50 Years of the Student Games in St Abban’s A.C.
While the rain on Good Friday threatened to derail the 50 th running of the Student Games,
the rescheduled event took place a week later than usual on Friday 25 th April. A great crowd
arrived to Monavea to represent their local schools. As is tradition each position is worth
points to the overall team, with the team with the most points winning in the end. A couple
of years ago schools were grouped together in the interest of fairness, giving each school an
opportunity to win the top prize.
Events took place from U7 all the way up to U15 with a selection of short sprints, Long
Jump, Shot Putt and Ball Throw available for each age group. Each competitor gave the
competition their all with some very close finishes and tight battles across events. A huge
crowd of spectators made up of parents and grandparents also cheered on the athletes
throughout each of their events. To finish off the night, there were relays at U9,U11, U13
and U15 for everybody to enjoy and try to emulate the Irish Relay teams who did us so
proud over the summer months. Who knows, we may have seen the next Sharlene
Mwadsley or Rhasidat Adeleke competing in Tolerton on Friday evening.
When the competition had come to a close, each school’s points were added together and it
was Scoil Diarmada, Castledermot who took the overall honours with a total of 160 points.
The combination of Old Leighlin, Ballinabranna and Leighlinbridge finished in 2 nd place with a
total of 124 points while Ballyadams and the Swan finished in 3 rd with 104 points.
Many thanks to all of the teachers and parents who made the huge effort to encourage and
bring along students to compete on Friday evening. A huge thank you also to William Kelly,
Kelly Agri Consultants who sponsored the event. Finally, thanks to all of our volunteers who
ensured the event ran off just in time before the rain arrived. We look forward to
welcoming you back to the track on Monday next for the Annual Open Sports.

Laois Junior and Master’s Road Championships
The Laois Road racing calender came to a close on Sunday last with Portarlington hosting
the Laois Junior and Masters Road Championships. St Abbans had teams across the Masters
Ladies, Men’s and Junior Men’s categories. Colin Coyne was the overall winner of the
Master’s Men’s Race with St Abbans also picking up a team prize. On the Women’s side, the
team of Sinead, Margo, Aileen and Claire also won team medals. The Junior Men’s team also
picked up team medals, finishing behind St Michael’s A.C. Full results will be available online
in the coming days. Many thanks to St Michael’s AC for hosting the event and the spread
they put on afterwards.

St Abbans AC Open Sports
The 28 th Annual Open Sports will take place on its usual day, Bank Holiday Monday May 5 th
starting at 12 noon. There are events from U8’s all the way up to Junior with a combination
of sprints, jumps, throwing and long-distance events for each age group. The full
programme is available online. Many thanks to Newhaven Kitchens and Councillor Ben
Brennan for their continued sponsorship of the event.