Longford AC

The first competitive championship competition for the club juveniles is the annual four country track and field competition which is on this Friday night 17^th May in Tullamore at the Tullamore Harriers stadium.  Last year the club was invited to this competition for the first time.  This was an excellently well organized event and our athletes came away with numerous medals in what was a memorable night for the club.  This year as a result of last years competition, the club is competing again and the competition is now a four county event with the following counties, Longford, Westmeath, Laois and Offaly and this competition provides excellent competition for the upcoming Connaught Track and Field Championships  which will be held in early June.  Some of the top juvenile clubs in Ireland will be competing including Mullingar Harriers and Tullamore Harriers and gives our athletes a chance to compete prior to the formal championships on the outdoor track.   The event starts at 6:30pm and the athletes are required to be in the stadium at 6:00pm for registration.  Further information is available from your coaches at training sessions this week.

Programme for Inter County Match Programme 2013 Competition

The club held a turbo javelin workshop on Sunday 28^th April at Moyne Community Schools.  A good number of parents, coaches and athletes turned up to the workshop where Louis Wildenboer, the Irish National Javelin Coach went through the preparation and execution of this new exciting event for the under nine to under twelve athletes. This event provided excellent preparation for the pair’s competition in the upcoming Connaught Track and Field Championships.  The club would like to thank Moyne Community School for their use of their excellent facilities and Paddy who organized the event.

The first Longford Primary Schools Relays took place at the Mall Sports Complex in glorious weather conditions on the evening of Monday 29^th April with excellent competition between the various schools taking part.  Relay teams consisted of four athletes and the mixed relays for fifth and sixth classes were eventful. A large crowd of supporters, parents and teachers turned up to create a magical atmosphere and the competition showed to everyone present the best of what athletics has to offer in Longford.  A large number of schools took part and there were races for second, third, fourth, fifth and six classes.

Winning Ardagh National Girls 2nd Class Relay Team

Supporters and Athletes watch the relays in progress

Killoe National School God Medal Winners

Killoe Athletes ready for the start of the relay

Dromard Boys get ready for the relay

Cian McPhillips crosses the finishing line as Ardagh win gold.

Baton Change Over at the Longford Primary Schools Relays

In total, there were twelve races ran in just over an hour including sub races and this provided an opportunity for all the athletes registered to compete to get a race.  There were some excellent performances from a number of schools including Killoe and Ardagh and no doubt we will see more of these athletes competing in the local, county and national community games as well as competing for the club at regional and national level.  The event clearly showed the level of talent in the county and hopefully the club can recruit some of these athletes.  The club would like to thank the Mall Sports Complex for the use of their fine facilities, parents, teachers, supporters and all the club officials who worked tirelessly on the evening to ensure the event ran smoothly.  Such was the success of the evening, the club plans to make this an annual competition.  Well done everyone.

Attention all juvenile coaches and parents. The long awaited turbo javelin workshop for under 9′ to under 14′s will take place on Sunday in Moyne Community School from 5pm until 7.30pm.

Here’s another picture set for our recent 10k courtesy of Peter Mooney.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157633023180717/

OK folks, here it is, the Video of our 10K Road Race held on 18th March 2013.

All athletes at training and at competition must be registered both with Longford Athletic Club and the Athletics Association of Ireland.  Please ensure your child/children are registered.  Registration forms are available from coaches at training.

Little Athletics takes place every Friday night d at 7pm in the Mall Sports Complex. Little Athletics is a program designed to address the specific physical requirements of children in the 6 – 10 year old age bracket. It focuses on introducing the fundamentals of athletic movement to children in a fun, exciting and non-competitive environment. The development of fundamental skills such as agility, co-ordination and balance will contribute greatly to future sporting achievements. Please note parents must stay for the duration of the training session and a strict age policy is in place.

Juvenile training takes place on 2 nights per week, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7pm.  Training will take place outdoors beside the soccer pitch at the Mall Sports Complex.  Please note training will start at 7pm. It’s important to bring adequate clothing as the weather can change quickly at this time of year.  Training will focus on sprints, relays and middle distance events.  Parents are requested to pick up their children after training from the coaches.