Westmeath GAA Jottings

COUNTY CONVENTIONS The County Convention will take place in Ballymore GAA Centre on Saturday 20th December @ 6pm. All delegates are requested to be on time. The Football and Hurling Board Conventions take place in Cusack Park on Wednesday 17th December, with starting times of 7.30pm for the football and 8.30pm for the hurling. DATES FOR YOUR DIARY On Wednesday 21st January 2009, Brendan Murphy, Alcohol and Substance Abuse Officer; (Croke Park) will attend a meeting in Cusack Park to meet with all newly elected Club Abuse Officers. All clubs please be aware that early in the New Year a 4 hour Level 1 training course will take place on the Code of Best Practice in Sport Child Care Policies and Procedures. It is essential that all Club Personnel taking part in underage team training complete this course (Further details later). A reminder to all clubs now holding their AGM"s about the importance of electing a club registrar with computer literacy as the new GAA computerised membership database will be used in Westmeath from January 2009. A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR LOYAL SUPPORTERS The GAA Season Ticket has arrived. Now you can follow your county all the way to the All-Ireland final. The Season Ticket is great value for money for the loyal supporter and is an ideal Christmas gift. Sales will be exclusively on-line via GAA.ie. The GAA Ticket Office will manage the sale process and are available to answer any queries. As you will see from the website the Season Ticket holder must use the Season Ticket for 60% of all his or her county"s League & Championship fixtures during 2009 in order to secure an All-Ireland final ticket. There will be a Season Stile at every venue for every fixture that the Season Ticket holder must use to access the venue. C"MON CAMÁN! RTÉ has launched a nationwide call giving 6th class primary school boys and girls across the country the chance to take part in their brand new programme "C"mon Camán", and be mentored by six top hurling heroes for one week on RTÉ television. If members of your club who are 6th class in primary school are passionate about hurling/camogie, proficient in the game and eager to learn and improve from the best, please tell them to inform their school they would like to be nominated. Twenty-four 6th class primary school pupils from around the country will be chosen. They will be split up into 6 teams of 4 and brought together for intensive training at state of the art grounds for one week. Here they will be mentored by 6 of Ireland"s top hurling heroes, attend televised master classes with the very best and work together to try and improve their sporting skills to take them and their team to the very top of the "C"mon Camán" League. Primary schools across Ireland are being invited to nominate up to three players (hurlers or camogie players or a combination of both) from 6th class to put forward. From these applicants a number will be selected go forward to provincial try-outs from which 24 people will be chosen to take part in the programme. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS GO TO: http://www.rte.ie/tv/cmoncaman/. TELL YOUR PLAYERS NOT TO MISS OUT! CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS IS MONDAY 22ND DECEMBER. All applicants must have parental permission to apply and must be enrolled as a pupil in 6th class at primary school on the 1st March 2009 to be eligible to take part. All applicants must be available on all of the following dates; the 10th, 17th, 24th, 25th and 31st of January, 7th and 8th February and 16th-21st February inclusive. All applicants must be nominated by their school. CONGRATULATIONS Congratulations to Paul Greville (Raharney) and Brendan Murtagh (Clonkill), who will be honoured at this year"s Christy Ring Competition All Star Awards on Friday night. Well done to both lads. SYMPATHY Westmeath Co. Board would like to extend sincere sympathy to the family and friends of Pearse Butler (St. Loman"s GAA) who passed away last Sunday. Pearse had served St. Loman"s GAA for many years and was a valued member of the stewarding staff of Cusack Park. He will be sadly missed by all in the area, and in particular by all in the GAA. WESTMEATH GAA DEVELOPMENT LOTTO No jackpot winner. Winning numbers: 12, 16, 19, 25. Six Match 3 winners (€54 each): Cardine Duffy C/O St. Oliver Plunkett"s GAA; Anne Dunne C/O Westmeath Ladies GAA; Sharon McManus C/O Westmeath Ladies GAA; Siobhan Mulvihill C/O Westmeath Ladies GAA; ML Gantley C/O Westmeath Ladies GAA; Pearly Tanner C/O St. Oliver Plunkett"s GAA. COACHING & GAMES A Level One Football Course has been granted by the Leinster Master Tutor Group to be hosted in Westmeath, starting on 19/1/2009. Level Ones are in huge demand, so it is important that your Club Mentors are given the opportunity to take part. Guidelines: Participants must be over 18; Participants must be active in your Club; Participants must be committed in completing the Course (10 nights); Participants must complete a Level One Log Book; Participants should preferably be involved with U16 to Adult Teams. If you feel that you have Mentors in your Club that have the desire and commitment to complete the Level One Football Courses, please inform them of the Course and complete the following. Note: It is important to prioritise your Mentors i.e. 1, 2, 3, as numbers will be restricted from Clubs depending on demand. Limited to 20 places for course. The course fee will be €130, and will include refreshments every night along with course material. It is envisaged that Clubs would pay for each participant as the knowledge and experience gained will benefit your Club teams in the future. As it is off season for Clubs and Christmas is fast approaching, the a closing date has to be enforced in order to prepare as efficiently as possible. Please complete your application form and return to Michael McHugh, Cusack Park, Mullingar, on or before 31st December.