Fingal Athletics League Finals Day 2023

Fingal County Council’s Sports Office were delighted to host the Finals Day of the Fingal Athletics League in ALSAA Sports Complex on April 26th.

2,200 primary school students from 60 schools across Fingal came to ALSAA for the climax of the Fingal Athletics League programme. This year’s event was the first since 2019 and we had a record number of schools taking part. The programme kicked off in early March with two local race meets in Porterstown Park, Castleknock for schools based in Dublin 15 and Newbridge House, Donabate for schools based in North County Fingal.

Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Howard Mahony commented ‘The Fingal Athletics League has been a fantastic participation programme for over 15 years. It gives children the opportunity to take part in the lifelong physical activity of running with the bonus of representing their school.’

The Finals Day event included runs of 300m for 3rd class, 400m for 4th class, 500m for 5th class and 600m for 6th class. In addition to the races, we had coaches from Athletics Ireland as well as our co-funded development officers from Cricket Leinster and Leinster Rugby to deliver some activities for the students to try their hand at.

Director of Housing and Community Robert Burns said ‘Fingal County Council Sports Office is delighted to support and host the return of the Finals Day of the hugely successful Fingal Athletics League and we welcome the continues increase in participation in the programme from across the County.'

The ethos of the programme has always been about inclusivity and giving all children the opportunity to take part. Since the athletics league launched in 2006 with 9 schools, participation numbers have grown steadily. This year’s programme had 65 schools register with 2,500 students competing.

Noel McManus, Fingal Sports Development Officer added ‘We see the athletics league as a gateway opportunity for children to join their local athletics club or Junior Parkrun. The legacy effect of the programme is to give children the confidence and competency to continue progressing through their physical literacy journey.’

For more information contact Noel McManus, Fingal Sports Development Officer at [email protected]