Athletics Ireland is proudly launching its performance plan for 2005. The direction of the new plan focuses on the development of athletes to the highest level from youth and junior level right through to the Senior International and World Class. The goal of the plan is to put in place a comprehensive and integrated programme that supports our top athletes & coaches and facilitates the development of world class performers. ‘Beginning the Journey to Beijing’ Athletes are identified at Youth Level and will be nurtured through from Junior to World Class level provided they achieve clearly identified benchmarks along the way. The programme will be delivered through a range of squads and camps as well as the implementation of an athlete injury and health monitoring programme. World Class Sports Science & Medical services will be delivered through an integrated network of regional support that will be tracked through advanced software systems. The squad and camps programme and the sports science monitoring programme will be ready for full implementation in October 2005 when training starts for the European Championships. Our coaches are the most valuable resource that we have and the new plan recognises this through the introduction of the Personal Coach Support Programme. Personal coaches may apply for modest support grants to enable them to travel to training camps and accompany athletes to major competitions as well as support their general coaching costs. AAI recognise that coaches are a key element in the performance system and have an invaluable contribution to make. Meanwhile AAI have begun the development of a Technical & Coaching Plan for the sport.The plan outlines a comprehensive Major Competition Programme for 2005 including the EYOF & World Youth Games, European Juniors, European U23’s, World Championships and World Student Games. The plan also includes a comprehensive competition programme to assist athletes preparing for each of these major games. The squads and camps programme will be delivered through a series of event specific technical camps and general panel based squads. In line with this a range of biomechanical, physiological and health and fitness monitoring tests will be performed periodically in order to ensure our athletes are performing to their potential at major championships and are training as efficiently and effectively as possible.The theme of the new plan is accountability and Athletes will be monitored against agreed performance targets as well as the Association being fully accountable for the delivery of the plan. The Association will also be held accountable in a number of key target areas to ensure a quality programme is being delivered to athletes and coaches. These targets must be delivered within an agreed timeframeThe performance plan enjoys the support of the Irish Sports Council who are providing substantial funding for it. The implementation of the plan and its continuous review to ensure excellence will match the endeavours of our athletes through the decades. APPENDIX PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME INFORMATION
Panels |
| Total Number |
WORLD CLASS |
| 8 |
|
|
|
SENIOR |
| 14 & relay |
|
|
|
DEVELOPMENT |
| 17 |
|
|
|
JUNIOR |
| 18 |
|
|
|
YOUTH |
|
PERFORMANCE PANELS
Junior Panel
Athlete | Club | Event |
| Cathriona Cuddihy | Kilkenny City Harriers A.C. | 400H |
| Kelly Proper | Ferrybank A.C. | LJ |
| Ciaran O’Lionaird | Leevale A.C. | 1500 |
| Azmera Gebresgi | Dublin City Harriers A.C. | 1500 |
| Colin Costello | Star Of The Sea A.C. | 800 & 1500 |
| Lynda Byrne | Dundrum South Dublin A.C. | 2000SC |
| Laura Crowe | Riocht A.C. | 800 |
| Danny Darcy | St. L. O'Tool A.C. | 800 & 1500 |
| Roseanne Galligan | Newbridge A.C. | 800 |
| David McCarthy | West Waterford A.C. | 800 & 1500 |
| Elizabeth McWilliams | Ballymena & Antrim A.C. | 800 |
| Louise Kiernan | Fingallions A.C. | 100 |
| Jason Smyth | City of Derry | 100 & 200 |
| Amy Foster | North Down | 100 & 200 |
| Ann Loughnane | Craughwell A.C. | 10k Walk |
| Ritchie Yeates | Raheny Shamrock A.C. | 100000 |
| Paul Pollock | 1500m | |
| Padraig White | Dunboyne A.C. | Hammer |
Development Panel
Athlete | Club | Event |
| Tomas Coman | Moycarkey Coolcroo A.C. | 400 |
| Deirdre Ryan | DSD A/C | HJ |
| Mark Christie | Mullingar Harriers A.C. | 5000 |
| Martin Fagan | Mullingar Harriers A.C. | 5000 |
| Andrew Ledwith | Fr. Murphy's A.C. | 5000 |
| Mary Cullen | North Sligo A.C. | 5000 & 10000 |
| Fionnuala Britton | Sli Cualann A.C. | 3000SC |
| Liam Reale | Limerick A.C. | 800 & 1500 |
| Thomas Chamney | Crusaders A.C. | 800 |
| Ailis McSweeney | Leevale A.C. | 100 |
| Joanne Cuddihy | U.C.D. A.C. | 400 |
| Mandy Crowe | Dublin City Harriers A.C. | 200 |
| Anna Boyle | Ballymena & Antrim A.C. | 100 & 200 |
| Eileen O’Keeffe | Kilkenny City Harriers A.C. | Hammer |
| Colin Griffin | Ballinamore A.C. | 20k Walk |
| David McCarthy | Le Cheile A.C. | 400m |
| Ciaran O’Connell | Glaslough Harriers A.C. | 800m |
Senior Panel
Athlete | Club | Event |
| Derval O’Rourke | Leevale A.C. | 100H |
| Maria McCambridge | Dundrum South Dublin A.C | 5000 |
| Jolene Byrne | Donore Harriers A.C. | 5000 & 10000 |
| Roisin McGettigan | Sli Cualann A.C. | 3000 SC |
| Relay Squad 4 x 400m | 4 x 400 | |
| Paul McKee | Beechmount Harriers A.C. | 400, 4x 400 |
| Paul Hession | Athenry A.C. | 100 &200 |
| Jamie Costin | West Waterford A.C. | 50k Walk |
| Mark Carroll | Leevale A.C. | 5000/10000m |
Senior Review Panel
Athlete | Club | Event |
| Ciara Sheehy | Dublin City Harriers A.C. | 100 & 200 |
| Paul Brizzel | Ballymena & Antrim A.C. | 100 & 200 |
| Karen Shinkins | Dublin City Harriers A.C. | 400 |
| Gareth Turnbull | St. Malachy's A.C. | 1500m |
| James Nolan | U.C.D. A.C. | 1500m |
World Class Panel
| Athlete | Club | Event |
| Adrian O’Dwyer | Kilkenny City Harriers A.C. | HJ |
| Alistair Cragg | Clonliffe Harriers A.C. | 5000 & 10000 |
| Marie Davenport | Marian A.C. | 5000 & 10000 |
| Sonia O’Sullivan | Ballymore Cobh A.C. | 5000 & 10000 |
| Dave Gillick | Dundrum South Dublin A.C. | 400 |
| Gillian O’Sullivan | Farranfore Maine Valley A.C. | 20k Walk |
| Olive Loughnane | Loughrea A.C. | 20k Walk |
| Robert Heffernan | Togher A.C. | 20k Walk |
