position. There were a lot of athletes for the U/12 girls 200m resulting in 5 heats. Grace came in 7th position, Chloe 4th and Keva 3rd in their respective heats all finishing strongly. Again, the U/13 200m girls heats were very fast. Daphney ran a strong race coming in 2nd.
12 noon brought with it the beginning of the 1,000m races. Again the U/14 girls were first to take to the track. This was done in one large heat with 23 athletes participating. Orlagh and Eimear stayed near the back of the pack at the beginning with Orlagh getting into her stride and steadily made her way up finishing 10th. Half way through the race, Eimear got boxed in, which she wasn’t impressed with! She broke out and for the next 250m the 3 athletes battled to beat one another. True to form with Eimear, there was some fuel left in tank and she managed to sprint the final 100m taking 19th place.
Last up was Ben in the U/15 1,000m in a tough race in what was becoming a very warm day. He put in a tremendous effort and was rewarded with fifth place.
Congratulations to all the athletes, hope you made home before the roads closed for the RAS.
Thanks to Fiona for organising and registering the athletes today, her report on the day and photos.

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Dublin Team Competition & Relay Championships for U9/10/11’s

IRISHTOWN – Saturday 27th May 2017

Skerries AC entered this competition for the first time with two U/9 and an U/11 boys team in the individual competition and an U/9 boys relay team in the 4 x 100m. Conor C and Conor D were the first up in their 60m and crossed the finish line in 4th and 5th respectively. Next up were Jamie and Dylan, who finished their races in 3rd and 4th respectively just as the rain started to fall. All the lads ran really well completing their 60m in less than 12 seconds against stiff opposition and in their first Dublin Championships.

The rain got progressively worse while Jake & Luke were waiting to be called for their 60m race, and trying to pass the time playing soccer in one of the Astro pitches. Finally the call came and down we headed to the start line. The downpour continued and got worse before the lads ran in heat 6. Both ran very well, Jake coming first in a time of 9.58 catching Luke just before the finish line. Luke finished his race in a time of 9.85. Fortunately it was time for Luke & Jake to head back to Skerries so Luke could get warmed up and changed before heading back into the Aviva for the Pro12 Final.

Meanwhile the U/9s were looking for cover from the torrential downpour as they had to wait for another 90 mins for their 4x100m relay. The lads had been practicing hard under the watchful eye of Michael Donoghue and were keen to show off their baton passing skills despite the weather. All the lads had terrific performances and ran their best narrowly missing out on a third place finish in their heat.

Skerries AC are very proud of all the athletes especially the U/9s who had a long morning in awful weather conditions. Hopefully they will not be discouraged from competing again. Thanks to Michael for coaching the U/9s and to Stephen, Lesley, Ailbhe and Hughie for their support and encouragement today.

Clonliffe Juvenile All Medal Open Sports Day 21st May 2017

Clonliffe Harriers AC held their Open Sports Day on Sunday last in Morton Stadium and having attended last year’s event it promised to be a good day. It had a later start of 2pm and the event didn’t disappoint.

We had six athletes from Skerries AC who represented the Club in a very positive fashion in participation, support and performance. We had representatives in the U/10, U/12 and U/14 events.  Jake was first up with his 60m taking home a gold, despite a bad start. Isabelle the sole female representative for Skerries, was next up with her 80m one side of the track while Harvey and Sam ran their 80m on the other side. Isabelle came home in 4th place in her race, with Sam taking silver in his followed closely by Harvey taking bronze.

Next up was Oscar who had some very tough competition in his 100m against 4 athletes from the home club. He ran an impressive race and with very little encouragement decided to take the lads on again in the 200m. Intimidation started on the starting line with some of the lads deciding to use starting blocks, but this didn’t discourage Oscar. He ran a determined race right to the line.

While the sprints were taking place, Jake was taking his turn in the Long Jump. After being taught the correct technique of long jump by Ailis, he had to move away from this and jump from the sand, just in front of the board.  He gave a good account of himself and took home a bronze medal. While the jumps were taking place Ben arrived after playing a match in Sallynoggin and headed straight for his 300m. He was coming 5th with 50m to go and got a 2nd wind the closer he got to the line securing an impressive second place.  Next up was Jake in his 300m, finishing in 5th place.

Harvey after a lot of encouragement and possibly a bit of bribery ran a great 600m, just missing out on a bronze medal with 2m to go.  Track events were finished now for Skerries AC as no amount of encouragement or bribery could convince Oscar to run the 1,000m for his age group. Then back to the Long Jump pits for Sam, Harvey and Isabelle. The boy’s long jump was being taken very seriously with all the lads counting their steps back from the board, while at the other pit the girls were being told to jump from the sand in front of the board. All the athletes put in impressive jumps as can be seen from the photos.

The last field events of the day for Skerries were Shot Putt for Harvey and Sam with the Long Jump for Oscar.  As with all the field events, each athlete had three attempts, with the best being recorded. Harvey and Sam had never competed in the Shot Putt before and put in some impressive throws, with Harvey claiming a gold medal with a throw of 7.55m. Oscar rounded off the day for Skerries with some nice jumping.

Thanks to all the athletes, their supporters and Clonliffe Harriers AC for a great day.  After two hours and 30 minutes of competition, Skerries AC brought home 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. Well done all and here’s to next year’s event.

Golf Classic Fundraiser

Skerries Athletics Club held their inaugral Golf Classic Fundraiser in Skerries Golf Club last Friday and despite the rain a great day was had by all. 1st Place ASL Airlines, 2nd Place Insurance Ireland, 3rd Place FBD, Closest to the Pin Jim Duggan and Longest Drive Mark Keane. Many many thanks to our sponsors and teams without you this event would not have happened. Thank you to Skerries Golf Club and staff for letting us host the event there. Lastly thank you to Gavan who initiated the event and ran with it along with Joe and his able helpers. We look forward to seeing you all again next year.

Dublin Juvenile T&F League 3 Report

Tallaght AC Saturday 13th May 2017

League 3 in Tallaght kicked off at 10.30am where the track events started off with the Girls U/14 400m in which Skerries AC were represented by Eimear and Orlagh, followed quickly by Ben in the U/15 400m.  Meanwhile Darragh and Michael represented the club in their first High Jump Event, which they thoroughly enjoyed. James tried out the Long Jump in his first ever event for the Club.

Next up on track were Keva, Ailbhe & Grace who was competing in her first ever event, in the U/12 600m.  This race was followed by Keren, James and Joseph in the U/10’s 500m, again in her first event for the club. Then followed the U/13’s 600m where Skerries AC was represented by Daphney, who was the final representative of the Ndjantang family for the club.  After his run, Joseph lined up for his turn at the Turbo Javelin.

Michael and Darragh, after a bit of gentle persuasion, competed in the U/12’s 600m where Michael had an impressive run. The events were ticking along nicely and running pretty much to schedule and more importantly the rain was holding off.  The final track events were the 1500m for Lorcan and Ben, while Eimear and Orlagh rounded off the day with the Long Jump.

All track events were decided on time and field events on the best of three jumps. Well done to Ben who picked up points in both his races.

Big thanks to Ide, Stephen and Fiona who looked after the athletes on Saturday and for Mick in assisting with the Javelin. Thanks to the parents for their support and encouragement. Congratulations to all the athletes who participated, photos depict a happy bunch of athletes, even if two boys are missing!!

League 4 is Sunday 28th May @ 10.30am back in Tallaght.

 

Golf Outing Friday 12th May

Skerries Athletic Club are having their inaugural Golf Outing fundraiser on Friday 12th May 2017 in Skerries Golf Club. Tee time is between 2 and 4pm. If you would like to put in a team, sponsor a tee box or green we would be delighted to hear back from you. There are a couple of spots still available.  Promises to be a great event and all funds raised go directly back to the club. Contact skerriesac@gmail.com

Good Luck in the Community Games

The very best of luck to the members of Skerries AC who are representing Dublin in the National Community Games finals at the National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown tomorrow. Jake and Tara are competing in Swimming and Chloe, Cillian, Daphney, Alton, Eimear, Orla, Josh, Lottie, Kerrie and Anna competing in Mixed Distance, Cross Country and Marathon events.