The Board of Athletics Ireland are delighted to announce the revival of a National Athletics Awards programme. This year's event will take place on November 17th in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry and the format will be a black tie gala dinner with musical entertainment to round the evening off after the presentation of awards. It will be hosted with the generous support of sponsorship from Waterford Crystal. There will be twelve categories of annual award presented on the night

• Track athlete of the year
• Field athlete of the year
• Walker of the year
• Cross Country / Road athlete of the year
• Club of the Year
• Coach/Mentor of the Year
• Recognition of an Official
• Junior athlete of the year
• Masters athlete of the year
• Performance of the year
• Athlete of the year
• Lifetime Achievement Award

The Awards Selection Committee come from across the broad spectrum of the sport and their credentials are impeccable - they are Eamonn Coghlan (Chairman), Catherina McKiernan, TJ Kearns, Maeve Kyle, Ray Flynn and Mark Hayes. The nominations in the various categories will be announced by mid-October. "Club of the Year" and "Coach / Mentor of the Year" will be chosen from submissions via a nomination form which will be published on the website in the next week along with guidelines for completion. These categories will give a particular opportunity to recognise some of the great contributions from individuals and groups from the grassroots to the elite. Commenting on the creation of the event, Athletics Ireland President Michael Heery said "One proven way of raising the profile and of bringing attention to all that is good in the sport is to have an annual National Awards Programme. I am therefore delighted to let you know that the Board has approved the plans for the creation of a national awards programme for this year." In what has been a very successful year for us on the international stage, the event will provide a great opportunity to bring us together and celebrate our particpation at all levels in this success. The event will be officially launched in the National press in the next week and this will be followed by additional information on the website and dispatches to the membership. Interest in ticket reservations has been strong to date with nearly 50% of tickets already committed. Please contact Moira Aston in the Athletics Ireland Office (01 886 9933) for further information regarding reserving tickets or a table (ten people per table). The cost is 100 Eur per head. We look forward to seeing you for a great night on November 17th.