AAI Juvenile Fixture Change

helpisontheway

Another example of AAI's incompetence became apparent today at juvenile level.:mad:

http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=8158

Everybody has been aware of the clash of the schools international and the 3rd day of the juvenile nationals for 5/6 months at least.When the competition booklet was published i even rang AAI to ask was it a mistake and was told in no uncertain terms that they were going to clash and it was not going to be changed.

I accepted this and planned my athletes year accordingly,ie.If i had a sprinter who had a chance of getting on the Irish Schools team he wasnt going to be doing the 200m for clubs as he would miss it at nationals;therefore tailored training a little different,didnt put him in the provincial 200m as he wasnt going to be doing it at nationals etc.This is hypothetical of course as i dont have a sprinter on the team.
In the end i have two athletes on the team both are competing in Antrim on July 18th.They were due to miss one individual event each at national clubs that day which we were prepared for but would get over.

NOW 3 Weeks beforehand after the provincial qualifiers they have decided to change the relays to the 18th and the remainder of the individuals to the 19th! This now means that my and i presume other athletes are not entered in the events for the Sunday and as they are my strongest athletes it means 4 of my relay teams are gone on the Saturday.It means at least 12 athletes just because they are not of a national individual standard dont even get to compete after weeks of specific relay training[ive given at least 30 hours to it over the last few weeks].

To make matters worse we have forked out alot of money for accommodation which cannot be changed now.If AAI proceed with this i am certain we will lose alot of athletes due to the amount of time they have been asked to put into training with no competition now being available for them.Also how am i going to explain to parents who have lost their jobs,afraid of losing their jobs etc that the e100 they paid ifor Accomodation is not going to be given back to them.

AAI are a disgrace and at this stage everylast one of them should be given the boot and a new organisation should be formed!:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

RoyMcC

OK I've got no international athletes but this late change is going to affect club & athletes significantly. For example we have young athletes returning from holiday on the Saturday who were ready to compete the following day. For some it was a first opportunity to run in a national competition and there will be plenty disappointment :mad:

HaileGeb

It will affect some but we should also consider that some of our most talanted athletes will now get the opportunity to race in the National Juvenile championships.
I am well aware of the impact it will have in some quarters but others will benefit and ultimately may make the team for the Celtic Games stronger also.
U17's , 18's and 19's can also enter direct so those who did not race in the provincials are not automatically excluded

The real issue is that this was apparent from the fixtures list for months now and nothing was done until this late stage. Sacking everybody is not a solution to any problem! There area small group responsible for the scheduling of national championships and international fixtures so lets not tar everybody with the same brush. It was avoidable and that is the point that is regrettable.
FYI: The European youth team will all be abscent That weekend too!

helpisontheway

I have been recieving phone calls from other clubs in my county all day regards this.We are planning an email bombardment to AAI tommorow at a set time to show our anger at their incompetence!:mad::mad:

helpisontheway

HaileGeb wrote: »

It will affect some but we should also consider that some of our most talanted athletes will now get the opportunity to race in the National Juvenile championships.
I am well aware of the impact it will have in some quarters but others will benefit and ultimately may make the team for the Celtic Games stronger also.
U17's , 18's and 19's can also enter direct so those who did not race in the provincials are not automatically excluded

The real issue is that this was apparent from the fixtures list for months now and nothing was done until this late stage. Sacking everybody is not a solution to any problem! There area small group responsible for the scheduling of national championships and international fixtures so lets not tar everybody with the same brush. It was avoidable and that is the point that is regrettable.
FYI: The European youth team will all be abscent That weekend too!

And of course its all about our most talented athletes isnt it;the average athlete,familiys finances and clubs are no where near as important as the most talented athletes.Its that kind of attitude that is what is wrong with our sport!!
U17/18/19s cannot open enter im afraid as the date for entry has passed a few days before the announcement:rolleyes:
I have these most talented athletes that you speak of but would never place them above any athlete that i coach no matter what their ability.Athletes have known for months that there was a possibility they were going to miss the third day so were prepared for it,athletes who i have to tell in an hour at training who have been training hard all year and more specifically for relay teams in the last few weeks are not and its going to be very disheartening for me to tell them "Sorry lads the most talented athletes are more important im afraid"!
As for the Celtic games team everybody is aware re the competition booklet that athletes on international duty are considered for the team whether they compete or not so the selectors can still pick a strong a team as possible:cool:

cfitz

helpisontheway wrote: »

It means at least 12 athletes just because they are not of a national individual standard dont even get to compete after weeks of specific relay training[ive given at least 30 hours to it over the last few weeks].

How many kids do you coach?! If you did relay practice for an hour every day for the past 4 weeks that still wouldn't be 30 hours.

HaileGeb

I merely pointed out the one positive from the change but pardon me for tryng to be somewhat objective.

Also at last years inter country relays there were 20 teams who competed in 8 events. 2.5 teams on avaverage per event!!
5 teams were from wexford, 4 from tipperary and 4 from kerry. These three counties accounted for over two thirds of the entries. That is an atrocious turnout for a national competition.
This competition was in Santry so we cannot blame the venue for the low numbers!
I am sure AAI looked at factors like these before arriving at the decision.

However, as I said earlier it was avoidable and that is what should have happened.

downthemiddle

I found out about this change at the Tailteanns on Saturday from a 15 yr old athlete. There seems to be certain clubs who have an inside track on decisions before they are announced.
This decision disappoints me for two reasons. Firstly the relays offer an opportunity for young athletes to compete at national level who may not otherwise get the opportunity to do so. They are being shunted aside to accommodate athletes who are competing at international level.
Secondly there is a strong second tier of athletes at underage level. Some of these would have had the opportunity to win their first national title but now may be prevented from doing so with the return of the schools' internationals.
It also has to be questioned if it is the proper decision to ask young athletes to compete at international level one day and at national level the next when some of these athletes are 14 and 15 yrs of age. Surely burn out should be taken into consideration.

Philosophress

what an absolute mess, and shame on AAI for waiting until now to address such an obvious conflict in the juvenile calendar. A fixture meeting took place in Tullamore as far back as 24th June 2008 in order to draw up the calendar for 2009 and presumably to avoid such an obvious clash. All the stakeholders were supposed to be represented at that meeting so as to avoid this kind of last-minute nonsense. If they cannot even get to grips with the juvenile fixture calendar should we be surprised when other matters get so out of hand?

HaileGeb

downthemiddle wrote: »

This decision disappoints me for two reasons. Firstly the relays offer an opportunity for young athletes to compete at national level who may not otherwise get the opportunity to do so. They are being shunted aside to accommodate athletes who are competing at international level.
Secondly there is a strong second tier of athletes at underage level. Some of these would have had the opportunity to win their first national title but now may be prevented from doing so with the return of the schools' internationals.
It also has to be questioned if it is the proper decision to ask young athletes to compete at international level one day and at national level the next when some of these athletes are 14 and 15 yrs of age. Surely burn out should be taken into consideration.

The arguement that some athletes are denied the chance of a "soft" All Ireland title does not stack up as a reason not to change.
If these athletes went to the AAA championships they may have to run close to PB's to make the final in some cases and then repeat the performance the next day in the final.

At the recent Leinster championships there were athletes of that age returning from the All Ireland Camogie Feile competition to race between games! These same young athletes are also playing GAA, Soccer and Rugby regularly. So lets not castigate one glitch in the fixtures as the route of all evil in our sport. Several of those who may complain now were happy to take the weary legs from feile games and place them in competitive races there. I am well aware of the issues with congestion in the sporting calander and it is up to each athletes coach to make the call as to whether they should race. Burnout is an issue in all sports and responsibility lies collectively with coaches and parents to advise the athletes on the correct course of action.

Just being devils advocate here but why did the ISAA agree to a schools international on the same day as the national juvenile clubs? As I have said earlier, it was avoidable with a little more planning on all sides. This decision was damage limitation on the basis that the relays were so poorly supported in recent times.

downthemiddle

I am not suggesting that "soft" national titles should be won. I am saying that a new group of athletes would have won national titles thus increasing the competition at the top level.
Athletes competing between feile matches is an unavoidable clash of fixtures as you have two different sporting bodies organising fixtures. This is a clash of fixtures that was known six months ago. It only involves one sport and was avoidable with proper planning. How many feile participants were asked to play U14 county championship that weekend?
We only have a handful of athletes capable of competing in the 3A's. One of the reasons for this is that they are not capable of producing such performances on two successive days, something they are being asked to do by their own association.
Both the ISAA and the AAI have paid officials who were involved in arranging these fixtures, yet as usual no one is accountable and our young athletes are the people to suffer.

HaileGeb

Athletes competing between Feile matches is fast-tracking burnout! It is far worse than two events on successive days. The fact that they are two different sporting organisations is irrelevant to the developing athlete and the effect on their body. Several young GAA players play on successive days for different age group teams, football and hurling. I have seen it on several occasions.

We have more than a handful of athletes capable of competing at the AAA's. This year we had 27 athletes accross an unprecedented range of events attain the European Youth Olympic qualifying standard. (But nobody makes the link with this and the large number of Level 1 and level 2 courses caried out in recent years??!!) All of these would be competitive in the AAA's. Some, like Ciara Mageen and Shane Quinn would be convincing winners.
They will have to compete on successive days in championships like the EYOF should they progress.

I am glad you apportion some blame to ISAA on this. I believe the juvenile committee would have primary responsibity for scheduling the All Irelands and these are volunteers. Correct me if I am wrong. Have a look at the calendar for the summer and you will see that there is not much room for manouvre without extending the Track and Field season, at which point we would all be complaining that it was running too close to the cross country!! It is impossible to satisfy eveybody at all levels.

helpisontheway

cfitz wrote: »

How many kids do you coach?! If you did relay practice for an hour every day for the past 4 weeks that still wouldn't be 30 hours.

In any given week including primary schools i can coach anywhere between 400 and 600 kids voluntarily!
In my club i coach close to 200 kids a week with help of course but i do the lions share of the work.
Last weeks training schedule was as follows-
Mon-6-7pm-u12/u13 Boys Relays
7-8-u14/u15 Boys Relays
8-9-u16/u17 Boys Relays

Tue-6-8pm-u13-u19 Individual training
8-9-u18/u19 Boys+Girls Relays

Wed-6-8pm-u9-u13 Individual training
8-9pm-u14/u15 Boys Relays

Thur-6-8pm-u13-u19 Individual training
8-9pm-u18/u19 Boys+Girls Relays

Fri-6-7pm-u12/13 boys Relays
7-8pm-u16/u17 Boys Relays

Sat-11-1pm-u13-u19 Individual training

Now most weeks are like this with some one to one sessions occasionally also.Obviously we dont train Sats on competition weekends etc.
In total just with my club thats 8 hours training per week,as we dont have our own track 20 mins to set up and pack up per day over 3 weeks is 29 hours]I only estimated originally but pretty close,ha ha]:cool:

Im not blowing my own trumpet by the way but was asked the question so.....

If you want proof Cfitz we are the newish club in the Munster track and field championships u14-u19 that actually won the most medals ahead of Leevale,Dooneen,Ferrybank etc.

cickimc

I think that they where right to change the day as it would suit more athletes and it would mean better competition at the all Irelands, I think most athletes would rather take and all Irelands medal beating the reigning champion then just winning it because the reigning champ wasn't there!
But it should have been changed months ago

One point, Does anyone think the Celtic games is a bit of a joke comparing to the schools international (not just cause the english are't there)

helpisontheway

HaileGeb wrote: »

I merely pointed out the one positive from the change but pardon me for tryng to be somewhat objective.

Also at last years inter country relays there were 20 teams who competed in 8 events. 2.5 teams on avaverage per event!!
5 teams were from wexford, 4 from tipperary and 4 from kerry. These three counties accounted for over two thirds of the entries. That is an atrocious turnout for a national competition.
This competition was in Santry so we cannot blame the venue for the low numbers!
I am sure AAI looked at factors like these before arriving at the decision.

However, as I said earlier it was avoidable and that is what should have happened.

Yes these were the Inter County relays,not the Inter Club relays!!!:rolleyes:
I know they are on the same day this year but the numbers in the Inter club relays are generally pretty good so your above point is irrelevant imo!
How were you being objective?An objective view would give an honest view of all the positive and negatives;you have given your view that it was the right thing to do for the most talented athletes but maybe should have been done earlier.Thats an opinion,not an objective view.
If i had to take a guess i wouldnt be suprised if you coach or are an athlete who has benefited from the change.Ive only been honest about why i am disgusted at the decision!

helpisontheway

cickimc wrote: »

I think that they where right to change the day as it would suit more athletes and it would mean better competition at the all Irelands, I think most athletes would rather take and all Irelands medal beating the reigning champion then just winning it because the reigning champ wasn't there!
But it should have been changed months ago

One point, Does anyone think the Celtic games is a bit of a joke comparing to the schools international (not just cause the english are't there)

How can you say you think they were right to change the day? They were not!
It would have been the right thing to do months ago but not now this close to the competition is a disgrace and will do far more damage than good.
On telling my group this evening that 4 of the relay teams are probably not going to All Irelands one of my athletes who has made the schools team has text me in the last ten minutes that she is not accepting her place on the schools team because she was on 2 relay teams and didnt want to let her team mates hard work go to waste!!!:(
What i am to do now?Tell an athlete to refuse an Irish vest or almost certainly lose athletes who have worked hard since October?
As i have said already most of the schools inetrnational athletes knew that if they made the team they werent going to be at Day 3 of the national clubs so were prepared.

downthemiddle

HaileGeb wrote: »

Athletes competing between Feile matches is fast-tracking burnout! It is far worse than two events on successive days. The fact that they are two different sporting organisations is irrelevant to the developing athlete and the effect on their body. Several young GAA players play on successive days for different age group teams, football and hurling. I have seen it on several occasions.

We have more than a handful of athletes capable of competing at the AAA's. This year we had 27 athletes accross an unprecedented range of events attain the European Youth Olympic qualifying standard. (But nobody makes the link with this and the large number of Level 1 and level 2 courses caried out in recent years??!!) All of these would be competitive in the AAA's. Some, like Ciara Mageen and Shane Quinn would be convincing winners.
They will have to compete on successive days in championships like the EYOF should they progress.

I am glad you apportion some blame to ISAA on this. I believe the juvenile committee would have primary responsibity for scheduling the All Irelands and these are volunteers. Correct me if I am wrong. Have a look at the calendar for the summer and you will see that there is not much room for manouvre without extending the Track and Field season, at which point we would all be complaining that it was running too close to the cross country!! It is impossible to satisfy eveybody at all levels.

You obviously have difficulty interpreting my posts because at no point did I suggest that it was okay to play in feile and competing in the Leinster championships on the same day. I stated that the fixture clash was unavoidable unlike the clash we are discussing.
Shane Quinn and Ciara Mageean are two exceptional athletes with bright futures if they maintain their current progress. However they are not immune to burn out or injury either. Note Shane's prolonged absence last year with injury and Ciara's collapse on the final hill in the school's last year in Loughrea having competing in difficult conditions in Jordanstown the previous weekend.
The ISAA are certainly not beyond reproach and I can think of at least one prominent official who should not be allowed near the sport. However the AAI have overall responsibility for the sport and must take their share of responsibility for this debacle.
BTW which athlete do you coach who is benefitting from this decision?

HaileGeb

Actually I am in the position whereby I coach people who will be both positively and negatively impacted by the change.
I was objective in the sense that I tried to provide some balance to the discussion. You and some other posters at that point were only highlighting the negative aspects of the change. If you read my posts clearly I didnt say it was the right thing to do. I clearly stated that it was avoidable with better planning on all sides - not limited to AAI. It was a late attempt at damage limitation. I don't deny that the athletes who benefit most are the international class athletes. However, their absence from the relays will also mean that some clubs cannot field a team on the Saturday as they will be in Antrim!!

The calendar will always be a source of contention at juvenile level. Clash's will always occur given the volume of competition at this level.

cickimc

helpisontheway wrote: »

How can you say you think they were right to change the day? They were not!
It would have been the right thing to do months ago but not now this close to the competition is a disgrace and will do far more damage than good.
On telling my group this evening that 4 of the relay teams are probably not going to All Irelands one of my athletes who has made the schools team has text me in the last ten minutes that she is not accepting her place on the schools team because she was on 2 relay teams and didnt want to let her team mates hard work go to waste!!!:(
What i am to do now?Tell an athlete to refuse an Irish vest or almost certainly lose athletes who have worked hard since October?
As i have said already most of the schools inetrnational athletes knew that if they made the team they werent going to be at Day 3 of the national clubs so were prepared.

Ya sorry helpis..... I understand where your coming from now and your right the damage was done months ago when they choosed not to change the date but people carried on nonetheless
I was trying to say they should have changed the date but its too late now the damage is done!
Tell your athlete that all be it the team will be let down she may never have a chance of a schools inter Irsh vest so take it. There will be other comps for your relay team to compete and if there any good they'll come stronger! and maybe ye could get a sub for this all ireland

helpisontheway

cickimc wrote: »

Ya sorry helpis..... I understand where your coming from now and your right the damage was done months ago when they choosed not to change the date but people carried on nonetheless
I was trying to say they should have changed the date but its too late now the damage is done!
Tell your athlete that all be it the team will be let down she may never have a chance of a schools inter Irsh vest so take it. There will be other comps for your relay team to compete and if there any good they'll come stronger! and maybe ye could get a sub for this all ireland

Of course im going to tell her she has to take her vest but unfortunatly with the lure of other sports these relay teams will probably not get another chance to compete as when there given the choice between training hard for athletics and football next year this farcical decision will obviously lean them even more towards football!:(
As for substitutes when you get to u18/u19 level they can become pretty non existance and trying to replace a juvenile international athlete is a bit much to ask of any sub.

HaileGeb

downthemiddle wrote: »

You obviously have difficulty interpreting my posts because at no point did I suggest that it was okay to play in feile and competing in the Leinster championships on the same day. I stated that the fixture clash was unavoidable unlike the clash we are discussing.
Shane Quinn and Ciara Mageean are two exceptional athletes with bright futures if they maintain their current progress. However they are not immune to burn out or injury either. Note Shane's prolonged absence last year with injury and Ciara's collapse on the final hill in the school's last year in Loughrea having competing in difficult conditions in Jordanstown the previous weekend.
The ISAA are certainly not beyond reproach and I can think of at least one prominent official who should not be allowed near the sport. However the AAI have overall responsibility for the sport and must take their share of responsibility for this debacle.
BTW which athlete do you coach who is benefitting from this decision?

Occasional injuries are part and parcel of the sport. Ciara's collapse in Loughrea was on the worst conditions I have seen in 20 years of cross country! Shane hurt himself at the schools indoor international and missed the schools cross country but was back in time to convincingly win the schools track 1500m. Both are exceptional talants and the best of luck to them. I am not claiming they are above the risk of injury.
I wont reveal the athletes name as that would be akin to signing my posts, don't you think?!
We like to be nameless and faceless on boards!:D

downthemiddle

HaileGeb wrote: »

Occasional injuries are part and parcel of the sport. Ciara's collapse in Loughrea was on the worst conditions I have seen in 20 years of cross country! Shane hurt himself at the schools indoor international and missed the schools cross country but was back in time to convincingly win the schools track 1500m. Both are exceptional talants and the best of luck to them. I am not claiming they are above the risk of injury.
I wont reveal the athletes name as that would be akin to signing my posts, don't you think?!
We like to be nameless and faceless on boards!:D

At least we have an admission that you have a vested interest in the fixture change.;) However I still disagree that the interests of a small number of athletes should lead to such disruption for the majority of athletes competing in the nationals.

helpisontheway

HaileGeb wrote: »

Actually I am in the position whereby I coach people who will be both positively and negatively impacted by the change.
I was objective in the sense that I tried to provide some balance to the discussion. You and some other posters at that point were only highlighting the negative aspects of the change. If you read my posts clearly I didnt say it was the right thing to do. I clearly stated that it was avoidable with better planning on all sides - not limited to AAI. It was a late attempt at damage limitation. I don't deny that the athletes who benefit most are the international class athletes. However, their absence from the relays will also mean that some clubs cannot field a team on the Saturday as they will be in Antrim!!

The calendar will always be a source of contention at juvenile level. Clash's will always occur given the volume of competition at this level.

Yes i would agree that we were only highlighting the negative because there is alot of it.The only positive is that all the individual athletes get to compete in the exception of the EYOD team.
But when you weigh it up there is only one positive and the rest is negative so how this decision was made considering the imbalance is ridiculous.What has happened is somebody with a bit of pull has got a few athletes on the schools team and has put pressure on a few people to get it changed.Politics as usual as this decision wasnt made for the good of the sport but for the good of a select few!

helpisontheway

downthemiddle wrote: »

At least we have an admission that you have a vested interest in the fixture change.;) However I still disagree that the interests of a small number of athletes should lead to such disruption for the majority of athletes competing in the nationals.

EXACTLY!!!:)

HaileGeb

downthemiddle wrote: »

At least we have an admission that you have a vested interest in the fixture change.;) However I still disagree that the interests of a small number of athletes should lead to such disruption for the majority of athletes competing in the nationals.

The impact is both positive and negative to me. I merely accept the change, not resoundingly endorse it. I think it was avoidable and I would much rather if there was no clash rather than discuss the merits of the change.;)

Each person discussing this issue has a vested interest?! Its not really a topic of any interest to anyone not impacted by it.

downthemiddle

HaileGeb wrote: »

The impact is both positive and negative to me. I merely accept the change, not resoundingly endorse it. I think it was avoidable and I would much rather if there was no clash rather than discuss the merits of the change.;)

Each person discussing this issue has a vested interest?! Its not really a topic of any interest to anyone not impacted by it.

Actually it doesn't impact on our club. We don't compete in the relays as they are normally chaotic. My soul interest is the detrimental effect it will have on the smaller clubs who are competing directly with other sports for their athletes.

Racing Flat

One very encouraging thing about the last few pages here is that there are so many people putting vast amounts of time and energy into coaching juvenile athletes.

Just a pity that their considerable efforts appear to be occasioanlly thwarted by poor planning or organisation.

HaileGeb

downthemiddle wrote: »

Actually it doesn't impact on our club. We don't compete in the relays as they are normally chaotic. My soul interest is the detrimental effect it will have on the smaller clubs who are competing directly with other sports for their athletes.

I think all clubs compete with other sports - not just the small ones. Admittedly the loss of one or two athletes can have more affect on a small club. Just look at the numbers of all the provincial championships and you will see that it is accross the board from U16 upwards. Munster seems to be drastically down on previous times and this was traditionally the source of much of our talanted athletes.
There will always be attrition in a sport like athletics though because of its fundamental individuality. Relays and cross country teams will not act as a deterrant to this. All sports experience this though. It just needs to be tackled as best as can be within the sport.
The positives are that there is a lot of talant spread accross a range of events.

helpisontheway

HaileGeb wrote: »

The impact is both positive and negative to me. I merely accept the change, not resoundingly endorse it. I think it was avoidable and I would much rather if there was no clash rather than discuss the merits of the change.;)

Each person discussing this issue has a vested interest?! Its not really a topic of any interest to anyone not impacted by it.

Yes but the amount of people affected is huge HaileGeb which i dont think you realise.
1.u12-u19 Relay team-Athletes who may be on Holidays as stated already/not available due to other commitments on the Saturday/Schools athletes now not available.Thats 4 athletes per relay.I have 4/5 relays affected which is approx 12/15 athletes.If only 1/2 teams in every other county was affected that could be over 100 athletes!

2.Individual athletes-Whos to say all the athletes who were to compete on the Saturday originally are automatically available for the Sunday?You would be suprised how many familys look at a fixture list and see that their child is finished athletics on the 18th so book their holidays for the day after.There are numerous reasons why alot of individual athletes might not be now easily available on the Sunday.Lets say a minimum of 20 athletes in the whole country are affected including those not even entered as they didnt think they would be doing day 3.

3.Familys-John and Mary are siblings from Dingle in Kerry who are both competing on July 18th both in the 200m.Their family decided the day after the Munsters that the whole family,Mom,Dad and younger sister would make the trip on the Friday as its near a four hour drive.They book into a hotel for the Friday night and prepay to get a cheaper deal.The cost of their stay is e250 B+B for the 5 of them.Now John and Marys parents have found out about the change,the hotel wont change the date and only have more expensive rooms for the night after for e300 for the five of them.Now because of the decision the family have paid out e550 plus lets say another e200 on petrol,food,event admission etc and the whole weekend has cost them e750!
The 2010 season has come about and im ringing John and Marys mom about training starting up again.The most likely reply "John and Mary arent doing athletics this year im afraid"!!!!!
How many of these familys will probably not be able to afford to book for the sat night?Lets say 10 familys in the whole country including 15 athletes.

4.Clubs-Mike and Gill have been asked do a bit of coaching in the club this year.We will send them on a course that will cost money and then they can train the groups that your children are part of.They spend 2 weekends in Limerick on their course.After finishing they coach the group for a year and have had 2 relay teams qualify for all irelands.William is the best sprinter on both teams and is on holidays but will be back on the Saturday evening.Now because of the change William is not available so the 2 relay teams are out as they have no sub.Everyone is disapointed.
Mike and Gill are asked to coach again in 2010.The most likely reply"We have already comitted to football/soccer/Basketball so not this year im afraid"!!!!

So the change affects about 135 athletes negatively,numerous familys and their finances,increases drop out in athletes and clubs could lose volunteers or the ability to attract new ones.

ChickenTikka

helpisontheway wrote: »

So the change affects about 135 athletes negatively,numerous familys and their finances,increases drop out in athletes and clubs could lose volunteers or the ability to attract new ones.

I agree 100%. helpisontheway makes very good points about parents fixing holidays around athletics fixtures, departing the day after or arriving back the day before. Its a farce changing fixtures so late in the day.

Of course the clash shouldn't have happened in the first place - but it was there for all to see for many months and thus should have stayed as it was.

By the way, we had a similar issue last year when the club relays were originally announced for the 2nd weekend of July and then put back to 26 July, reportedly to avoid clashing with the Cork City Sports on 12 July (how many juvenile athletes were participating in both I wonder). The change didn't happen as late in the day but we still had parents in our club who had to reschedule holidays plans at a cost of a few hundred euro.

helpisontheway

I have heard that nearly every club in Munster has signed a petition which has been sent to AAI ,even alot of clubs including my own who have athletes on the schools international team.
I hope other clubs around the country who disagree with the change have done the same.If something isnt done i would even consider going down the root of protesting in Tullamore on the first weekend!! Anyone with me!:P