Weekend events

U12's have their first GO-Games Blitz next Saturday (31st March) – We
will meet in Eire Og at 11.30am and we will have 3 to 4 matches – Full
gear to be worn/ Bring Drink and packed lunch.
In our group we will meet Eire Og, Rockban, Cloughduv and Grenagh.

U10's and U11's are invited to CIT next Saturday 31st March to train
with some of cork hurlers, Jimmy Barry Murphy, Juliette Murphy and
others – Linda has contacted the girls involved and further info has
been sent on to parents. Enjoy Girls!

EASTER EGG HUNT – Our Annual Easter Egg Hunt is on Easter Monday (9th
April) – More details will follow at training and in next week's
Newsletter – Please keep your afternoon free for this, as it is a very
enjoyable day for all the family.

U11/ U12

We had a very busy weekend last week -

Sophie Jones and Ciara O'Sullivan represented the Club in Castle Road
for the Official Opening of the Camogie Pitches – they were among 59
other Cork Clubs where the girls dressed in their Club Gear and formed
a giant C in the pitch and let red/ White Balloons go up into the Sky.

Ali O'Mahony, Orla Keating, Katie Jones, Keely Lynch, Danialle
O'Sullivan and Erika Lenihan represented the Club in Pairc Ui Chaoimh
on Sunday where Cork played Kilkenny in the Senior Hurling League.
The girls were joined by pupils from Scoil Eoin where they lined up on
pitch for the Cork Team coming out, and participated in the half time
Mini Games. This was an enjoyable day and a great honour for the
girls. Well done girls, ye did the Club Proud and were well able for
the mixed teams.

Training continues every Sunday 12.15pm – 1.15pm.

Under 14

We had 15 training last Sunday, another good session all the girls worked hard.
Well done to all the girls who were involved in Scoil Mhuire's
fabulous show Cirque, we may have a few players off to Hollywood
before we know. Good luck to Emma, Marley, Sarah and Clodagh who are
playing their first cork colleges matches this weekend. We know ye
will each do us proud

Under 14 'A'Leagues 2012
Our first League match is next week so girls watch out for a text with details!!
Fixtures are as follows:
Week 1 Ballyhea Vs Ballincollig
Week 2 Douglas Vs Ballincollig
Week 3 Ballincollig Vs Eire Og
Week 4 Killeagh Vs Ballincollig
Week 5 Ballincollig Vs Cloughduv

Under 16

Well done and congratulations to Judy Murphy and Fiona O'Brien
(Captain), who along with their teammates secured a first All Ireland
Camogie Title for their school Mount Mercy College on Sunday 25th
March 2012 at Templederry, Co. Tipperary. Wins do not come any more
dramatic than Mount Mercy's victory over St. Joseph's Secondary
School, Rochfortbridge, Co. Westmeath on a score line of 5 - 9 to 4 -
8 having been 3 - 8 to 3 points down at half time. Both our club
players, Judy and Fiona were instrumental in what was an amazing
second half, a game played at the highest level throughout. Well done
girls, the first of many All-Ireland Titles, we hope.

UNDER 18

This group of girls are working hard and preparing for the League.
We are hoping to have the fixtures next week and get up and running.

JUNIOR

We played a challenge match on Friday 23rd against Sliabh Rua and the
match was a great game with both teams giving a great account of
themselves.... it was a tough battle and we lost by 2 points but
overall the work the girls have put in was easy to be seen on the
pitch.....
Our first LEAGUE match is on FRIDAY at home to Ballygarvan. Start time
6.30pm. Girls to be down for 5.45pm....
We continue training on:-
Wednesday 7pm to 8pm
Friday 7pm to 8pm
Sunday 9.30am - 10.30am
Queries to Mairead 0872846310

Senior

The Ballincollig Credit Union sponsored floodlit tournament comes to
an end this weekend. Firstly on Friday night at 7.30pm Glen Rovers
take on Ballinhassig in the "Plate" final. This will be a re-run of
the Senior B final from last year which Ballinhassig won and promises
to be a very close run affair. Secondly the Final takes place on
Sunday evening at 7pm where Inniscarra bid to win back the trophy and
Ballygarvan try to win the trophy for the first time. These will be 2
close and hard fought matches and will be a fitting end to the
tournament. Best of luck to all involved. We played our first league
match of 2012 last Saturday night when we travelled to Killeagh to
take on the locals. The match was close right to the very end and
unfortunately we lost out by 2 points. We didn't get out of the blocks
as quickly as hoped for and were 4 points down at half time. A much
more intense 2nd half followed and were very unlucky to come away
without even a draw. Of particular note were the very fine
performances from the younger members of the squad with Ciara making
her senior league debut and how well she played. Also, Jess was
unerring from frees. Welcome also to Louise Weste, Nicola Young and
Emer Nolan who helped out as numbers were a little tight. Finally, a
huge welcome for her first match to Kate Green who came on with 15
minutes to go and again made a very impressive start to her senior
career. Well done to all for the fine performance but we are under
pressure to win the remainder of the games if we are to qualify for
the knock out stages of the league.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

It was great to see such a wonderful turn out of girls from the under
age group to represent the club in the St Patrick's Day Parade on
Saturday last. All were dressed appropriately for the day in green,
which also happens to be our club colours. Well done to our flag
bearers Keely, Katie, Ciara and Isobel who held our sign aloft for the
entire crowd to see all the way up Main St. It was great to see our
youngest club members lead the group through the whole route of the
parade, obviously performing in front of a large crowd will be no
problem to these girls as they progress throughout their camogie
careers. Well done to all the girls that sang their hearts out as we
marched with pride representing the fantastic Ballincollig Camogie
Club.

Under 14

We had a challenge match on Monday against Aghabullogue in Coachford.
Thanks to all the girls who made it on the day, we know they had a
busy weekend, especially Shannon and Sarah who came to support their
team. 16 girls in total played the match. This was our first challenge
game to prepare us for our league and we knew from the start
Aghabullogue would be a tough side. The game showed us our strengths
and the areas that we need to put more work into. Well done to all the
girls!
Training will continue on Sunday at 12.15pm, bring water and shin
guards. We will be stepping it up a gear girls so please put in the
effort in!!!!!

Under 14 'A' Leagues 2012
Section 1 – Ballyhea – Ballincollig – Eire Og- Killeagh – Cloughduv –
Douglas 1 – Cloughduv
Section 2 - Sarsfields 1 – Courcey Rovers – Aghabullogue –
Ballinhassig - Kilbrittain/Timoleague – St. Vincent's
Two sections of 6 teams – Top 4 teams to qualify.
Matches are as follow for us and games will start in the first week of April.
Week 1 Ballyhea Vs Ballincollig
Week 2 Douglas Vs Ballincollig
Week 3 Ballincollig Vs Eire Og
Week 4 Killeagh Vs Ballincollig
Week 5 Ballincollig Vs Cloughduv

Team listed first has home advantage

Under 16

Are training hard at the moment in preparation for their league which
begins on the 31 of March match dates have been fixed for Fri. nights.
In Our first two games we got home advantage which I hope will be a
great start as the support and encouragement from the line in
tremendous, we look forward to the start of our season.

Senior

Under light tournament final is fixed for sat the 24 of March, which
sees ballygarvan and inniscarra doing battle for the cup, good luck to
both teams.
Congratulation to Dave and Adel on your engagement,
And finally the club thanks all who supported and helped last sat (st
Patrick's day) with bag packing at Quish supervalue your continues
support is appreciated.

BCU sponsored floodlit tournament Fixture Change

The 2nd semi final which was due to be played on Saturday 24th, has
been changed to Friday Night the 23rd

Under 14

Last Sunday's training went very well we had 16 girls in total and the
girls did great work. After a bit of running, the girls broke into the
square and practice their different skills. Aoife set up a challenge
drill, which saw all the girls sprinting and breaking past the tackle
of their mentors, and it's fair to say the girls did not take it easy
on us. All the girls gave 100% while having a bit of a giggle.

Girls please remember that training is to get us ready for the league
matches which are only around the corner, so match pace is needed at
training. Once the girls were reminded of this on Sunday, we were
shown just how much potential this bunch has. Once we get the league
fixtures, we'll be letting ye know what days to keep free in your
diaries.

Training will continue next weekend, Sunday 12.15pm until 1.30pm.
Please bring water and shin guards

UNDER 18

Training continues but we have changed the time, so we can move to
pitch 4 and the ball alley.
FRIDAY 8pm to 9pm - bring runners and boots.

JUNIOR B

Training continues each week, and again the time has moved
WEDNESDAY 9pm to 9pm - bring runners and boots
SUNDAY - 10am to 11am - for all and we are joined by the Under 16
players who want to play with the minor panel.
Sunday 11th saw a hardy group travelled to our annual opening season
challenge match against Douglas. Our start time was 10am to coincide
with our training time and fair play to those who travelled. The 'Com'
pitch was in excellent condition and a very good game was had by all
players and again as mentors we were trying a few things out but we
were also forced to make changes due to the absence of a number of
players for various reasons. We lost on this occasion but the work out
was important for our league preparations for both the minor and
junior team.
Well done to Orla, Leanne, Nicola & Rebecca (who had both played for
the Under lights Tournament on Saturday night), Shannon, Laura
Barrett, Emer, Kate, Mia, Lisa, Laura O Leary, Edel Murphy, Meabh Mc
(back after a long illness) Catriona, Emma and Aoife, we also
introduced Lauren, Laura O D and Rachael - all girls worked hard on
the day. We also thank the parents and players who drove to the match.
the injured Laura Barry was there and Captain Louise Weste looked on
unable to play due to illness.
Jess Hennigan continues her training with the Cork Minor Panel and
they are playing on Saturday 17th in Limerick so the best of luck to
Jess and the team.

Senior

The BCU sponsored floodlit tournament continued last week with one
match. Ballincollig took on Inniscarra and in a very satisfying game
for both sides; Ballincollig came out on top on a 3-7 to 2-5 score
line. This game provided an opportunity for both sides to try out
different combinations and both teams learned a lot from the outing.
By this weekend the final group game will have been played with Glen
Rovers taking on Courcey Rovers on Wednesday night. The 1st semi final
is due to be played on Friday night at 8pm with the winner from Group
1 taking on Inniscarra. The 2nd semi final has yet to be decided but
the final is due to be played on Saturday 24th.

U11/ U12 Notes

Training continues every Sunday 12.15pm – 1.15pm. (Please bring Shin
Guards/ DRINK to every training session)
U12 Blitzes are
31st March
14th April
28th April
Both U11 and U12 leagues will start in May and run through the summer months.
All Matches at U11/ U12 are GO-Game rules (same as normal rules, only
no kicking and no soloing – max 11 players a side)
At U12 and up – Club Skorts are compulsory, so if you do not have one,
please talk to John McAvoy during training next Sunday. (He will be by
the Club Container at 12.15 – 1.15pm)
Bag packing
We are Bag packing in Quish's Super Valu on 17th March.
Thank you in advance for your support.......

Under 14

A total of 18 girls took to the field on Sunday morning for training.
What seemed to be a nice morning, ended with lashing rain and hail
stone, so we took cover in the trees for a bit. Fitness and ball work
drills were carried out over the hour and a half with all the girls
putting in great work. This group are coming on each week, well done
girls!!

Training will continue next Sunday at 12.15pm, girls make sure you
have shin guards and water, and after last Sunday always bring a rain
jacket, just in case.

Hopefully we will have a match in the coming weeks to get us prepared
for the season ahead, so put the effort in at training!!

The club will be taking part in Ballincollig's St. Patricks Day
Parade, watch out for the text with the details. It's a great day out
and it brings the whole community together, so try to be available on
the day, to march the village in your club gear with all your
friends!!!

Under16

Congratulations to two of our U16 panel on reaching the U16 Junior
All-Ireland Colleges Camogie Final with their school Mount Mercy
College - Judy Murphy and Fiona O'Brien (Capt). Best of luck to the
girls who along with their teammates play St. Joseph's Secondary
School, Rochfortbridge, Co. Westmeath in the final on the 24th March
next.

UNDER 18

Well done to the girls on Sunday, it was a very good training session
and a good attendance. We now need to build on attendance as the new
13 a side league will be starting.
The Core training night for the Under 18's has changed to Friday to
accommodate the senior sessions who have changed their night to
Wednesdays.
The new entry forms for the new league will be received shortly and we
will hopefully have the group we are in shortly and get playing our
matches

JUNIOR B

Very good session on Sunday and a very worthwhile exercise. We will
keep on putting in the effort at the training sessions and arrange a
challenge match shortly before the Junior B League Starts.
The Junior B Section has gone from 7 league teams and 8 championship
teams to 13 teams which is a huge change and an even bigger
challenge.....
Teams are St. Vincent's, Ballygarvan 2, Sliabh Rua, Glen Rovers 2,
Youghal, Castlemagner, St Finbarrs 2, Castlelyons, Ballinascarthy,
Courcey Rovers 2, Valley Rovers 2, St Catherines 2 and Ballincollig 2
A huge challenge and a lot of work to be done in our preparations.

TRAINING: WEDNESDAY 7 - 8PM - bring runners and boots to every session
- core junior session
TRAINING: FRIDAY 7PM - 8PM - bring runners and boots to every session
- core Under 18 session
TRAINING: SUNDAY 10AM - 11AM - bring runners and boots to every
session - joined by the Under 16 members.....

For each session please make sure you have your hurley, helmet boots
and runners and water........
Jess Hennigan continues her training with the Minor Squad and they
have recorded two wins to date and we hope they continue to progress
in the competition.......
Any queries regarding Minor or Junior training contact Mairead

Senior

Training continues on Wednesdays and Sundays. Keep it going girls as
we continue to work on the fitness programmes. We will soon be out on
the pitches to start the ball work. Best wishes to Linda and Patricia
with the county teams on Sunday. Well done to Jess Hennigan who is
part of the Cork U18 team that qualified for the All Ireland semi
final last week with their 2nd win of the championship, a win over
Dublin, and good luck in the semi final.
The BCU sponsored floodlit tournament continued last weekend with 2
excellent games decided. Inniscarra held off a determined performance
from Ballinhassig to win on a 2-12 to 2-5 scoreline and Ballygarvan
had a hard earned win over Glen Rovers on a 3-5 to 1-3 scoreline. This
weekend there is only one game on Saturday with Ballincollig hosting
Inniscarra at 6.45pm on Saturday. The Glen Rovers v Courcey Rovers
game has been refixed to Wednesday 14th at 8pm.

Mairead Donovan Awarded Cork Sports Partnership Club Volunteer for 2011

Success already in 2012 !!!

Mairead Donovan was recently awarded Club Volunteer for 2011 by the
Cork Sports Partnership. She was presented with her prize by Minister
of State Kathleen Lynch T.D. at an awards ceremony recently in Oriel
House.

This is what was said about her contribution to Camogie so far.

Mairead has been involved in the Ballincollig Camogie Club since it's
inception in 1974. She has excelled as a player, trainer and officer
for the club for the past 37 years. She recently stepped down as
Chairman of the club and currently trains the clubs U18 and Junior
teams She has played in the club first Under age team and
subsequently in the clubs first adult team. She has also acted as
treasurer & PRO. In her most recent officership as Chairman over the
last 4 years, she has guided the club through a huge growth curve. The
club has seen a doubling in size of players mentors and members. The
club has grown from being a junior club with approximately 4 under age
teams to a successful senior club with at least twelve active teams.
In her time as chairman the club achieved success winning Junior A,
and Senior B county titles in successive years. A measure of her
dedication at club level is the fact that she is now training
daughters of girls she had trained a generation before.

Maireads contributions to Camogie both at club and county level are
full of passion, commitment and dedication.

She has been involved in the Cork Juvenile and senior Camogie Boards,
at a number of levels, She is passionate about spreading the game to
all corners of the county through her involvement in the Juvenile
County Board. Her work at County level has been never ending, Always
volunteering for fundraising, gate collections at matches, and
supporting various county teams at all levels. Her most recent
position being Cork Development Officer in the under age section.
She was appointed as Development officer in 2011 to install the GO
Games ethos in under age Camogie throughout the county. This involved
organising a structured programme of games for 70 clubs at under
8,9,10 and 12 age groups. As well as organising the games for girls,
she organised refereeing courses for young girls to learn how to
referee the GO Games played through out the summer

Mairead was also instrumental in helping set up new under age Camogie
clubs in Aghada, Doneraile and Crosshaven. She arranged start up
equipment, funding and education courses for the mentors in these new
clubs.The impact Mairead has had on under age Camogie throughout the
County in the last number of years was plain to see when a number of
blitzes were held at the County head quarters in Castle Road where
close to 1000 girls took part.

Mairead shows total commitment to her sport, her club and county.
While providing joy for all people involved, success seems to follow
Mairead in many different ways. She is always there for people, no
matter what the issue is there is always an answer for you. Her
dedication and will seem to be never ending to get young girls
involved in the sport she loves providing them with a platform to
achieve their own personal, club and county goals. All this work is
done with a genuine love of the game and an enduring wish that all the
girls, parents and trainers who take part enjoy themselves, make
friends and learn about the game of Camogie