This article is from page 85 of the 2009-12-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 85 JPG
THE next phase of Clare’s prepara- tions for the hosting of the National File Under 14 hurling competition 1s about to crank into gear with the pro- motion aspect ready to be launched.
With just over six months to the arrival of clubs from all across the country, preparations have stepped up a gear and Clare Féile Secretary Declan Hogan, from Tulla, says the third weekend in June represents a massive occasion for Clare.
“It was great news when we were chosen to host the 2010 competition and we’ve been hard at work since the announcement,’ he said _ this week. “But the real hard work is only starting now.
“From a logistical point of view alone it’s a mammoth task. You’re talking about 2,000 youngsters de- scending on Clare for the weekend so even in terms of accommodation, it
will take a lot of planning, but we’ve been tackling that over the past few months.”
According to Hogan, the competi- tion will provide a great shop win- dow for Clare.
“You have to look at it from two angles,” he says. “First, we have the chance to promote Clare as a county to the thousands of people who will be visiting. And second, and most 1m- portantly of all, we have the chance to promote Gaelic Games to the kids of Clare. It’s an opportunity of a life- time from that point of view.”
He said the Féile committee are also looking for support from, the county board and the Bord na nOgs.
‘Take the first Friday of the compe- tition for example. We’ll have in the region of 50 pitches in use that day, so we’ll need all the facilities and all the referees we can get our hands on. It would be great to have a free week- end fixture wise.”
In the spring, the committee will begin to host a number of Under 14 blitzes in a bid to familiarise Clare clubs with the structure of the Féile competition.