As part of the National Development Committee strategy the NDC are highlighting the Community Games organisation as an area where Table Tennis participation can be increased. As part of this strategy Provincial Branches are being encouraged to take a more active role within Community Games table tennis. Within this section you can follow my local area as it tries to set up a Community Games Table Tennis Team.

Diary of the Goleen & District Community Games Table Tennis Team.

December 2001
Applied for Information on the Community Games from the Main Office, Dublin.01-4544424. They provided me with a Cork County Contact number. Mike Bourke is the Secretary of the Cork Area (022-22455). I contacted him and he agreed to send me on information about the Community Games.

January 2002
I was sent some information by Mike Bourke listing the types of events that the Community Games organise including the age groups and size of panels and the closing date for entries to the Table Tennis event(6-4-02). I recognised the name of the co-ordinator of the event as Rory O'Connor the Cork Table Tennis Assoc. Secretary!. He had also passed on my name to Pauline Hayes, County Development Officer (021-2486143) and said she would be back in contact.

February 2002
Had message that Pauline had tried to get in touch. I phoned Head Office again and they gave me Mike Bourke's number again. I phoned Mike and he said he would get and pass on the information to me ASAP.

February 11th 2002
I approached the Goleen and District Community Council (I have been PRO of this Council before.) and proposed that I would like to enter a table tennis team in the Community Games and would the Council like to support this idea. It was discussed at a meeting and it was decided that they would organise a meeting with me to discuss the proposal.

February 12th 2002
Received information on the 12th February. Information included a National Finals 2001 Programme with loads of pictures. I recognised Orna Smith and Malcolm Guy from the Ulster Finals, some familiar faces already! Included was an extensive 2001 Annual Report on the Community Games Movement (31st AGM).An identity guidelines book with a CD ROM with accepted logos and colour schemes for promotional work. A pamphlet on the list of events with sections on Introducing the Community Games, Local and National Events, How to organise your local area, setting up a new area and How much does it cost. As well as all that a leaflet on a Special Activities Weekend in May. The information was excellent and the quality of the promotional material as well. Unfortunately there was actually no indication of how much it was to affiliate!

February 19th 2002
I have a meeting tonight with a the Fund Raising Sub-Committee of the local Community Council. I rang Mike Bourke again today just to clear up a few things for this evening and he has offered to have a meeting in Clonakilty (30-02-02) if it would be of any help. He told me that the affiliation this year is 110.00Euros, and that covers all sports. He also told me that this would also cover our insurance for participation, meetings as well as training for 2 million. This is great news as I was hoping to set up a Community Games Table Tennis Club in the Goleen Parish Hall as our last venue is now not available. The Parish Hall have also agreed to buy a second table for the hall (They have one already, I donated it 5 years ago.), we just need to supply the insurance and have two adults (one of each gender) present during training. Kurt Lyndorff another player in the area and father of two talented players has just finished his Level 1 Coaching Course over the weekend and I'm hoping will be a big help. So I have my information for the Community Council meeting tonight all ready to go and fingers crossed things look promising.

February 19th 2002
Meeting went well and there seems to be good interest for the GAA to enter and maybe the soccer as well. The Committee is going to reccommend that the Community Council pays the 110 Euro entry, We now have to confirm with the Parish Hall whether it is going to be available any evening. Rumour has it that we can get in there on a Monday night. Here's hoping!

March 11th 2002
There's a Community Council Meeting tonight, to fill in the names of the officers for the Community Games. I have a list of "latest entry" dates and all the team entry forms for the various competitions. I have 6 girls who could all be good enough for the team but I can only put in a squad of 5. That means one of them will be disappointed and by the nature of things its likely to be the youngest. Still she is U10 and will have loads of opportunities to enter over the next 6 years! Have to write to the Parish Hall in order to get one evening a week to train. Thankfully they all go to the Ballydehob Club as well so they can train even if we don't get the local hall.

March 25th 2002
The local Community Council have filled in and sent off all the paperwork. I have filled in all the "team" information and I am sending it off to the Cork Secretary tomorrow. Rory has told me that the Cork finals are going to be at the North Mon. and that they are going to be the day after the Junior Interpros. That's going to make it really difficult as a couple of the girls are going to Connacht and they will be very tired after the trip. I'll have to look into this a bit more and ask for someone to help bring the others up to Cork for the day.

I have some good news that we have found a local sponsor who is going to supply us with some teams shirts. So we will have the "Property of Dermot Sheehan's" somewhere on the shirt, as he is a local Estate Agent! It looks as though the Enniskeane/Ballineen Team are going to enter so we will be playing Emma Jane Helen & Andrea Shorten! I think Mayfield will also be entering so we are really going to be up against it. Still all the girls are U15 and some U12 so we will have to look for the future and this will be good experience for that.

All 6 girls were in action at the West Cork Team Challenge and one of the teams took second place in the Div.2. The younger three managed a third in the Plate. Unfortunately the Ballydehob Club has now closed. I have sent a letter to the Parish Hall but I'm not holding out much hope. We do have a smaller hall out near Toormore and I am going to see about that this week.

March 28th 2002
The Altar Club in Toormore will open this week, with two tables. The hall committee were extremely helpful and got back to me the same day. It's just a matter of organising a day and time.

There was more good news when Dermot Sheehan confirmed that he would sponsor the kit for the girls team and he is having it embroidered with his name. The Goleen and District Community Council who paid for our entry and are setting up other sports will also have their name embroidered on the shirts. so even if we don't win we have a lot of local support and we'll look good trying!

I have a meeting with the organising committee this evening in the parish hall. I have been talking to Tim Sheehan who runs the under age GAA and making sure our practice times don't clash as one of our girls is also very good at the GAA. I think it is important to help co-ordinate with the other clubs in the area as the population is very small and there is going to be some cross-over problems between sports.

All the entry forms have been completed, the closing date being the 5th, next week. so all the girls have had to sign the form and I've sent it to Mike Bourke the Cork Secretary.

April 5th 2002
The Altar club is up and running and the girls are training once a week on two tables. Tommy Fitzgerald STIGA agent for Ireland has agreed to sponsor the teams tracksuits and the girls tried them out for size today.

April 13th 2002
Got back from the World Schools yesterday and we will have training tonight as it was missed last week. The tracksuits and shirts have been embroidered and the team looks very professional, very important for the girls and the sponsor. Discovered that the final is on the Sunday after the Junior Interpros, we don't get back till late Saturday night and both Eliza and Ronja have been selected for the Munster U12 team so I don't know if they will be able to play as they will get home to Goleen very late Saturday and the final is on Sunday morning.

April 28th 2002
So the day of the final arrived and I didn't get back till 4.00 am. Stayed at a friends house in Cork with one of the other teams. Eliza was too tired but Ronja decided to stay up in cork for the night. Deirdre didn't show up for her lift but Janna, Kloe and alice all arrived eventually after going to the wrong venue! We got a bye through to the final but if we lost that we would have to play the loosing semi finalist. Ballineen & Enniskeanne played the Mayfield Girls and Ballineen/Enniskeane won. With Emma Jane Helen, Andrea shorten and Marie McSweeney they were a very strong team. we lost to them as well in the final but we did managed to win a couple with players playing very well. We played Mayfield for 2nd and 3rd and again won a couple of matches but Jessica Kelleher, Clare O'Callaghan and Molly Fallon proved too strong. The girls were delighted to be presented with the Bronze medal and so were the Community Council and local sponsor Dermot Sheehan.

May 6th 2002
Got some great coverage in the local paper and local radio for the Goleen team and there was a great reaction from local people. The effect has raised the profile of table tennis locally and it is hoped that this will facilitate further sponsorship and assistance.

May 23rd 2002
I was given a copy of the Cork Echo tonight and there is a half page photograph of the Goleen & District team in colour. The photo is bigger than the winners! Thanks to Tommy Fitzgerald and STIGA we certainly looked the best!

The end or beginning!
All in all the Community Games has been a rewarding experience for the team and for me. I don't see us winning in Cork (at least for a couple of years!) but that's not always the point. It was great to go out and represent our small local area and we have had tremendous support from local businesses, groups and individuals all wishing us well and congratulating the efforts of the girls. I hope a club will develop out of this and that it will generate even more interest in the sport locally. Highly reccommended for a small local club.

As a note the Goleen & District Community Games Girls Team entered again in 2003. This time under a new Coach Kurt Lyndorf. The girls did extremely well and managed a silver medal in the Cork Finals. The 2002 Cork winners Ballineen/Enniskeane went on to win the National Title. 2003 will be the last year for U16s Table Tennis at Community Games as the organisation has been encouraged to run an U13 Event in order to provide a more open competition.