Eugenia Bateson reports: Last night, Tuesday 17th December a fantastic awards night was held in the Clonliffe Clubhouse Bar for our U12’s to U16 athletes. It has been an extraordinary year for our younger athletes with some real break through performances. This year saw 30 individual juveniles from this age group qualify for National Championships with some strong performances in the areas of Throws and High Jump as well as track and cross country.
There are so many results to celebrate, and they can be seen in the Juvenile Captains Report at the end of March 2025 which will be available on the club website.
We were very lucky to have Efrem Gidey on hand to present the awards. Efrem was, as always, delighted to be part of the event and commented to me after that this is “such a talented group” which makes him “proud to be part of the club.” Efrem also commented that “they have so much potential”. And this man knows a thing or two about running!
The night started with the informalities of Christmas music blaring in the clubhouse with Pizza meal deals from Romayos across the road….. and yes, we would recommend them!!!
Later in the evening we moved to the Formal Presentations for the awards for the year. Each athlete who qualified for the National Championships in either Indoors, Outdoors, Track & Field, and Cross Country was presented with a Trophy acknowledge that they were a National 2024 Finalist. When compiling all the results it truly was a fine display of the talent and the depth of skills within the Juvenile section of the club.
There was also a special moment to acknowledge a couple of first for our club. This year our U12 girls Cross Country team became the youngest girls to qualify as a team for the National Cross Country Championships. That team then went on to finish 9th in Nationals. Our Junior Girls team also qualified in the same Championships in Enniskillen by taking the team Silver, to represent their club and country in the European Club Cross Country Championships in Portugal in February. The girls made a presentation of a “Swifty” type bracelet, the Juniors to the U12 team and the U12’s to the Juniors in a pact to inspire and be inspired by each team. Our Junior girls were so kind to come straight from a tough training session to be part of the night. It truly is remarkable to show the progress that can be made between the youngest athlete, Ria Hobbs, U11 to see Emily Bolton who is 16 years old and the oldest athlete Hazel Kenny, 18 years old to show that this an achievable journey for all our young athletes and that they too can achieve great things in a short space of time by continuing to train hard and compete to gain that invaluable experience that leads to great things. The feedback from the parents was that the U12 girls were very excited to receive these bracelets from the junior girls and spent some time talking about who they got them from. The Junior girls were equally delighted to be part of the night.
National Championship Medals
Seamus Phelan was presented with his National Medal from the Uneven Age Championships held in Tramore. Seamus was a scoring athlete on the Dublin Team who were awarded with Silver and bronze for the Regional Team in that event.
Sophie Kernan was also awarded with her Silver Medal from the U17 Uneven Age National Championships also held in Tramore. Sophie had a fine run, as she ran up an age. She finished 96th in this race and was 4th scorer on the team.
We then had some special recognition awards.
The Most Improved athletes were up first:
U12 Girl – this went to Grace Byrne. Grace is always at training, and when there is no training, she is still training anyway. She is such a great influence within the group and even when disappointed in her own race at times is genuinely delighted for her friends who may have done better. She continues to work hard and without a doubt, Grace Byrne is the most improved U12 Girl in 2024.
U12 Boy – Tom Byrne. Tom also works very hard as part of his group and when the nominations were asked for his name came up very easily from the majority of coaches. Tom Byrne is the Most Improved U12 Boy for 2024.
U13 Girl – Julia Rzeszutko. Julia has been with the club for little over a year. She is extremely committed to her training and pushes constantly. This is paying off with her showing great improvements in this year’s cross country events. Julia is working hard, and this is telling in her performance. Julia Rzeszutko is the most improved U13 Girl in 2024.
U13 Boy – Adam Phelan. A tough competition for this award but Adam shone through. He frequently comments that he is still waiting for his growth spurt, but he is not going to hang around waiting for it. He trains extremely hard, and races harder. A man who is known to display what the meal was earlier in the day but it never allows him to pull out. He takes the instruction from his coaches leave it all out there, quite literally. He is a fine athlete with great days ahead of him. The Most Improved U13 boy is Adam Phelan
U14 Girl – Sophia Tennant. Sophia has had a number of niggles and injuries this year but still keeps on pushing. She has shown very measurable improvements during the year. Sophie ran an 800m in the league in Tallaght earlier this year and finished so disappointed in her own race that there was a tear in eye, to finishing her cross country race in the Phoenix Park later in the year as the 1st scorer for the team and the biggest smile on her face. Sophia Tennant is a very deserving recipient of the Most Improved U14 Girl of 2024.
U14 Boy – Joel Thomas. Joel has been a joy to watch as he has progressed through the group. 12 months ago, he was struggling to keep up with the lead pack in training but was very determined to bridge that gap. He is continuing to improve month on month and is not finished yet. He is so close to that lead group at training and this year finished 7th in the Dublin Cross Country Club Team, just getting pipped for that 6th team place. I’d put my money on him for next year. He has made remarkable improvements and is going from strength to strength. Joel Thomas is the U14 Most Improved Boy of 2024.
U15/16 Girl – Ruby Kelly. Ruby is a very hardworking athlete. She is very focused on her event and rarely misses training. When sick during the year and unable to run herself, she kept her focus and came to all her training session and took that time to assist with the coaching duties for the younger athletes. This focus is paying off for Ruby. A very popular and well deserving athlete, Ruby Kelly is the Most Improved U15/16 for 2024.
U15/16 Boy – Dev Kartha. Dev is an extremely focused young man. He pushes at every session and when it is tough and he takes a lap out, when ready he will insist on making that lap up at the end of training. He loves to compete in Cross Country for both the club and his school and is improving all the time. Dev Kartha is the Boys U15/16 Most Improved Athlete for 2024
Commitment to Competition was the next Category. As a competitive club we are keen that those athletes who are constantly looking to compete are acknowledged. It is not all about the podium, it is about getting out there and striving for that personal PB or making that team or just gaining the knowledge of how to run that race.
U14 Commitment to Competition. There were two recipients of this award this year – it was simply too hard to choose. Ava Cosgrave was one such recipient. She has searched and travelled the country in a bid to compete in her field of Javelin where she is really making this her own event. She has also shown great potential in the Shot Putt. Ava constantly puts herself out there and is making her stamp on these throws events.
The second recipient is Kate Gill. Kate is relatively new to athletics but is immersing herself in it. She has had to make hard choices at times as she is talented and involved in other sports and activities. When she has had to make tough choices, she has put her athletics first. She has taken on sprints, middle distance and cross country as she finds her place in athletics and is showing great promise and talent at this very early stage. She is totally committed to her athletics and gives 100% at every training session and eager to learn the artform that is racing.
The U14 Commitment to Competition recipients for 2024 are Ava Cosgrave and Kate Gill
U15/16 Commitment to Competition – Laura King. Laura has shown great progress this year in her sprints events. She has also taken on hurdles. A girl who constantly pushes, and is keen to learn her skill in a racing environment has truly pushed herself in competition. She works so hard for her coach Anne in sprints and Sinead in hurdles. Laura King is the U15/16 Commitment to Competition Recipient for 2024
At this stage of the evening the Club President, Mick Kearney was called upon to present the final two awards of the night.
Captains Pick – One to Watch Award
Darragh Kidd is the Captains Pick – One to Watch for 2024. He is so passionate about his athletics, can be seen at many senior events as a spectator, travels to watch and support competition and even had a TV debut when running alongside the Elite Marathon Runners in this years Dublin City Marathon. He travelled to Paris this year and got up close to many of the best athletes in the world and was there to cheer on our very own Cathal Doyle. Not only that, and more importantly, Darragh has something special in his own running. While he didn’t make the other awards this year, he is something special to watch. He has perfect form, very compact and efficient in his run and indeed some of our senior coaches have spotted him in training noting that there is something special about him. Darragh Kidd is the one to watch and we wish him all the success he deserves as he works on his journey to senior athletics.
The final award of the night was the Juvenile Athlete of the Year. – Lucy McFeteridge
Lucy was chosen for this award this year down to her unwavering commitment to her training. She pushes constantly, almost nearly ever moans! But even when it is tough, she pushes and does everything that is asked of her. She is so determined to progress and, has one of the major components that is essential in athletics, desire! But Lucy knows that wanting it is not enough, and this is when she moves into gear. She pushes when she doesn’t want to, she turns up when it is hard, she is patient with the process, she is supportive of the teams around her and she is a fantastic influence on the group. Lucy is the very athlete that all our coaches will turn up for in the wind, the rain, the frost and the ice – Lucy and the other young athletes make it worthwhile. Lucy will have her day, and great days are coming because she never ever gives up. The Juvenile Athlete of the Year for 2024 is Lucy McFetridge.
The coaches of the club are so proud of what we have achieved this year and are already looking forward to seeing what 2025 will bring. Well done to all those who received an award, and to those who didn’t get this year, keep up the hard work for next year.
The Juvenile Captain, Juvenile Coaches and Committee Members would like to wish each and everyone of you a very happy Christmas and every success for 2025.
Award winner photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/146364500@N04/albums/72177720322663118