Its with a heavy heart we to a say goodbye to our good friend & Chairman Pat Hooper whom tragically passed away today.
 
We are in complete shock as he only Chaired a Zoom meeting last night and was in great form, especially with Slovakia v. Ireland blaring away in the background of his "office".
 
1979 Irish Marathon Champion, 1980 Irish Olympic Marathoner and current Chairman of Dublin County Board,
 
He contributed so much to the sport of athletics whether this was at club level with his beloved Green & White Raheny Shamrock Athletic Club, Dublin County, Leinster & National Level.
 
He was one of the main drivers of the sport, encouraging people at every level along the way to get involved, he will be deeply missed by one & all.
 
Our sincerest sympathies to his wife. son Dave, and extended family.
 
A true giant of Irish Athletics has fallen...
 
RIP
 
View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://athleticsleinster.org/#sigProId197ff73759
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Just a little update for the 2020 XC Season:
 
Our XC Secretary Greg Duggan, is working very hard to secure venues so that we have the ability to have a championship this year. It is by no means certain that venues can be secured, but at least a couple of possibilities have emerged that are being worked on. Again, if anyone has a venue to put forward please reach out to Greg on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
 
Secondly, compliance with Covid regulations has required some difficult decisions to limit numbers in races and to limit overall numbers on the course. The main decisions being -
  1. There will not be any club competition this year for U11-U19 races, no club entries nor indivdual entries.
  2. There will only be a maximum of 8 athletes allowed to enter from each county in U11-U19 races.
  3. There will not be any U10 non-championship race.
  4. There will not be any spectators allowed into the course.
  5. Juvenile athletes will be entitled to be accompanied by one parent only.
Points 1 and 2 above were difficult decisions, but had to be taken. It will be up to County Boards to determine the 8 athletes that will be entered from each County for the Juvenile Races.
There will be Open, Club & County entry for the Juniors, Novice & Seniors XC Races.
 
AAI we only be taking the top 15 through to Nationals and there will be no bypass entries for U17-U19 through to Nationals for this year. 
 
The scheduled event dates are as follows - UPDATED 19th Oct
 
Given the latest restrictions all our XC dates are now postponed until we've more clarity regards Covid Restrictions.
 
TBC (Stradbally) - U12, U14, U16
TBC (Stradbally) - U18, Junior, Senior
Date (and venue) TBC - U11. U13, U15
Date (and venue) TBC - U17, U19, Novice

 
The first race each day will be at the earlier time of 10:00am and there will be reasonable time gaps between each race.
 
More specific information will be provided over the next week or two regarding such matters as Covid compliance, entry process etc.
 
We hope that everyone appreciates that matters countrywide are very fluid so we ask your understanding and co-operation in these most exceptional times.
 
Also attached are the National Protocols for XC in regards Covid:
 
Keep safe in these strange times!
 
Any queries please get in contact with Greg at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Dear Provincial/County Secretaries,

 

Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 12.30pm

 

Statement from Athletics Ireland regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19).

 

Athletics Ireland continues to closely monitor the coronavirus outbreak and the advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team and the HSE. The health and safety of the Athletics community is our priority and we are determined to be calm, calculated and proactive regarding precautions to limit the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

 

As announced by An Taoiseach this morning the following measures will come into effect from tomorrow morning until the 29th March, 2020.

 

  • schools, colleges and childcare facilities will close from tomorrow (Friday)
  • Indoor mass gatherings of 100 people or more and outdoor mass gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled

 

Where it is possible to work remotely people should do so. Public transport will continue and shops will continue to remain open. Mr Varadkar said we need the public and businesses to take a sensible approach.

 

Athletics Ireland is guided by this expert HSE advice and we will physically close our office from tomorrow morning but all staff will be operating our business from their homes. We are prepared to operate telephones and emails remotely to minimise disruption to our business.

 

Athletics Ireland is therefore instructing all affiliates to suspend all athletic competitions and events with immediate effect. We understand that this decision will result in inconvenience and disappointment to many athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers and supporters. However, we are sure that all will understand that this decision is taken in the best interests, not just of the athletics community, but of the Country.

 

Club training is down to the discretion of the individual club, but the recommendation from Athletics Ireland is that club training sessions be cancelled at this time.

 

The situation is changing rapidly and we will continue to monitor developments and update our website and communication on a daily basis.

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