Armagh Athletic Club
Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
1[st] Day of September 2022 to 31[st] Day of August 2023
Charity Name: Armagh Athletic Club
Other Names Charity is known by: Armagh AC
Charity’s principal address: 17 Drumcoote Road, Armagh BT60 4PL
Names of the Charity Trustees who manage the Charity
Trustee Name Office
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Brian Vallely President & Publicity Officer
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Fearghal Delaney Chair
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Mark McKeown Secretary
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James Vallely Treasurer
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Oonagh Haughey Sponsorship Officer
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Jacqueline Wright Volunteer Officer
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Shauna Duggan Designated Officer
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Evanna Fitzsimons Junior Coordinator
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Celine Doran Junior Parent Rep.
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Stefan Kennedy Committee Member
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Niamh Donnelly Committee Member
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Angela Kerr Committee Member
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Martin McKenna Committee Member
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Lorcan Vallely Committee Member
Structure, governance and management
Description of the charity’s trusts
Type of Governing Document: Constitution adopted 11/07/2021
How the charity is constituted: Unincorporated association
Trustee selection methods: Trustees are appointed or reappointed at the AGM held in April.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing
document: The purpose of the club is the advancement of Amateur Sport, specifically athletics, for the benefit of its members in terms of physical and mental health.
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit
in relation to these objects: In planning our activities for the year we kept in mind the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit at our committee meetings. Our main activities are as follows:
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Coaching and training of our members [over the year we had 80 senior members of whom 23 were female; and 55 Juvenile members of whom 25 were female] to improve their skills and performance levels in the various disciplines of athletics.
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Participation in events organised 1. by our own club; 2. by neighbouring clubs, usually in Ulster or North Leinster; 3. by Athletics N. Ireland (the governing body to which our club is affiliated and which organises and promotes NI & Ulster Championship events in Cross-country, Track & Field, and Road Running); 4. by The Northern Ireland Mountain Runners’ Association (NIMRA); 5. by Athletics Ireland (who organise and promote All-Ireland Championship events in Cross-country, Track & Field, and Road Running); 6. by Shettleston Harriers, Glasgow , to whose annual Road Relays we usually send a team; 7. by the FSGT (French Federation who invite a mixed team of six to take part in the Vivicitta Race in Paris)
As the programme of each promoted event generally includes competitions suitable for all age-groups, the younger athletes competing will also witness the performance of the seniors, giving them a glimpse into what it is possible to achieve in athletics and demonstrating to them that athletics is not just for children, but is an activity that can be enjoyed throughout life.
Additional details of objectives and activities
We are indebted to our club coaches who are all volunteers, and freely give up their time to coach groups of athletes at one, two, or three sessions per week and frequently accompany them to athletic events taking place chiefly at the weekends. In the Juvenile section of the club we have 2 Athletics Coaches and 6 Assistant Coaches. In the Senior section we have 2 Athletics Coaches, 1 Coach in Running Fitness, 4 Leaders in Running Fitness, and 3 Assistant Coaches.
As declared in Section 9 of our governing document “Armagh AC is fully committed to safeguarding the well-being of its members. Every individual in the club/organisation should, at all times, show respect and understanding for their rights, safety and welfare, and conduct themselves in a way that reflects the principles of the organisation and the guidelines provided by our governing body and contained in the Code of Ethics and Good Practice for Children’s Sport.”
Achievements and Performance
In September (2022) we staged our annual McElmeel Cup Crosscountry races , jointly sponsored by the club, White’s Oats, and McElmeel Mobility. This event which attracted hundreds of Juvenile and senior athletes from all over Ulster was a great success both as a fund-raiser for the club and in terms of the topclass competition for the runners and the enjoyment it provided for the spectators.
Results in the senior races at the McElmeel Cup count towards the Athletics NI Cross-country League in which Armagh AC
athletes take part. Our Women’s team ( 16 Armagh AC runners in total, took part over the various rounds of the league) took 4[th] place from some fourteen teams. Our Men’s team (also using 16 runners in total overall) took 3[rd] place out of twenty-five competing teams.
In the Ulster Juvenile Cross-country Boys’ Championships we had an Under-16 and two Under-14s qualifying for the All-Irelands, along with an Under-20 qualifying from the Girls’ section. Our 6- strong Under-16 Boys’ team won silver in the Ulster C’ships and also qualified for the All-Irelands, while our lone qualifier in the in the All-Ireland Senior Girls’ Ulster Schools C’ships finished 36[th] Schools. A girl and a boy from the club who took part in the Primary Schools Cross-country Finals both qualified for the Flahavan’s Porridge Athletics NI Junior Cross-country squad. Finally, two of our Juvenile athletes, a male and a female were nominated at the Craigavon Borough Council Sports Awards, and our Chief Coach was nominated for Club Coach of the Year.
In October we promoted the Annual Armagh 10-Mile Road Race and 4-Mile Fun-Run, at their traditional Navan Centre venue, which, with its extensive car park and modern catering facilities is ideal . Both races were well supported, some competitors even coming from as far away as Dublin. Taking place, as it does, just three weeks before the Dublin City Marathon, the 10-Mile is regarded by many as an excellent ‘sharpener’ for that event, while the Fun Run attracts many juvenile runners, as well as joggers and keep-fit enthusiasts in general. From our club we had 20 male and 6 female competitors in the 10-Mile ; while 11 of our Juveniles participated in the 4-Mile Fun Run. Again, this event proved to be a good fund-raiser
Many of our club members, both male and female, took part in the Dublin City Marathon and we were delighted to learn that our male team had pulled off a shock victory in the All-Ireland
Masters’ Marathon Championship, held in conjunction with that event.
Preparations began in October for the 2023 annual Armagh International Road Races which take place in February. These once again were a huge success, attracting male and female athletes from a dozen countries including the USA. This event shows Armagh AC at its best, with the involvement of some 50 members ( apart from the numerous members actually running) of all ages in administration, officiating, stewarding, advertgathering for the programme, programme-selling, etc., etc. As well as the Senior Elite races there is also a full programme of juvenile races for both boys and girls, in which practically all of our 55 Juvenile members took part, running either for the club, or in the colours of their schools - the choice was left up to them! It is a genuine cross-community event with the participation of all the primary and secondary schools in the area, as well as clubs from all over Ulster and north Leinster, and with sponsorship coming from local shops and businesses to augment the grants and sponsorship provided by the Armagh Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, Brooks Sportsgear Company, Armagh Sports & Trophies, Linwoods Health Foods, Athletics NI, White’s Oats, and Armagh City Hotel.
The Men’s 5k race (which has been described as “the fastest in-depth 5k in the world”) and the elite Women’s 3k, attract, among many others, Olympians, World Championship contenders, as well as Commonwealth Games and European Championship participants. The event provides a great boost for the local economy at a lean time of year, and generates enormous publicity for the club and from this we gain many new members at all levels. We had 6 Armagh AC runners in the Women’s 3k, 6 in the Men’s 3k, and 3 in the Men’s 5k.
In March we staged the first of our Mountain Races , this one taking place on Sliabh Gullion . We had a record entry of both male and female athletes, and we were very fortunate with the weather - blue skies and bright sunshine throughout! Both our
Male and Female teams were very successful, with the Men victorious in their section, and the Women taking the Runners-up prizes in theirs. This event too showed a healthy profit.
In the same month came the Alan Scally Relays, organised by Shettleston Harriers of Glasgow. We sent a team comprised of two men and two women which took first place in the Mixed Relay event.
the The final mountain race of the year promoted by Armagh AC - Flagstaff to Carlingford Mountain Race - took place in June. With approximately 11 miles of ‘up hill and down dale’, this is the longest and most demanding on the provincial mountain race calendar and requires six mountain-peak check-points to be manned for over four hours - we are fortunate in being able to call on members, past and present, to monitor these posts. Six members of the club ran here in competition against more than a dozen teams from other clubs. Again the funds raised from this race were a welcome addition to our coffers.
One of our Masters athletes secured the Cup as best V40 runner
in the Newcastle ‘Hill and Dale’ series of Mountain Races in the Springtime.
Four Armagh AC male athletes were selected on the NI and Ulster team for the International Masters Cross-country event in Scotland, and we also had representatives at the World Masters Mountain Running Championships in Clonmel.
In Track and Field , club members were very much to the fore, with our Juvenile athletes in particular making steady progress in many events under the watchful eye of their coaches. At the Ulster Championships one of our female athletes took silver in the
Under-18 400 Metres and qualified forthe All-lrelands, where she th finished a very creditable 5 . Another of our young female athletes th came 4 in the Under-14 1500 Metres and she too quaLified for the ALI-Irelands where she finished 16 In the Ulster Schools Championships one of our Senior Girls finished second in the Steeplechase and in the All-lreland th th Schools came 7 in the same event. Another Senior Girlwas runner-up in the 400 Metres and 3 in the 400 metres HurdLes. rd One of our Intermediate Boys pLaced 3 in the 200M and went on to finish f in the All-lrelands, while another of our Intermediate th boys finished 8 in the Mile. There was a good turnout of Juvenile athletes also in the Firmus 5 series of Meets at the Mary Peters Track, inspired by the enthusiasm of their coaches. At the Ulster Masters. Championships we supplied the champion in the Women'sV40 1500 Metres and double- champion in the Men's V40 1500M and 3000M. In the All-lreland Masters Championships we had a silver medallist in the Men's V45 800M and for good measure the same athlete followed up with a bronze in the High Jump. FINANCIAL REVIEW Brief statement of the charity's policy on reserves st Cash in Bank at 31 August 2023 was £27,472.27 in unrestricted funds. The main financial riskto the charity is Loss of fundingfrom the local Borough CounciL and reduced sponsorship. Details of any f unds materially in def icit: Not applicable. James Vallely Tr 2510612024 asurer Trustee 2510612024 CLLL4 SEcoE¥P