Athlone GAA club prepares for relaunch of weekly lotto draw
Athlone GAA club has announced the relaunch of its weekly lotto - with the first draw to take place on Thursday, June 25.
The Covid-19 pandemic has presented many challenges to everyone in all walks of life, and the local GAA community has been no different. However, with the announcement last week of the GAA’s return to play roadmap, local GAA clubs are turning their attention to getting their teams back out on the field. The Westmeath County Board plans to have club fixtures organised for the end of July.
And having taken a brief hiatus, the Athlone GAA lotto draw will return in just over two weeks.
Athlone GAA chairman, Fergal O’Toole said: "Covid-19 has presented unique challenges for the club that came upon us so quickly and led to all sources of fundraising being suspended. The recent announcements from the Government and the GAA are welcomed, and we are looking forward to having some football played this summer when it appeared that it might not happen only a matter of weeks ago.
"However, none of this will happen for free and the club has been left with a hole in its budget which we hope that the relaunching of the Weekly Lotto Draw can go some way towards plugging. We hope that the whole Athlone community can get behind the lotto and we hope that the Jackpot of €3,900 can be scooped up by some lucky winner."
Fergal also spoke about the measures that have been put in place to address the challenges of selling lotto tickets in a “social distancing” environment.
"The club has had to adapt its selling practices in light of social distancing and while some members will continue to sell tickets in the traditional way, we are embracing the new online world we live in," said Fergal.
Tickets will be available to purchase through the Athlone GAA website - athlone.gaa.ie - and via the “Club Force” application - access to this app will be shared through the club's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts over the coming weeks. This will make purchasing a line for the draw as easy as three clicks of a mouse. Tickets cost €1.50 for the first draw and then €2 thereafter.