JUVENILE NEWS

Little Athletics Thursdays 6-7pm

PARENT NOTICE

There will be NO training for Little athletics this Thursday evening 6-7 . Last session before summer break is next Thursday 8th  June.

Juvenile Training Thursdays 7-8pm

PARENT NOTICE

Training for older athletes WILL be as normal 

Summer Camp

This years summer camp is very popular...don't miss out book your place on clubZap

Dublin Team Championships U9, U10 & U11

Report by Karen Molony

On Saturday, May 27th 2023, the Dublin Team Championships for under 9, 10, and 11 were held in Tallaght. This novel competition sees young athletes compete in pairs in two events. It was a girls’ day out for LSA, as six under 9 and two under 11 girls represented the club. Hopefully next time the boys will be brave enough to join us!

It was a beautiful sunny day and the LSA team and their parents, and siblings, enjoyed spectating while eating strawberries and crisps and getting to know each other. Clubs from all around Dublin were there in force with youngsters of varying abilities enjoying the day. The atmosphere was inclusive and fun. Louise Gilroy LSA Juvenile Competition Secretary was our main LSA volunteer official, helping out on the field, and coach Karen and parent/athlete Serge had a stint each also. Past competitor Ellen warmed-up our competitors, and Jen and Jack provided support and advice.

Kate and Cora were first to compete in a very busy under 11s long jump event. They got to take three running jumps each into the sand, and the distance was measured from the front of their jumping foot to the heel of their back landing foot. The sum of each of the pair’s best attempts was their combined distance. Nicole and Keela, and Clodagh and Natasha also competed in the long jump under 9s. Another official said of our team “you can really see the kids that are used to the sand.” He must have meant the beach; I didn’t enlighten him that we’ve been practising our standing jumps on a mat and our leaps on a hockey pitch! Our girls improved with each attempt, and with an average jump of 2.2m in the under 9s, Clodagh and Natasha obliterated the competition with a combined 6.5m to take the gold. The teams were very supportive of each other, and there was an encouraging and friendly vibe.

Fiadh and Sarah competed in the under 9s turbo. They enjoyed a turbo lesson from the official on the field, first, and chatted with the other teams while they waited. This is an event that this pair excel at in training, so it was not surprising that they took silver with the combined best of their three attempts, each, totalling a distance of 13.72m. No doubt the one on one session with Dara last week didn’t hurt their chances!

All of our under 9 girls competed in a 300m run, their pair times added in their heat for their final combined time. There were no finals. Clodagh and Natasha won a bronze in this event. Kate and Cora had a tougher distance of 600m under 11s in the heat. All of our girls gave their best effort, and were supportive and encouraging of each other throughout. Their parents and coaches were very proud of the way they conducted themselves throughout the day. They were fun to be with.

Clodagh, Sarah, Nicole, and Natash finally ran in a 4 x 100m relay. The relay was exciting, and the girls loved it. They came third in their heat, and were disappointed they didn’t place overall. That said, I think it was a scheduling mistake, on my part, to have entered them into the first and last event of the day, and I would certainly be more strategic with entries in future relative to the running schedule.

Finally, I did observe the answer to the burning question I’ve had as a little athletics coach all year: “When will they stop spontaneously cartwheeling?” I observed that this phenomenon is not unique to the LSA under 9 girls, but I was delighted to see that the under 11s managed to wait and converse without the risk of kicking each other in the face. I look forward to returning to this event next year, and I hope all of our under 9s through 11s will join us for a fun club day out.

A Word of Thanks from Louise Gilroy (LSA Juvenile Competition Secretary)

“The last time we participated in this event was 2016!

The logistics are tricky and it’s a big commitment to organise and enter teams.

A huge thanks to Dara Carr for her help in this regard.

Without a coach attending we couldn’t have participated in the Team competition. Huge thanks to coach Karen Molony for her help in organising the athletes and parents and supporting everyone on the long day in Tallaght”

Dublin Athletics Championships Day 1

Report by Ruth Capocci

Day 1 of the championships saw a number of our parents, coaches and athletes back in Tallaght fresh off their participation in the leagues, we also welcomed and enjoyed watching a few athletes who hadn’t gone to the leagues, compete in their chosen events on what was another lovely day but with a gentle breeze and some cloud cover this time keeping us a little cooler.

Sarah Scott Minto was ready and waiting for everyone to arrive with our LSA flags blowing in the gentle breeze staking our claim on the Hill where we could hear Cecil on his loudspeaker keeping us informed of start times and registration throughout the day, which Sarah managed smoothly and efficiently from the hill, ensuring all athletes had their numbers and details of their events.

The LSA juveniles today ranged from U12 right up to U17 and they competed in both track and field events starting with the 600m heats for Ivan Keeling and 600m heats for Mark Kelly and Leon Capocci in the U13. It was evident from the start the pace was going to be fast and the field competitive. As a track official for the day I had first hand view of the speed of these young athletes, a Dublin Athletics official commented to me that this pace was very fast for the heats and we saw many children get PB’s in their heats. Despite this level of competition our athletes held their own and Mark Kelly qualified for the finals in the U13 600m. Mark’s Mum Bronagh, who was on the side-lines not just to support Mark but also looking out for the rest of our athletes clearly has plenty of experience under her belt now and managed Mark’s recovery from the heats so well he went on to take Silver in the U13 600 m and qualified for the nationals. Next in the running heats were Reuben Capocci and Éabha O’Farrell and the fast pace and level continued throughout all the age groups. Éabha ran a strong and steady race , her first 800m run giving her an 800m PB, a super experience and lots to learn from, Éabha made it look easy despite the heat, she kept her focus and determination throughout. Reuben came flying around the last 200metres in his race passing several runners and looked like he could finish in the top 3 but it aint over until its over and by the time the U15’s approached the finish line there was such a bundle of them it was almost impossible to tell who came where. Reuben qualified for the finals on his time however, with a 32 second PB for the 800m and his first final in the Dublin Championships. It was clear in the finals that all the U15 athletes were struggling after their very fast heats and Reuben felt his legs just couldn’t turn over but still managed to run the final a mere 9 seconds slower than the heat. The final track entrant of the day was Sinéad O' Sullivan Farrell who having joined LSA a month ago took on the 7.5 laps of the combined U16, 17, 18 and 19 3000m. This was a tough start for Sinéad with a long delay following the hurdle events, a huge age category difference and a clustered start line. Despite all of this Sinéad quickly settled in and kept another runner in her sights to pace from, finishing 4th overall in her age category, what a debut.

The track remained fast and furious throughout the whole day with the final run not finishing until 5pm, I got a birds eye view of this while officiating and a huge big thanks to Louise Farrell who was able to step in for me for a couple of hours so I could take a breather and chat to the athletes and thanks to Shane O’Farrell who was on hand to give a dig out too. Track wasn’t the only excitement of the day however as there was plenty more action on the field from our LSA competitors who threw Javelin and Shot Putt, and participated in Long Jump and High Jump. The field events were clearly as competitive as the track as limits were set before the day even began that the athletes had to meet before their throws and jumps would be counted and recorded. Despite this extra pressure Emily Counihan qualified for the Nationals in Shot Putt and Liam Handley qualified for Nationals in both Shot Putt and Javelin. Léa Hubert and Eliza Hussain competed in Javelin and High Jump and Léa came away with PB’s in both events and Daniel Minto competed in U14 Javelin with 3 strong throws.

LSA completed Day 1 of the Dublin Athletics Championships with three athletes qualifying for the Nationals, two qualifying from stiff heat competition to finals on the day and a silver medal in 600m for Mark Kelly.

Day 2 is on June 17th if you can give some time to officiate on the day we would really appreciate it. Having a few names to offer on the day means no one has to officiate for long periods of time and it is a great opportunity to learn more about athletics and meet new people who always have lots of knowledge to share.

4th place for Emily in shot putt and a qualification for Nationals!

Another 4th place in shot putt, with a qualification for Nationals, this time for Liam Handley.

Eliza and Léa, earlier, getting ready for High Jump

And Laura, Leon and Mighele are looking strong on the Last Tent Standing New Competition for Dublin Athletics 2023🤣

TRACK & FIELD NEWS

Report by Enda Gavigan

New Leinster Junior Championship record for LSA athlete and mountains of medals!!

What a whirlwind of a weekend. Where does one even start with the Track & Field report?! Well…..LSA we’re out competing in full force and with the beautiful weather continuing, who wouldn’t want to be out there!

Saturday’s LSA action was on three fronts (at least!), our future stars from Little Athletics at Tallaght Athletic track for the Team Championships, Masters Action at the Leinster Junior/Senior/Masters Championships in Carlow IT and International representation at Loughborough University UK.

Anna Gavigan was part of a ten strong U18/20/23 Irish throws team competing at the Loughborough Pathway International with Anna in U20 discus up against England, Scotland,Wales and the Loughborough University squad. With some really talented throwers on show, and in very hot conditions, the Irish acquitted themselves very well and Anna, with a best of 44.95m came second in the U20 category and was third best female at the meet.

'Girl Squad' - Anna with the other ladies on the Irish Throws team at Loughborough University

Over in Carlow, the sun was also shining, and we had a squad of Masters in action over a great range of events. The strong wind was a test but LSA had a string of great results.

Juvenile Coach Eimear Caulfield was 3rd in O40 1500m in 5:20.03 and building on last years promise, took Gold in the W40 Steeplechase in a PB of 13:35.43, knocking 6s of her previous best!

Fit for Youth Coach Anthony Sharkey claimed an excellent Silver in O35 1500m in a superb 4:22.2, just 3s behind the winner. This time would not be out of place in the Senior race!!

Seasoned sprinter Dara Carr clinched Gold in O50 100m in 14.11s and Bronze in the 400m in 1:21.05, a distance she likes to dabble in from time to time!

The Ladies relay team rounded off a very productive day with a Bronze in the 4 x 100m in 1:00.17 with Dara Carr, Eimear Caulfield, Sarah Minto & Elaine McKenna making up the team.

Sunday

Sunday dawned another beautiful day if a little cooler, which was very welcome.

Once again, we had troops on the move with great representation at Day 1 of the Dublin Juvenile Championships and more Masters and U20 action in Carlow.

Firstly, we report on the older Juveniles. U17 Eabha O’Farrell took on the 800m with Sinéad Farrell a first timer at 3000m.

As expected the 800 was a wild affair with a frenetic first 200 in under 35s and no let up to the bell in under 1:10! The second lap was always going to be tough and Eabha held on really well to cross the line in 7th in about 2:38 (tbc).

Sinéad’s 3000m was no less demanding and she showed her toughness and good planning to remain in contention with a very commendable 4th place finish for her first attempt at this distance.

Off to Carlow again, with Dara Carr in action once more in the W50 200m joined by yours truly here in the M55 200m. Against a strong headwind on the home straight, Dara ground out a great 200m Gold in 30.19s. As for me, I was coasting over the line for silver, only to be pipped at the post into Bronze in 27.91s the silver claimed at 27.88! Ouch!. Note to Little Athletics - don’t fall asleep at the line :).

Dara races off the line in W50 200m

Enda Clears the blocks!

Fresh back from the UK, Anna Gavigan was back in the blue of LSA to defend her Leinster U20 discus title and won it in great style with some very consistent throwing and a new Championship Record of 45.72m.

An excellent weekend all round and congratulations again to all who took part.

Special thanks also to those who coached or assisted at the Juvenile meetings - Karen Molony, Serge Nyange, Ruth Capocci, Sarah Minto, Mighele Capocci, Laura Handley, Bronagh Kelly, Shane O’Farrell, Louise Farrell, Louise Gilroy, Ellen Gavigan, Jennifer Tanner, Jack Tanner. They may be mentioned elsewhere but deserve to be mentioned twice!

Reminder- Athletics Dublin require all clubs to help out at the competitions as a precondition to entering athletes. In other words, if a child is competing, we need parents to come forward and assist on the day if at all possible. No knowledge is required and we try to limit the time any individual will give. Please help to spread this workload and offer a couple of hours if you can.

More T&F action this coming weekend - Anna Gavigan in Senior Discus and Eabha O’Farrell in Inter Hammer both representing Loreto Balbriggan in the All Ireland Schools Finals in Tullamore.

ADULT NEWS

Edinburgh Marathon

Huge congratulations to Members Derek Jones & Leon Stafford who took in the Edinburgh Marathon!

"Edinburgh marathon is a beautiful route, following the coast for the majority of the day. Sea breeze was much needed on a day that was a lot hotter than expected. Relatively flat surprisingly with great support along the way. No shortage of pre & post race hydration stops either !" - Derek

"Marathon number 9 for me. They don't get any easier! Unexpectedly the weather was meant to be way hotter than we had thought. So it was key that the day before we followed a specific nutrition and hydration plan to give us a little edge the next day. On the morning of the marathon my international marathon running partner Derek Jones provided some great motivational words to get us ready for the day ahead. The marathon route was beautiful, we left the city and followed the coast all the way to grounds of Gosford House (imagine Newbridge house x10) it was a very hot and sunny day, I had to dig deep in a few places but got there in the end. I think I have one more marathon in me, to hit number 10". - Leon

River Valley Parkrun

Club member Michal Kowalski participated in a very exciting week at River Valley Parkrun as they celebrated their annual Polish Irish Friendship run organised by the Polish Runners Club Ireland. Well done Michal 👏

Donabate Parkrun

As always LSA was well represented at this weeks Donabate Parkrun with 14 members participating and PB performances from Andrew Minto and Amy Amberg. Well done all and a huge thanks to volunteers Cathal Brady & Nuala Freeman.

LSA on Tour

Edel enjoying a run in sunny Spain!

Ali and her gorgeous niece Tess participating in Rouken Park Junior Parkrun in Glasgow.

Club T-shirts

Adult club t-shirts will be available shortly from the ClubZap shop priced at €20.50. Keep an eye on WhatsApp for further updates.

Junior t-shirts are still available priced at €10.50. Please contact Ali Conway by WhatsApp on 087 7513940 if you wish to purchase.

Upcoming Summer BBQ

Tickets are still available for the eagerly awaited summer BBQ...

When: FRIDAY 23RD JUNE

Where: Beaverstown Golf Club

ADULTS ONLY - ALL JUVINILE PARENTS WELCOME |

Tickets available to purchase via the Club Shop on ClubZap HERE

Welcome to our newest member...

Congratulations to Nicola on the birth of her beautiful son Dara.

As our newest club member Dara has already completed his very first Dublin City Marathon as his mum's own secret running buddy. Welcome to Team LSA Dara x

And Finally....

A huge heartfelt thanks to Jennifer Tanner for compiling fantastic newsletters while I was away in Sunny Italy. Thanks Jen, really appreciate it x

Don't forget of you've any news at all send it to me WhatsApp 0879583807. Thanks Kelly x