Fingal CrossCountry season opens at Newbridge Demesne Oct 2016
It was goodbye to the 41c and to Balheary, as Fingal County Council moved the venue for the 2016-17 Fingal Leagues up the road to Newbridge Demesne in Donabate. Half of last week’s competitors were selected to come along to the opening race of the season and we were blessed with a lovely sunny morning in a picturesque new setting for the races.
Over slightly shorter courses than we were used to, and around a flat natural amphitheatre the runners took part in a series of smaller races. Runners accumulate points for their school’s season total by finishing inside the Top Ten in each race.
Out of a team of 53 just over 30 got inside the top ten to score for the school. Well done all who took part.
A special greeting to Bella who was our lucky mascot for the day…..
With the playground available just beside the new site and the tempting whiff of burgers and chips coming from the nearly canteen, we’re already looking forward to our next trip to Donabate which is scheduled for next February.
Check out the slideshow of photos below to see if you made the gallery….
North Dublin Cross Country at Portmarnock October 12th 2016
After a brief few weeks of training 92 of our pupils travelled to Portmarnock last week to take part in the annual Cross Country event. Well done to all the boys and girls who have been training for this event since the start of September. Especially to the younger age groups where the numbers coming out have been huge. Once again this year the Under10s were able to field three separate teams in Boys and Girls.
Just like last year, the weather was great but as the athletes discovered the course is hard (especially up those hills on the first half) and the competition is very stiff. Well done to Sarah and Ryan who finished in the top three to win Individual Trophies. The U-10 boys bunched very well to win Gold in the team event. And there were Team Silvers for the U-10 Girls and the U-12 Boys.
Overall it was a great performance, and nice to see no red shirts walking in any of the races. Goes to show just how much the athletes have improved since the first training sessions.
Thanks to the many parents who came over to support us.
Primary Schools Sports Finals Wednesday 1st June 2016
Following on from the sprint trials last month our sprint relay teams have been training like Usain Bolt for almost every lunch-break since. On Wednesday 1st of June over forty athletes travelled to represent the school in Division One of the league. As ever the standard was extremely high but we were delighted to take home an individual medal (won by Jacqueline in the U-12s) and we had one team who made it to the Final but were unfortunate to finish outside the medals.
Kids Marathon Bank Holiday Week-end October 2015
As a new initiative this year our Sixth Class pupils took on a new challenge as they entered the first ever Fingal organised Kids-Marathon. The challenge was to train for seven weeks and at the end of which the kids would run the last mile of the Dublin City Marathon on the October Bank Holiday weekend.
23 children made it to the start line near the D4 hotel in Ballsbridge. The conditions were miserable on the day but that did not stop our runners from flying to that finish line….. Next stop – the full Marathon in 10 years time!
Fingal Cross Country League Race #1 October 2015
Fifty of Holy Family’s hardiest athletes were in Balheary for the opening race of Fingal’s Cross Country competition. As usual there were 20 schools from the North Dublin area in attendance. Many of our athletes finished in the top ten placings to add points to our school tally.
North Dublin Cross-Country Finals, Portmarnock October 2015
After six weeks of training on the local pitches with Mr MacDonald and Mr Lynch, our Cross-Country teams brought over ninety pupils to Portmarnock for the annual North Dublin event. As usual there was stiff competition from St Fiachras, Belgrove and the local schools, St Helens and Naomh Mearnogs, who put a huge effort into holding the event each year. We had success in four team events, with 2 Gold and 2 Silvers and three pupils collected individual trophies.
For the first time in three years the event was not held in monsoon type weather. As you can see from the photos below it was sunshine and smiles all round… Well done to all the children who took part – wherever you finished. And thanks to the large number of parents who came over to add their support.
Cross-Country Finals Day at Morton Stadium, Santry Tuesday 28th April 2015
Over 50 of Holy Family SNS athletes travelled to Morton Stadium, Santry on Tuesday 28th April to compete in the finals of Fingal County Councils Cross Country league. The selected athletes were chosen from among the larger group who had competed in the three Swords area events held at the Balheary course over the winter/spring months.
The pupils travelled to Santry with Mr Jimmy McDonald and Mr Seamus Lynch (with able assistance from Santry debutant, Siobhan Leonard) to renew combat with old rivals from the Blanchardstown area, such as St Patricks Diswellstown, Castleknock Girls and St Francis Xavier NS. On a sunny, but also cold and windy, day an enjoyable and successful day was had by all involved. We even survived the flying tent that blew away in the gale force wind at one point!!!! The younger age groups competed in 300-400m races on the famous track, with the seniors racing longer distances out on the park course before finishing on the track. Many of our pupils won their events, including notable performances by Rachel, Sarah, Noah, James, Ryan, Deborah, Victoria and Zoe. All other pupils finishing in the top 10 of their race earned points towards the school total.
At the end when all the points were added up we learned that Holy Family had put together enough placings to win the Morton Stadium trophy for Best School on the Day. Well done to all the pupils who contributed to that points winning tally.
This brings the 2014-15 Cross Country season to a close. Thanks to all children who took part in the various trials and who went forward to represent our school with their efforts on the track. Also we compliment them on their excellent behaviour at all times when travelling to events, often on busy and crowded public transport. Well done to Niall McGuirk and the Fingal CoCo team who ran the events throughout the season. The pupils enjoyed and benefitted greatly from their involvement and we hope Fingal CoCo continue their promotion of the sport of athletics into the future. A final word of thanks to the regular group of parents who always show up (even in awful mid-Winter weather!) to cheer our athletes on.
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