The trip to Leiria to compete in the European Junior Club Track & Field was a fantastic experience for athletes and officials alike.
After traveling on Thursday and having light training sessions in the stadium on Thursday and Friday, the real action kicked off early on Saturday. A rousing rendition of the “Fields Of Athenry” by the team as part of the opening ceremony got the adrenaline flowing before the competition even started.
Laura McSweeney who was the Captain of the womens team led by example in the field events with a 1st place in the Shot Putt and a 3rd place in the Hammer. Fiona Everard had a storming race in the 800m when she took the pace out early, she paid the price in the 2nd lap but came back strongly to finish 4th and then followed that up later with another great run in the 3000m when she finished 3rd. Fiona Duggan was 4th in the Discus, Ella Nicholson was 5th in the Long Jump and also placed 6th in the 100m sprint. Emma Young had a new Personal Best in the High Jump and finished in 6th place. Sinead Caulfield (7th 1500m, 7th 400m), Helena Murphy (7th Pole Vault) Aisling Kelly (8th 400m Hurdles), Erin Kingston (8th 200m, 8th Javelin) while in the relays the 4x100m team (Erin, Ella, Helena, Sinead) was 8th and the 4x400m team (Emma, Aisling Everad, Aisling Kelly, Fiona Everard) was 8th.
In the Men’s events Scott Gibson had a fantastic win in the 400m race and was also back in the action later to run a great leg of the mens’ 4x100m relay and then the final leg of the 4x400m relay. Davide Mazzali was 4th in the Pole Vault. James French was 5th in the Shot Put. Promise Okafor was 6th in the Long Jump and also placed 5th in the Triple Jump. In the SteepleChase Thomas McCarthy ran a great race to finish in 3rd place, and also placed 6th in the 800m.Gerard Crowley was 5th in the 3000m, Men’s Captain Colin Kington was 6th in the Discus and also took part in the Javelin where he finished in 8th place. Daniel Hathaway was 7th in the 200m, Jake Inglis was 7th in the 1500m, Daniel O’Sullivan was 7th in the High Jump, Christopher Anaba (7th 110m Hurdles), Gavin Hicks (8th Hammer) Franck Djiosta (7th 400m Hurdles) Mathew Draper was an unfortunate victim of the one false start rule and was disqualified from the 100m sprint
In the relays the Men’s team of Scott, Mathew Draper, Daniel Hathaway and Christopher had a great race to finish in 3rd place in the 4x100m while in the 4x400m the team of Promise, Jake, Davide and Scott finished in 7th place. Fiacra Harrington who traveled as sub wasn’t called into action but was one of the busiest athletes on the day as he like the rest of the athletes cheered on and encouraged the other team members.
At the end of the day when all the points were added up, the boys team finished in 7th place and the girls team finished in 8th place, with both teams within touching distance of the teams ahead of them they really gave a great overall performance and should be well proud!
Well done to all the athletes involved, some of whom undertook events which they would not normally be competing in just to help the team. Well done also to the coaches and officials who got them there and back safely and the many people who helped in the fundraising which was done to support the trip and to all the sponsors who assisted in particular Bandon Credit Union and Siemens.

A small selection of the many photos taken on the trip are here, many more to follow

Well done to all the athletes who represented Bandon AC today in the European Junior Clubs Championships in Portugal.
Boys team finished 7th and the girls team finished in 8th place.
A number of impressive perfomances on the day, Scott Gibson won the 400m, Laura McSweeney won the Shot Put and placed 3rd in the hammer, Fiona Everard was 3rd in the 800m and 4th in the 1500m, boys 4x100m relay team were 3rd, Thomas McCarthy was 3rd in the Steeplechase.
More details to follow.

Day two done and all athletes safely tucked up in bed now!
Good training sessions today in the stadium for the athletes.
Technical meeting tonight attended by a couple of representative of the Bandon team which went over some of the logistics for the competition.
So an early start in the morning, opening ceremony is at 10.15 and then the events get going shorty after.First in action will be Gavin Hicks in the Hammer while Emma Young will be in first inaction for the girls team when she contests the High Jump.
Wishing all athletes the best of luck and hope they all enjoy the wonderful experience.

Long travel day down and lots of tired bodies after a long day.
Short training session in the stadium was cut short by very heavy rain, but at least the athletes got to see what is a fantastic stadium.
Another training session planned for tomorow which will be shared with other clubs so should give a good feeling for the competion on Sat.

All checked in and ready for flight to Portugal.
Team looking very well in their new gear!

On Sat 20th of Sept a number of Bandon AC athletes, coaches and officials will be on a journey into the history books. The club have two teams competing in the European Junior Track & Field Championships in Portugal, not only is this the first time Bandon AC will be competing in this event, its the first time both boys and girls team from the same club have qualified to represent Ireland in this event. This is truly a fantastic achievement for the club and the people involved.
The captain for the womens team will be Laura McSweeney who will contest the Shot Put and Hammer. Laura is the current National U20 Champion in the Shot Put and has represented Ireland in both Shot Put and Hammer on a number of occasions at under age level. Other throwers include Fiona Duggan (Discus) and Erin Kington(Javelin). Fiona Everard is another on the womens team who has also represented Ireland at underage level, Fiona will be contesting the 1500m and will be joined on the team by her sister Aisling who will contest the SteepleChase. In the jumps events, the team will be well represented by Aisling Kelly, Ella Nicholson, Emma Young and Helena Murphy. The sprints and hurdles will see Erin Kingston, Ella Nicholson, Sinead Caulfield, Aisling Kelly in action.
The boys team like the womens team, has a very experienced athlete taking on the captains role. Colin Kingston who is the current National U20 Champion in the Discus will contest both the Discus and Javelin. Colin has previously represented Ireland at under age level in the Discus. James french is another thrower on the team with international experience and he will contest the Shot Put and Hammer. The distance events will be contested by Thomas McCarthy and Gerard Crowley. Jumps will be Daniel O’Sullivan, Promise Okafor and Davide Mazzali. Scott Gibson who represented Ireland at U18 level earlier this year will contest his favorite event the 400m while the other sprints will be contested by Promise Okafor, Jake Englis, Daniel Hathaway,
Mathew Draper,Christopher Anaba and Frank Dijotsa.The versatile Gavin Hicks and Fiachra Harrington are traveling as substitutes and able to cover a number of events should the need arise.
There will also be a 4x100m and a 4x400m relay for both teams which will be the last events of the days so should see great excitement with vital points at stake.
Both teams are against some strong teams in their divisions, the girls team are up against teams representing countries such as Germany, Holland, Portugal, Estonia, Serbia, Slovakia and Lithuania. While In the boys are against teams from Estonia, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia and Lithuania.
Wishing both teams the best of luck on the day and safe traveling.
A large amount of fundraising was done to help reduce the cost of the event for those traveling, so would like to thank all the sponsors and everyone who contributed at the various events.

Selection of photos taken at the Sports last Sunday.

Thankfully the sun shone on the sports today and a great day was had in the splendid settings of the Town Park.
Well done to all the athletes who took part today and thanks to all the people who helped out on the day.
Thanks also to all the many sponsors without whom the day would not have been possible and also to the Red Cross who provided ambulance cover on the day.
Special mention to the Bandon Soccer Club who kindly rearranged fixtures which enabled the rescheduling of the sports.

After all the events, there was a surprise for Billy Good, who along with being one of the founder members of the club, he was one of the main organisers for the days events. Bill recently celebrated his 70th birthday and was surprised with a cake and a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday”

Full report and pictures to follow, results below.

Juvenile results

Junior/Senior results and Cycle results