AAI Press Releases; Updated 28/01/10

--amadeus--

Couple of press releases from teh AAI for those interested:

PRESS RELEASE
Kenneally Takes December Athlete of the Month Award
Mark Kenneally of Clonliffe Harriers AC has been named as the December Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month. This was awarded following his outstanding eighth place finish at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Dublin on the December 13th.
In the final race of the day at the championships, Kenneally produced a thrilling performance that had the large Irish crowd in full voice. The Clonliffe man went out fast was always in the top ten and his strong finish saw him finish a superb eighth. The big effort was hard and he described the last two laps as torture: “But when you’re running in front of a huge crowd like that you just have to keep going” he said.
November Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month: Mary Cullen
October Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month: Martin Fagan
August Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month: Olive Loughnane
July Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month: David Gillick
June Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month: Paul Hession
May Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month: Ciara Mageean
April Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month: David McCarthy
March Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month: Mary Cullen and Derval O’Rourke
February Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month: Mary Cullen
January Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month: Martin Fagan

and

Woodie’s DIY Junior Indoor Championships and AAI Games

The Athletics Ireland, National Programme of Indoor Meets, kicks off this weekend, with the Nenagh Indoor Arena playing host to both the Woodie’s DIY Junior Indoor Championships on Saturday and the AAI Games on Sunday. With weather conditions have improved over recent days there is no threat of these events being cancelled.

For many athletes this will be the opener to their Indoor season, as they built towards the Woodie’s DIY Senior Indoor Championships which take place in the Odyssey Arena, Belfast on the 6th and 7th of February.

In the Woodie’s DIY Junior Indoor Championships, many of Ireland’s most promising young athletes will be competing. In the Junior Men’s 60m, there is a packed field, with top contenders such as Youth 200m Record Holder, Lorcan O’Cathain (Roscommon AC), Jege Nathan (Dooneen AC) and Mark Kavanagh (Dundrum South Dublin AC) lining up. All three will also compete in the 200m. Edmond O’Halloran (Youth 110mH Record Holder) of Leevale AC will be looking to regain his 60m Hurdles title and he will also line up in the 60m sprint. In the 400m Joseph Dowling (Dundrum South Dublin AC) and Patrick Maher (Leevale AC) will be battling it out for top places.

The Junior Men’s middle distance events are wide open. While in the field events there should be a good battle between Ferrybank club mates Thomas Barr and Andrew Heffernan in the High Jump. In the Long Jump, Timmy Harrington of Bandon AC will be looking to retain his title as will Franicis Egan (St Abbans AC) in the Triple Jump. Eanna O’Catahain may also be looking to go one better this year to take the Junior Men’s title in the Shot Putt.

Joan Healy of Bandon AC, who finished fourth in the 100m European Youth Olympics 100m in July of last year, will compete in both the 60m and 200m, as will Eilish Fitzpatrick of Gneeveguilla AC. Stephanie Creamer of Celtic DCH AC will look to push both athletes over 200m. In the Junior Women’s 60m Hurdles, Catherine McManus of Celtic DCH AC will be the hot favourite with Megan Kiely (Ferrybacnk AC) and Shauna Furman (Clonliffe Harriers AC) also in contention.

The Junior Women’s 400m and middle events are wide open. Kate Veale of West Waterford AC (AVIVA 3km Walk Schools’ International Record Holder) and Emma Prendiville of Farranfore Maine Valley AC will go head to head in the 3km Walk.

Catriona Farrell of Craughwell AC who finished fourth in the European Youth Olympics in Tampere last year, will be favourite in the High Jump. While in the Long Jump Nicola Power of Ferrybank AC will be favourite. Irish Junior Record Holder, Caoimhe King of Westport AC will lead the way in the Triple Jump.

While in the AAI Games there should be some interesting performances as Ireland’s senior athletes take to the track.

Please remember folks that we shouldn't really discuss U18 athletes in here so no speculation on teh Juniors, teh release is an FYI.

--amadeus--

Another one from yesterday...

ATHLETICS IRELAND UNVEILS NEW TEAM MANAGEMENT SQUAD

McGonagle to manage senior team for 2010 European Championships in Barcelona

Patsy McGonagle will head up the Athletics Ireland squad of Team Managers and Deputy Managers for international competitions during the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons.

McGonagle, who served as Irish Track & Field Team Manager at both the Sydney and Beijing Olympics, will be the Senior Team Manager for all major games over the next two years including the European Track & Field Championships in Barcelona next July. The vastly experienced Donegal man is currently in the Algarve with a group of Irish athletes on a two week warm weather training camp.

Teresa McDaid, who has been named as Development Team Manager, will lead the Irish team at the World University Games in China next year. She will also act as Deputy Senior Team Manager.

Hayley Harrison from Limerick will manage the team for the 2011 European Under 23 Track & Field Championships in the, Czech Republic.

Neil Martin has been appointed Junior Team Manager and his first big assignment will be the World Junior Track & Field Championships in Canada this summer. The Deputy Team Manager is Brian Dowling from Naas.

Bernie Alcorn from Donegal and John McGrath from Waterford have been appointed Youth Team Manager and Deputy Youth Team Manager respectively for this year’s inaugural World Youth Olympics in Singapore.

Dubliner Peter Stafford and Kilkenny man John Maye have been appointed as Trainee Team managers. These new roles have been created to hone the skills of future Team Managers through a mentoring process and will increase the pool of experienced team management personnel.

“Our aim is to considerably widen the pool of talent in this area and the best way to facilitate this is to enable aspiring Team Managers to gain valuable domestic and international experience over the next three years,” said Athletics Ireland CEO, John Foley.

“Athletics Ireland will organise an Open Day in the next few months to outline the skills and experience required for future Team Management appointments,” he added.

Meanwhile, the group of elite Irish athletes at the warm weather training camp in Portugal are coming to the end of their two week stay. “This has been a very worthwhile experience for all the athletes involved and a great opportunity for team building” Patsy Mc Gonagle said. “Athletes like Mary Cullen and Rosin McGettigan have been able to get in some quality training together and for the first time ever, all our elite race walkers – Olive Loughnane, Robert Heffernan, Colin Griffin and Jamie Costin have been able to train together at this venue. The camp has also given Derval O’Rourke and her coach Sean Cahill an opportunity to put in some quality technical hurdles sessions”

dna_leri

Interesting to see the the high level of team management skills coming out of Donegal: McGonagle, McDaid, Alcorn, Martin.

Fish'n'Chips

Originally posted by dna_leri
Interesting to see the the high level of team management skills coming out of Donegal: McGonagle, McDaid, Alcorn, Martin.

Ah yes cronyism at it's best. I was hoping the new CEO John Foley might have been a good appointment but after seeing his endorsement of the above I see the problems which have plagued AAI continuing.

thirtyfoot

FishnChips wrote: »

Ah yes cronyism at it's best. I was hoping the new CEO John Foley might have been a good appointment but after seeing his endorsement of the above I see the problems which have plagued AAI continuing.

In fairness, it can be frustrating and it does look bad. However, there has never been so much transparency regarding these appointments. The specs were on the website a while back, due course was followed and interviews held. Did new people go for these, I don't know, what can the AAI do if they didn't or if they did how will they have enough experience to step right in as the positions have been held by the same people for the past few years, a closed shop if you want to call it that. What may be a problem is that the croneyism of the past means that these people are the best equipped to get the jobs as nobody else has been able to get in and get the experience because of the closed shop. The idea of the Trainee Managers may get rid of this as more people will get experience. Who knows, John Maye or Peter Stafford may be demons at this and be team managers for 2012 and beyond. This part below for me tells me that steps are being taken to address this problem, whether its perception or reality, that there is a closed shop.

Dubliner Peter Stafford and Kilkenny man John Maye have been appointed as Trainee Team managers. These new roles have been created to hone the skills of future Team Managers through a mentoring process and will increase the pool of experienced team management personnel.

“Our aim is to considerably widen the pool of talent in this area and the best way to facilitate this is to enable aspiring Team Managers to gain valuable domestic and international experience over the next three years,” said Athletics Ireland CEO, John Foley

Its not black and white and very easy to say lets have a clean the decks - the worst type of people to have when it comes to change are those who want to change everything or those who want to change nothing. Attempts to change everything previously may not have worked and caused division. With this new Trainee Team managers level, at least as Foley says the pool of talent is being widened. 'Widening the pool of talent' could also be construed as 'breaking the clique'. It does exist there is no doubt. Donegal is no bastion of Irish athletic excellence. There are no strong clubs up there apart from the Tir Chonnail women, Donegal had a county team in the Premier Divison of the National League last year and no athletes turned up yet we have a Donegal heavy team management at the elite level. The way to break that if you want to break that is apply for the jobs, get the experience or encourage others who may be good to do so. Bear in mind the best Team Managers will not be the best coaches - a good coach may not be a good team manager. Also new codes of ethics and protocols outlined in the spec should also see an end to the disgraceful thought that team managers can have personal blogs on websites while at the champs.

The best change doesn't happen overnight. While a little frustrated that the change at the top hasn't been as obvious, at least now the door is ajar and if people are good enough they will be able to challenge the old guard for such positions.

real_upstart

These positions were advertised a while back the first time - in 2007 i think. I applied unsuccessfully at the time - I think for the u23 team manager job. it was a positive experience though - brian kerr was on the interview panel and also a woman from aai. the successful applicants at the time were people like peter sinclair, geraldine nolan and ann keekan buckley and even though i didn't get the job, i was happy to see new blood coming through. also i was put on a panel and invited to two events when some of the others were not available to travel with a team (and also i had to sign a code of ethics before i travelled with the teams). i didn't apply this time mainly because i would not have time to give to it. obviously i don't know who did apply, but appointments look like a step backwards relative to those that were made before. as well as the Donegal element, it looks like being on the aai executive is a surefire way to get one of these positions - 3 or 4 are executive members. The aesthetics look very bad though it is unclear who actually made the appointments - it seems very unlikely that someone with John Foley's experience could have made a mistake like this - maybe these people have all been appointed by the High Performance Committee? On the brightside, per Tingle maybe the trainee appointments may give some hope.

Fish'n'Chips

I was just questioning the process - it may have been done 100% correctly but it doesn't look good from the outside.

I believe there is way too much importance placed on Team Managers anyway - it's an individual sport after all. The headline on the AAI site "Athletics Ireland unveils New Management Squad" would be something you'd expect to hear from the FAI after signing Giovanni Trapattoni and his backroom team. There is a problem of mindset within Athletics Ireland where some officials believe they are more important than the athletes and look for attention and credit. The best athletes will generally succeed despite the system - not because of it.

Does anybody on here really think that who the team manager is will affect the performance of Derval O'Rourke, David Gillick or Paul Hession at a Major Championship? The only way a team manager can affect performances is if they mess up in a big way e.g. booking a hotel beside a building site where the athletes can't sleep at night or criticising an athlete publicly on a personal internet blog.

On the flip side if Team Managers really do think they have a big impact on how athletes perform and there is accountability then how can Patsy McGonagle's appointment for London 2012 be justified? His "Olympic Record" is not exactly glowing having presided over some of the worst performances in recent history in Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008. Glad to see there's great progress being made

eon1208

There are no strong clubs up there apart from the Tir Chonnail women,

Disagree there....Not from donegal but Finn Valley have a brilliant set up and are steeped in athletics... 5 in a row vets cc champs followed by Letterkenny's win last year....Very strong athletes from an area of lowly population.....They might not currently have elite seniors but the history, facilities and passion is there. I know because we competed unsuccessfully against them.

Fish'n'Chips

Originally posted by eon1208
5 in a row vets cc champs followed by Letterkenny's win last year

Looks like the Donegal crew are well equipped to take Irish athletics to the next level so. USA, Jamaica, Kenya, Russia, Ethiopia etc better watch out.

eon1208

FishnChips wrote: »

Looks like the Donegal crew are well equipped to take Irish athletics to the next level so. USA, Jamaica, Kenya, Russia, Ethiopia etc better watch out.

Were talking rural Ireland here as "bastions" of athletics goes.. If you want to draw comparisons stick to the four provinces please. They have a remarkable setup in a small country dominated by GAA, Rugby, soccer, Golf, Horse Racing. Within such setups elite performers might just become inspired and grow....Not many urban let alone rural clubs have their facilities.....Credit where credit is due.......My point in highlighting their veteran performers and facilities might have nothing directly to do with Euro or Olympic qualifications per se but by damned indirectly it does because if this ethos pervaded every rural or urban enclave You would have a different level of irish team taking on the africans and americans....

IrishTrackFan

eon1208 wrote: »

Were talking rural Ireland here as "bastions" of athletics goes.. If you want to draw comparisons stick to the four provinces please. They have a remarkable setup in a small country dominated by GAA, Rugby, soccer, Golf, Horse Racing. Within such setups elite performers might just become inspired and grow....Not many urban let alone rural clubs have their facilities.....Credit where credit is due.......My point in highlighting their veteran performers and facilities might have nothing directly to do with Euro or Olympic qualifications per se but by damned indirectly it does because if this ethos pervaded every rural or urban enclave You would have a different level of irish team taking on the africans and americans....

The point about all this is that we are sending our small group of world class athletes into international competition without any semblance of world class backup. I agree that Finn Valley is a fine club and it has quite rightly leveraged the benefit of a Sports Minister from the county to develop an enviable set of facilities.

However, our world class athletes need world class support in terms of people and systems. And Finn Valley or indeed Donegal does not have this expertise despite four of the team management positions being awarded to people from that county.

For the younger age groups this is not probably so serious an issue but there is no doubt that reselecting McGonagle for the Senior team role is a sure sign that the powers that be do not understand the requirements of team management at senior championship level - the entirely inappropriate blogging of recent years should have been enough to rule him out, without going into any of the more contentious questions surrounding his team manager performances.

A world class Director of Athletics would be the appropriate person to manage our world class athletes. There is of course a role for a logistics person on these trips but I'm sure Patsy sees himself more as a Trappatoni than a Mick Byrne and until he and his ilk depart the scene there will be no room created for such a Director of Athletics to emerge.

Its a shame with London looming large but the process of upskilling the organisation is proving more difficult than ever.

real_upstart

Without getting into particular personalities, why is it proving so difficult to upskill the organisation at national level? There are some brilliant people at club level who do amazing things, but who nearly always say "I wouldn't go near that bunch of....#####" if discussing getting involved at national level. I didn't apply for a team manager role this time because of time restrictions, but I think I would have been less likely to apply in any case after seeing how other people who stepped up to national level got treated. There are elections to the executive in the next few months, but most people at grassroots level believe that you would be crazy to go for election as a result of the desperation of a small group and what they will do to cling on to power. How do we create an organisation that attracts rather than repels (or rejects) people with competence? Why are people actually afraid to become involved with the group "at the top" and how come most people I talk to speak very negatively about the role the sports council has played in this situation arising? Basically, how do we change this? Until these questions are addressed properly (which would probably lead to a review of the entire structure of the organisation), it's going nowhere. The fact that it is not even clear who appointed the "new" team managers says a lot - how can they be accountable if the reporting lines are not clear.

--amadeus--

Another release...

Veale Sets New Junior Indoor 3k Walk Record

The Athletics Ireland, National Programme of Indoor Meets, kicked off this weekend, with the Nenagh Indoor Arena playing host to both the Woodie’s DIY Junior Indoor Championships on Saturday and the AAI Games on Sunday.

At the AAI Game the Women’s 3k Walk was won by Zuzana Malikova, a Slovakian International and member of West Waterford AC, in 12.53.48 minutes. One of Ireland’s most exciting, up and coming walkers, Kate Veale (West Waterford AC) who is coached by Jamie Costin, finished second in a new Junior Irish Record of 13.18.20 minutes. The record was formally held by Olive Loughnane’s sister Ann and stood at 13:27.32 minutes. Veale had won the 3,000m Walk at the Junior Indoor Championships on Saturday. In the Men’s 3k Walk, Jamie Costin of West Waterford AC, who has just returned from an Athletics Ireland, high performance warm weather training camp in Portugal, won comfortable in 11.56.29 minutes.

The Women’s 60m Final, produced the race of the day. Amy Foster of University of Ulster, who was quickest out of the blocks, displayed a fine return to form to win in a new personal best of 7.50 seconds. Clare Brady of Celbridge AC, who is now coached by former Irish Sprint International Gary Ryan, was second in 7.55 seconds. Kelly Proper of Ferrybank AC, who focused exclusively on the 60m sprint at the meet, placed third in 7.57 seconds. The introduction of the new IAAF no break rule caused little problems in all the sprint events of the day, with only one disqualification.

In the Men’s High Jump, Kouroush Foroughi of Star of the Sea AC, set a new Indoor personal best jumping an impressive 2.15 metres, a 5cm improvement on his previous best, set in March of last year.

The Men’s 1000m had one of the biggest fields of the day, with three races being run to facilitate the numbers. In the A 1000m Final, Emmet Dunleavy of Sligo AC set the early pace, bringing the leading pack through 800m in 1:58 minutes. With 300m to go Alan O’Brien, of Crusaders AC took a commanding lead and looked to have run the perfect tactical race. However, Junior Athletes, Darren McBrearty and Paul Robinson of St. Coca’s AC made decisive moves coming over the final bend to close the ground on O’Brien. Robinson showed an impressive turn of speed in the final metres, to outkick both athletes to win in 2.27.38 minutes with McBrearty second in 2.27.74 and O’Brien third in 2.28.38. O’Brien later lined up in the Men’s 3000m and won in convincing style in 8.28.69 minutes from Patrick McCartan of West Limerick in 8.30.47.

At the Junior Indoor Championships on Saturday. Joan Healy of Bandon AC, who finished fourth in the 100m European Youth Olympics 100m last year, won the 60m Junior Final in 7.76 seconds from Eilish Fitzpatrick of Gneeveguilla AC in 7.79 seconds. Catriona Farrell of Craughwell AC who also finished fourth in last year’s European Youth Olympics, won the High Jump in 1.70m. Irish Junior Record Holder, Caoimhe King of Westport AC dominated the Triple Jump winning in 11.64m.

Again please refer to the charter if you want to discuss this!

--amadeus--

Another release...

Cullen to Compete in Antrim IAAF Cross Country International
Athletics Ireland will have a number of Elite athletes competing in the Antrim IAAF Cross Country International on Saturday 23rd January at the Greenmount Campus, Antrim. European Indoor bronze medallist Mary Cullen, Fionnuala Britton and Deidre Byrne and Hazel Murphy will compete in the Women’s 5.6km. Mick Clohisey will line-up in the Men’s event. This IAAF event is organised and promoted by Athletics Northern Ireland and sponsored by Antrim Borough Council and McCain’s.
Sligo’s Cullen is determined to make amends for her disappointing 12th place finish in last month’s SPAR European Cross Country Championships before a home crowd at Santry in Dublin. This run was particularly frustrating as her previous form clearly showed her medal potential.
Athletics Ireland will also have athletes competing in the Celtic Cross Country which is included as part of the programme at the Antrim IAAF Cross Country International. This is an important development race for our emerging U23, Junior and U17 athletes providing them with top-class international opposition from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Team includes some of the athletes who competed in the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin in December including Michael Mulhare who finished 18th in the Men’s U/23 category. In the Women’s U/23 Bryony Treston and Maria Walsh are included in the Irish after both producing credible performances in Santry.

IAAF Cross Country International in Antrim
Senior Men
Mick Clohisey Raheny Shamrock’s AC
Senior Women
Mary Cullen North Sligo AC
Deirdre Byrne Sli Cualann AC
Fionnuala Britton Sli Cualann AC
Hazel Murphy Dundrum South Dublin AC
Celtic Cross Country Teams
U23 Men
Michael Mulhare North Laois A.C.
Liam Tremble Metro / St Brigids A.C.
Robert Corbally Dundrum South Dublin A.C.
Barry Donovan Leevale A.C.
Junior Men
Ryan Creech Leevale A.C.
Emmet Jennings Dundrum South Dublin A.C.
John Travers Donore Harriers
Liam Brady Tullamore Harriers
Boys Under 17 (A)
Shane Fitzsimons Mullingar Harriers A.C. Westmeath
Sean Tobin Clonmel A.C. Tipperary
Ian Hartnett Togher A.C. Cork
James Maher KCH A.C Kilkenny
Boys Under 17 (B)
Graham Power St. L. O’Toole A.C. Carlow
Anthony Chambers Westport A.C. Mayo
Daniel Lawlor St. L. O’Toole A.C. Carlow
Thomas Lynn Mullingar Harriers A.C. Westmeath
U23 Women
Bryony Treston Dundrum South Dublin A.C.
Maria Walsh Dundrum South Dublin A.C.
Becky Woods Clonliffe Harriers A.C.
Orla Timmins Star of the Sea A.C.
Junior Women
Mary Mulhare North Laois A.C.
Niamh Denny Dundrum South Dublin A.C.
Fiona McKenna Dundrum South Dublin A.C.
Orlagh Farmer Midleton A.C.
Girls Under 17 (A)
Amy O’Donoghue Limerick Emerald A.C.
Sophia O’Cleirigh-Buttner Dundrum South Dublin A.C.
Ciara Hewson Mullingar Harriers A.C.
Kate Veale West Waterford A.C.
Girls Under 17 (B)
Mary Ellen Doyle Gowran A.C.
Niamh Markham Ennis Track A.C.
Lorraine Daly Mullingar Harriers A.C.
Aoife Keyes Templeogue A.C

Rineanna

Press Release on Kelly Proper's NR:

Press Release 23rd January



Proper Sets New Irish Long Jump Record



Kelly Proper of Ferrybank AC has yet again set a new Irish Long Jump Record of 6.62m at the Vienna Indoor Gala today. This impressive leap is 3cm further than her previous record of 6.59m. This record was set at the European Indoor Championships in Turin in March last year. The jump is also over the qualifying standard of 6.60m for the IAAF World Indoor Championships which will be held in Doha, Qatar in mid March.



Proper placed first in the meet ahead of Lauma Griva of Latvia ,who jumped 6.27m. The Ferrybank athlete broke the record in her final jump after going close to the old record with a 6.55m in her fifth jump.



The Waterford woman had an impressive start to her Indoor campaign, jumping 6.33m at the Loughborough University Open Games, on the 9th of January. Proper who is coached by Alan and Brid Golden, demonstrated her ability to break the 6.60m barrier when she produced a wind assisted leap of 6.68m at the National Track and Field Championships in August last year.

Rineanna

Olive Loughnane competing at NCs in Belfast:

World Silver Medalist, Loughnane to Compete in Odyssey Arena

World Silver Medalist, Olive Loughnane of Loughrea AC will compete in the 3km Walk at the Woodie’s DIY Irish Indoor Championships at the Odyssey Arena Belfast on 6th of February. The Athlete of the Year, produced a terrific performance in the 20km Walk at the World Track and Field Championships in Berlin last August, finishing in a time of 1:28.58 behind the winner Russia’s Olga Kaniskina.

Loughnane battled through the 26 degree heat in Berlin to join an elite group of Irish athletes who have won medals at the World Championships alongside fellow race walker Gillian O’Sullivan, Eamonn Coghlan and Sonia O’Sullivan.

Loughnane will be joined by Kate Veale, one of Ireland’s most talented up and coming Race Walkers. The Waterford AC athlete, who is mentored by Jamie Costin, set a new Irish record of 13:18.20 minutes at the AAI Games on the 17th of January. Reigning champion, Laura Reynolds of Mohill AC will also be looking to produce a good performance. Reynolds recorded a personal best of 1:43:07 when placing 15th in the 20km Walk at the European U23 Championships last year.



Elite Walkers, Robert Heffernan (Togher AC), Colin Griffin (Balinamore AC) and Jamie Costin (West Waterford AC) will line up in the Men’s 5km Walk. Heffernan’s Irish Indoor Record of 18:51:46 minutes set in 2008 will be under threat as this will be the first time that all three of Ireland’s top male Walkers will line-up in the Indoor Championships.

This is the seventh Irish Indoors meeting in the North which has been made possible by the generous assistance of title sponsor Woodie’s DIY and funding partners Belfast City Council. Upwards of 1,000 athletes will be participating, representing a mixture of local and international competitors.

longjump67

FishnChips wrote: »

Ah yes cronyism at it's best. I was hoping the new CEO John Foley might have been a good appointment but after seeing his endorsement of the above I see the problems which have plagued AAI continuing.

"Cronyism" :mad: May I point out a few facts.
1. All have at least 20+ years experience coaching and managing athletes.
2. All are level 3 coaches.
3. All met the requirements set out by the AAI and were interviewed by an experienced panel.
4. All applied.

The fact that they all hale from one particular county is neither here nor there. Would there be the same degree of outrage if they were from Dublin or Cork?

PS May I also point out that the most successful athletics management team in the world at the moment with clients that include Usain Bolt is ruin by a Donegal man Ricky Simms

Rineanna

This thread is more for posting Press Releases than debating the AAI's hiring policy, so let's end this discussion.

Rineanna

Top Jumpers in action in Belfast...

Top Irish Jumpers Proper and Ryan to Compete in Odyssey Arena



Kelly Proper of Ferrybank AC will be aiming for her fifth National Title at the Woodie’s DIY Irish Indoor Championships at the Odyssey Arena Belfast on 6th of February. The Waterford woman broke her own Irish Record at the Vienna Indoor Gala on 23rd of January. Proper’s jump of 6.62m was 3cm further than her previous record of 6.59m. This record was set at the European Indoor Championships in Turin in March last year. The jump is also over the qualifying standard of 6.60m for the IAAF World Indoor Championships. The championships which will be held in Doha, Qatar in mid March. The preliminary Irish team for these championships will be selected on the 7th of February with final selection on the 28th February.



Also competing in the Long Jump will be Mary McLoone of Tír Chonaill AC who produced a lifetime best of 6.16m at the championships in 2009 to finish second to Proper. McLoone will also defend her Triple Jump title at the event but she will face tough competition from Irish Junior Record Holder, Caoimhe King of Westport AC.



Deirdre Ryan of Dundrum South Dublin AC will compete in the Women’s High Jump. Ryan will be looking to show form in advance of the World Indoor Championships. The Dublin athlete achieved the World standard when setting an Irish record of 1.93m in Leverkusen, Germany in January last year.



In the Men’s High, Kourosh Foroughi (Star of the Sea) will be favourite after setting an Indoor Personal Best of 2.15m at the AAI Games on the 17th of January. Foroughi had a terrific season in 2009, finishing fifth at the European Junior Championships in Serbia in July. 2009 Medallists, Barry Pender, St. Abbans A.C.and Christopher Crowley, Belgooly A.C. will also compete.



With Irish Record Holder Zoe Brown not competing, Claire Wilkinson (Ballymena & Antrim AC) will be looking to take the Women’s Pole Vault title. Wilkinson is targeting Erin Kinnears National U23 Indoor record of 3.73m. In 2009, Wilkinson jumped 3.85m outdoors, setting a new U23 Irish Outdoor Record. Wilkinson will face tough opposition from Sarah Semeraro (University of Ulster AC) a former Italian National champion who has a personal best of 3.90m. In the Men’s Pole Vault reigning champion David Donegan of Clonliffe Harriers AC should have it all his own way.



RTÉ 2 will be showing highlights of the Championships on a OB Sports special on Monday 8th of February at 19:00 – 20:00.