[Not a valid template]With North Down men now firmly entrenched among the top teams of the Premier Division, Round 1 of the National League (formerly the Mazda League) took place at a sun-drenched Claremont Stadium, Navan. Jeremy Harper was the stand-out performer of a strong team and winning the discus with 44.60m and the shot with a pb of 14.02m extending his club record and passing 14m for the first time. Under the rules of the competition he could not represent the club in any more than two field events but under the liberal attitude towards guests he was able to take part in the 56 lbs weight for distance where he extended his club record to 6.70m and passed 7m with a throw that just foot-faulted. Luke Reynolds competed in the league for the first time and won the sprint hurdles with a massive increase in his pb to 15.1 sec and other big pbs went to Phillip Browne with 11.1 sec at 100m, James Budde with 4:02.9 at 1500m and Peter Glass with 5.70m as a guest at 56lb weight.
[Not a valid template]Other event winners included John Saulters at 400m, Michael Dyer at 800m and Brendan McConville with return to action in the pole vault after extensive rehab. Other notable league debutants included Robin Brown who found a niche with 2nd in the 3K walk though we forgot to tell him not to wear spikes and Aaron Stirling with 2nd at hammer and David Keys who competed as a guest for the first time with senior weights and threw 37.46 with 2Kg discus, 39.16m with the 7.25Kg hammer and 4.65m with the 56 lb weight. The ability to use guests was well used with test runs for Brendan and Kris at 400m, a miniature club weight for distance challenge, workouts for Jeremy, Tom and Ian and to ease new team members in such as David and John Carlisle. Brendan has obviously dropped in power and opted not to push his luck by going higher in the vault after winning at 4.20m.
All North Down”s 15 event scoring quota came from 1st or 2nd places with 6 wins and 9 2nds for 117 points. Dundrum South Dublin scored 4 points better with 9 wins 4 2nds and 2 3rds for 121.With the difference between 1st and 2nd two points as opposed to one in all other cases this makes the significant events the ones with DSD 1st and North Down 2nd or vice versa and there were many of those. The crucial ones though would probably be the two relays where good North Down runs were spoiled by poor changeovers.
[Not a valid template]The womens team was competing again in Division 1 and, with competing claims on members, was very small. Division 1 clubs have always in the past competed at half the events in a particular round and we were severely damaged by non-notification of a rule to change that to all events. Nothing wrong with the change as such but better communication would have been helpful. In the circumstances the four girls were heroic with pbs throughout for Nicola Simpson and Gemma McAnirn and seasons bests for Jessica Craig and Janine Munnis. They finished 5th and with a good Round 2 are far from out of it.