Athletics Review - An Incredible Year

It has been a year to remember for our cross-country/track and field athletes, especially our minor athletes that joined St. Aidan's last September. These men of iron are on the lips of every Irish athletic school after dominating the circuit for the entire year.
Their achievements include:

• 2^nd place in the All-Ireland C.B.S. Cross-Country Championships
• 1^st place in both the 'A' and 'B' North Leinster Championships
• 1^st place in the Leinster Cross-Country Championships
• 1^st place in the All-Ireland C.B.S. Track and Field
• 2^nd place in the Leinster Track and Field (our 4x100 team, primarily consisting of middle-distance runners smashed the Irish record on this particular day).

It would be difficult to list all our athletes (over 60 students competing), but certain individuals have made their mark on Irish athletics, and will be watching this year's Olympics carefully! The U/14 captain, Mark McDonald has been outstanding all season, finishing 2^nd in the Leinster Schools Cross-Country and 1^st in the Leinster 800m, and 4x100m. Vice Captain, Eoin McDonnell was also fantastic all year, finishing 7^th in the Leinster Schools Cross-Country, and 3^rd in the Leinster 1100m. Seán Judge had a great year, coaching the 4x100m team to success and finishing 4^th in the Leinster 400m.

Luke Sweetman, although he was injured, reverted to the long-jump and shot-putt and finished 2^nd in both. We wish him all the best as he accompanies the Irish team at the Olympics, as he is groomed for future glory.

These individuals were surrounded by very strong athletes, and it was this strength in depth that enabled success. They have trained hard since last September, and encouraged each other, right to the finish line!! In short, they are a group of true professionals, and they deserved to be the best of the best!
Roll on '04/'05...

Transition Year 2004

We all came into this year for different reasons. Some did it to fill up their CV's, others to get work experience, and some just for a break after the Junior Cert. One of the main things we did during the year was work experience. We did this every Wednesday and most did three different work placements. We did a variety of these placements from working at a mechanics, to graphic design. Work experience was one of the good things about the year and really broke up the week. Nearly all found it to be a very valuable experience.

Another thing that is part and parcel of TYP is the trips. And we went on a lot of them throughout the year. They included the Dublin Bus Tour at the start of the year, a trip to the Mosque, an adventure centre in Connemara and finally probably the best trip during the year, France. This is generally agreed to have been the highlight of the year.

As well as these trips, we also did a huge amount of other courses and other activities. These include a First Aid course, a Gaelic coaching course, the English Speaking Exam and the Gaisce and Edmund Rice awards. The Young Social Innovator of the Year competition was also another major thing we did, which culminated in a two day exhibition in the City West Hotel attended by the President.

At the start of the year the class also set up a Mini-Company and we sold Christmas cards to raise money for charity. This was another valuable experience as many of us had to do interviews to get positions in the company. Overall, we raised €2400 for charity.

The things mentioned in this article only give a small picture of what we did in TYP. Overall, we feel we have come out of the year much more mature and have also gained experience in many new areas. We will also always look back on the year and remember all the great times we had.

By Robert Donagh and Shane Reilly