The senior women’s team from the Newtownabbey and Belfast-based Abbey Athletics Club has been selected to represent Ireland at the European Clubs Track & Field competition on 27 May in Bratislava, Slovakia. Abbey earned the right to represent Ireland by winning the 2006 Hibernian Irish National League competition. Abbey will compete in Group B, which includes clubs from France, Switzerland, Serbia, the Netherlands, Israel, Bosnia Herzegovina, and Slovakia. Abbey will take 13 athletes to the competition, covering all events. Abbey will travel with sponsorship from Newtownabbey Council. The club also has staged a number of fund-raising events. It is the second year in succession that Abbey will compete at the European championships. Last year in Istanbul, Turkey, Abbey collected five medals: gold in the 4X400m relay, silver in the 400m and long jump, and bronze in the 1500 and 800. Club captain Elaine McCaffrey, who won silver in the 400m and anchored the victorious 4X400m relay last year, will lead the squad. McCaffrey, a 22 year old student at the University of Ulster in Jordanstown, is currently ranked 4th in Ireland over 400m with a personal best of 55.02. She has represented Ireland at the World Student Games and the Europa Cup. “The girls are really looking forward to the competition, and have been working hard at raising the funds,” said McCaffrey. “The competition gives everyone on the team the opportunity to compete against some of the best athletes in Europe.” Mary Devlin, who captured bronze in the long jump at last year’s competition, will also be a medal contender. The 27 year old Devlin is the Northern Ireland record-holder in the triple jump and will be competing in both events in Slovakia. Rhiannon McNally, who set a new Northern Ireland record for the hammer with a throw of 53.21 on 13 April, will be another strong presence. The 19 year old is improving rapidly and is one of Northern Ireland’s most promising young prospects. David Seaton MBE, Chairman of the NI Athletic Federation commented; “The last few months have been a difficult and trying time for Abbey AC following the death of their Chairman and inspirational leader, Bobby Rea. I am delighted that the club are ‘flying’ the flag’ for local athletics at this international competition. I wish them well in the knowledge that they will, as ever, be great ambassadors for local sport and will return from Bratislava having taken full advantage of this opportunity to compete against some of the best athletes in Europe”. Abbey was founded in 2000 and has maintained a strong focus on track & field, especially for junior and young athletes. In a short time it has established itself as a keen competitor in both Ireland and the UK, winning the 2006 UK Clubs Future Regional Award for Track & Field. It also has a strong road-running and cross country tradition, with the senior women’s squad finishing second in the 2006 Northern Ireland cross country championships. Several Abbey athletes have represented Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games. For more information about Abbey AC, see: www.abbeyac.co.uk. For more information about the European Club Championships, see: http://www.atletikadubnica.sk/ECCC.htm. Further information can be obtained from Simon Taylor on 07950010461. 


