Carrick

[atbarber]

Just to keep people informed.
Camping
The problems we have had over the last couple of years have been elevated due to us camping beside the pitches. With this in mind I have approached the local GAA club to see about using the area for camping. This ground is across the bridge and easy walking to town. I am awaiting a reply. Camping will have to paid for separately and I will keep people informed.

Last year I pulled my boat out of the fire and someones rucksack was thrown in the fire; someone had their wallet stolen; people were flashing into tents; the garda were called; caravans were shaken; grass was burned with BBQ's.

Venue
I have approached the boatclub again about the possibility of using the area outside their club again for the games and I do not think there will be any issue.

Adrian Barber
Competititon Organiser.

[atbarber]

Competition has been given the go ahead.

Camping has not.

I am persuing other camping venues including:
i) GAA ground. Waiting for reply
ii) tennis ground- They have got new funding for a clubhouse so they may not be interesed.
iii) Lough key - public campsite with showers etc.

[brendag]

Lough key sounds like a great option - no pubs around but could be good bit of craic with barbeque etc!

Brenda.

[Fi H]

Very far out though given a lot of people take buses and trains to Carrick and send their boats on a trailer - i know a lot of DCU people used public transport last year. Also if matches are starting at 8.30am the chances of people turning up from lough key would be minimal i would have thought

[Chuckie]

yep most of us will be making our way down by bus or train,so lough key is a non runner for us! We like the sound of the gaa club
Eoin captain dcucc

[Fi H]

FYI - I was up scouting about Carrick on the weekend (Rocking Robins is still the dodgiest venue in Ireland :D and yet soo much fun). Lough Key Camp Site is approx. 8 miles from the centre of town. The facilities there would be a lot better than in previous years - ie more than one shower and toilet - there are cooking facilities and picnic area etc - , but v far away & no pub, restaurant or shop on site or anywhere near - local mini buses though are v good and not too espensive for going into town etc if there was somewhere in town to store boats etc. - any chance of changing the venue to the lake if the campsite is the only accommodation option?

Had a look at the GAA training grounds which would be within a walking distance of the pitches - definitely a good space but no toilets etc and they would be v exposed during the day when everyone would be at pitches.

Anyway hope all is well with the planning.

[atbarber]

Thanks for that Fiona. I have been away all week and not followed up on this yet.

Adrian

[Pierce]

Adrain,
The other place that might work for camping is the green area on the Roscommon side of the river. Its public property I think so I'm not sure who you would need to approach about it. I'm the county council would know who's responsible for it.
Pierce

[atbarber]

Camping has still not been confirmed. But the show must go on
Adrian

[fill]

http://www.camping-ireland.ie/caravan-parks/camping.php?id=89

Anyone know anything about battle bridge site? Is close to leitrim/c-o-shannon - but i'm not from those parts.....

[atbarber]

folks

The GAA is a non runner.

Pierce is looking into the Tennis Club and another venue for me.

Battlebridge is out towards the Rocking robins road about 1/2 mile from Leitrim Village. It has a bar onsite. It is about 4miles from carrick. They do provide a minibus service to take people into carrick. Currently they do have camp spots available. No. +353 (0)71 965 0824 . http://www.beirnesofbattlebridge.com/index.html

Adrian

[missy]

battle bridge! sounds like that could lead to trouble.....

[Emmaro]

Any further developments on the camping for the weekend?

I have looked at the other site suggested, but its really going to push the price of the weekend up for us - we have at least 30 people looking to come with us, and couldn't subsidise the camping for them. Besides, its a bank holiday weekend, and chances of getting in somewhere for a big group of students is probably a non runner.

If you could let us know what is happening, that would be great. At this stage, we (QUB) would have to seriously consider whether or not to put our two teams into the competition, which I think is a shame. It has always been such a good weekend for us, and it would be a pity if it no longer featured as one of our annual trips. I don't think that we would be the only Uni team who would have this problem (as DCU have already said above). Not sure about Galway?

I also know that the other Northern teams are waiting to hear what is happening in terms of the accommodation before entering their 2/3 teams.

Thanks,

Em

[missy]

i know camping is always free on the side of the river in carrick but at all other tournaments: Limrick,Cork,Docklands, ppl have to organise their own accomodation and pay for it. also in kilcock i think there is usually a charge to camp in the rugy club which is a bit of a distance from the pitches....
...my point.....ppl should take the initive to sort themselves out and not really soly on adrians efforts

I know it is start of the summer for students and i have had many great years there with only the price of my entry fee and a box of bierre d'or and have had to visit relatives to bum money for petrol inorder to make it home!!!!!

but please dont let the accomodation crisis prevent your teams from travelling as it would be an even bigger loss to the best tournement of the summer....and what would we do at 6am without queens and their guitar :D

[Robert]

and what would we do at 6am without queens and their guitar :D

Queens and a G-String, great name for a polo team....

[Fi H]

According to the website it works out at €7 a night per person - its hardly worth missing Carrick for €14 but if thats the way it is its kind of your loss!

[Emmaro]

I have contacted the campsite, so am waiting for their reply. I'm just conscious of the fact that there are so many of us, and given that we are students, many campsites would not be particularly inviting :eek:

I was asking about camping because in one of the other posts, I think there were two venues that were still to be looked at. I personally have no problem paying for the accommodation (like Enniskillen last year), it's the others who are coming along with us, who are not polo players, who come to lie about in the sun, have drinks after their exams, chill out, sort their hangovers out the next day by lying in their tents beside the water, whilst supporting their team that I know will not be particularly happy about paying for their camping.

Carrick has never been just a weekend trip for us, and this year is no exception. We hadn't planned on going back to Belfast until the Wednesday (heading to Easkey, then on somewhere else), so this accommodation has to fit into the bigger picture and overall cost of this trip. This year we are really fortunate to have encouraged more polo players to take part in the Ulster League, and the Belfast Cup than before, but we also have many club members who are not interested in polo, and would just rather go somewhere else for the 5 days if the trip incurs additional charges.

I'm not trying to be a pain, I'm just trying to look at all our options before going back to the members telling them what is happening. I think Carrick is a great competition, and I agree that after the trouble last year, it is probably not the best idea to have the camping where it has always been.

[missy]

I have contacted the campsite, so am waiting for their reply. I'm just conscious of the fact that there are so many of us, and given that we are students, many campsites would not be particularly inviting :eek:



Dont tell them......u northeners are too honest :)

and for the cheap ass drinking sunbathing student types, i can recomend sleeping in the car.......... or even better dont sleep....... they can still veg on their ground mats on the pitch side for the duration of the tournament.........Make it a sleep free carrick :cheers:

Remember drink alcohol sensibley. Less is more. Meas. :rolleyes:
Always wear sunscreen......:twocents:

[atbarber]

Folks

I have tried to get other camping venues to no avial. At last talk DCU were talking to the tennis Club. I am waiting to see how they have got on.

Otherwise Battlebridge or lough Key. That said if I had got anothere campsite the changes are we would have had to pay for it anyway. As we do at the Irish Open. Currently at 5 per night.

adrian

Adrian

[atbarber]

These are the teams eentered soo far
Div1
Swink
Kilcock

div 2
Galway
Rubber Duckies
WWW
Dredgers

Div 3
galway
midlanders
goal searchers

shown interest
Armitage Shanks
Big Fish
Kamikaze

[atbarber]

Div 1
Carnage
Kilcock
Kamikaze
Muppets
Irish ladies
Carnage


Div 2
Cyclones
WWW
Rubber Assassins
Dredgers
UCPC
Bad Company
Cyclones
Okey Dokey

Div 3
GALWAY
Goalsearchers
Midlanders
Big Fish
Armitage Shanks

[TheMasterG]

and Swink!

[atbarber]

Div 1
Swink
Kilcock
Kamikaze
Muppets
Irish ladies
Carnage

Div 2
Galway
WWW
Rubber Assassins
Dredgers
UCPC
Bad Company
Cyclones
Okey Dokey

Div 3
GALWAY
Goalsearchers
Midlanders
Big Fish
Armitage Shanks

+ possibly
2 DCU Div 3 teams
1 WWKC Div 3 teams

[atbarber]

I have just been told by DCU that they have been allowed to camp in the Tennis Club behind the boat club. cost 20 upfront with 10 being returned if the campsite is kept clean.
adrian

[AndyMc]

Adrian,
The tennis club is a no go, we (Queens) contacted them earlier and they are only prepared to allow DCU permission to camp on the site, all sorts of insurance reasons blah blah blah.
We are now booked in with Battlebridge campsite, its costs are 10yoyos for a small tent and 16 for a family tent. They don't have very much (if any) room left.

Queens have two entries in the post to you today a div 2 and div 3 if there is still room.

Cheers,

Andy
QUB

[atbarber]

Please find attached the Carrick timetable.

Let me know if any issues
Adrian

Leagues
1
Carnage
Muppets
Swink
Irish Ladies
Kamikaze
Kilcock

2A
Galway
Cyclones
Rubber Assassins
Dredgers
UCPC
2B
Bad Company
WWW
Okey Dokey
Renegrades
3A
Cryptos
Goalsearchers
Armitage Shanks
Gremlins
DCU Dib Dab
3B
Midlanders
Big Fish
Rockie
Tellytubbies
DCU Nkh

Let me know if any issues
Adrian

[Fi H]

I am not one to pick on organising events etc but i have to say i am dissappointed with the way the leagues are being run this year at carrick. Teams in 2B only have 5 games the whole weekend. Bad Company have 2 games on saturday and are finished on the water by 11.30am. Its dissappointing that at the docklands teams were given 9 games over the weekend which was great and now on a bank holiday weekend we have 5 and the whole comp is scheduled to be finished by mid day on sunday. I would have prefered to see a straight league guaranteeing every team in div 2 8 games and the comp run until 6-7pm sunday night!

anyway thanks to adrian for all the hard work and effort being put in. maybe you can take this on board for next year!
Fi

[TheMasterG]

Well there'd be a lot more times for games if Pitch 1 didn't have 50 minutes allocated for each game until Saturday evening :eek:

[Fi H]

I think you'll find the gaps between div 1 games on pitch 1 are filled with Div 3 games so there arent actually 50 mins between game :D

[TheMasterG]

Ah, sure I misread that. Thought it was Div 1 only on Pitch 1 as in other Divs were on other pitches. Carry on...

[atbarber]

hi guys

I understand were you are coming from but I have tried this afternoon to see if I could fit in more games by changing the format. Have not been successful yet. Will try again tomorrow.

Adding 2 more hours will give us an extra 5 games . This would give us space for 10 more games. If we started at 8.00am we could fit in another 3 maybe. If you change div 2 you would also have to change div3. If they played each other twice this would be an extra 20games each league.

If we did straight leagues this would be an extra 15 games each league.

Two Div 2 teams asked could their games be later as they were not travelling until sat morning. I facilitated these teams.

Will look again tomorrow. Running beginners course tonight
P.S. If anyone can coome up with a solution let me know.
Adrian

[Nikolay]

It is not fare to play only couple of games for one day for any team, every one knows that. The problem comes once again from teams that are overcrowding div2 which fills more quick than the rest of the divisions. Teams should consider entering higher division rising their standard of play which leads to rising the standard of canoe polo in Ireland. This is something NCPC should look into how to stop teams entering lower divisions.

Instead complaining for lack of games people should come up with some ideas to resolve the problem.

Talk to you over the weekend
Nik

[atbarber]

Folks

I think i might have a solution there will be a revised timmetable tomorrow morning.

Adrian

[niall 9]

yes i agree with nik y dont people move up to div 1 instead of jamming div 2. if you train a little you can hold your own and after a couple of comps you will be use to div 1 and you will be so much better at polo

[atbarber]

Folks

Armitage Shanks and Big fish agreed to go into div 2 and this allowed me to come up with a new format. Most game times aree now different. We now have a 6 /11/8 format. Div 1 no change. Div 2 1 group of 5 and 1 group of 6. Div 3 straight league no playoffs.

hope all is Ok as it will be too late to change. And dyes it is 3.30am.

Adrian

[missy]

@Thanks adrian....:)

Ps...can you buy some trousers for your avatar.....:eek:

[Frosty]

While an avatar of Adrian is disturbing without trousers, at least the spray deck is covering everything up

You on the other hand Yvonne, are you going for the "lady of the night" idea selling your wears down by the docks???

[Clare]

I like the new timetable - Irish Ladies get to ref while they play Swink :D

Sure, we'll be fair :rolleyes:

[atbarber]

Swink were also refing one of their own games. Now corrected.

[Kelly.D.]

Hey Adrian any chance of gettin the times on the timetable??

[Frosty]

They are on the timetable
You just need to widen the column for the time

[Kelly.D.]

:thumbup: Thanks.....would'nt of thought of that!!

[Fi H]

Cheers Adrian!

[Seán Mullens]

Good Work Adrian!

[atbarber]

Div 1
1 Kilcock
2. Swink
3. Muppets
4. Carnage
5. Kamikaze
6. Irish Ladies

Div 2
1. UCPC
2. Galway
3. Bad Company
4. Big Fish
5. WWW
6. Cyclones
7. Dredgers
8. Renegrades
9. Okey Dokey
10. Armitage Shanks
11. Rubber Assassins

Div 3
1. Midlanders
2. Rockie
3. Gremlins
4. Tellytubbies
5. Cryptos
6. Goalsearchers
7. DCU NKH
8. DCU Dib Dab

Adrian

[Jean]

solid wkend, thanx!

[missy]

You on the other hand Yvonne, are you going for the "lady of the night" idea selling your wears down by the docks???

well i needed to make some money to pay my carrick entry fee....have taken your advice and have covered up now, its a bit chilly down the docks by myself anyway :(

[Mike]

I just uploaded some photos from Carrick as well.

http://picasaweb.google.com/griffinm/Carrick2007

[missy]

where are all the action shots of me :(

[conor]

Good photos, Weather looks miserable and Carrick normally has such good weather. The exams start today so we are guaranteed a few weeks of sunshine!

[Nutter]

Any word on how Connie is?
http://lh3.google.com/image/griffinm/RmV4itozDtI/AAAAAAAAAzs/ePMr8fxlCgM/117.JPG?imgmax=512

[missy]

anyword?

i will choose the word.....Fine.
:rolleyes:

[ogie]

shoulder is not to bad. sore to move still but sure its to be expexted. physio now for the next few months. woohoo and no polo :(
Thanks to every one who helped on Sunday. Much appreciated

[missy]

ye big wuse.....

The rest of the polo community is riddled with shoulder injuries and you dont see us retiring from polo during the summer months.....I even Have to type this with my nose cos my right arm (shoulder elbow wrist) is cramped with pain.....

:rolleyes: :mad: :eek: :)

[missy]

anyword?

i will choose the word.....Fine.
:rolleyes:
i ment as in well, not hot.....

[lmc]

Tell the truth Connie you just didn't want everyone shouting SWIMMER...:D :D :D

[niall 9]

connie hasnt had the best of luck this year carrick -popd shoulder, docklands- squished roll (unlucky) whats next ?????????

[Derek]

Whats goin on here Eoin?

http://picasaweb.google.com/griffinm/Carrick2007/photo#5072592234070871682

[Mike]

Has there been any justification of the cost of the Carrick competition? It turned out to be the most expensive tournament this year.
For our money we got:
Shortened matches
No toilet facilities
No shower facilities
No accomodation
No t-shirts
No prizes beyond second place in each division
No party
Bad water quality
And lousy weather on the Saturday :)

While the competition did run off pretty well despite the best efforts of the boat club and some boat owners, I dont think we really got value for money from it.

Mike.

[atbarber]

The cost for Carrick was decided by the National Committee.

This was not the most expensive competition as both limerick and Kilaloe and charging a lot more.

Limerick was 25 per player i.e 125 minimum per team. They only supplied prizes for Div 1 and no t-shirts even thought they were promised.

Kilaloe is €20 per head which is 100 per team minimum.

The money from Carrick goes into the national committee, as does any profit from the Irish Open and this is used to finance the National Committee and is used towards buying new equipment.

In the last two years we have purchased 2 sets of floating goals each worth €2000 (including shipping). These goals have been used at 3 competitions so far this year and are expected to be used at another 5. They willl then be on loan to clubs over the winter. This would not be possible without the money from competitions. The national committee has no funding from anywhere else and is self-funding.

The price for carrick went up by €10 from last year and all of this money will be pumped back into the sport (excluding expenses and prizes). If the money went into someones pocket then I would also want to know why the competition cost more.

If this does not justify it then sorry.

Adrian Barber
Carrick organiser

[Mike]

Looks like I got it wrong about the prices, sorry.

What new equipment is planned from the committee this year?
And is there any reason that the entry fee was increased from last year? Did the expenses go up, or are there plans for the money?

Are there any other competitions that are run at such a large profit?
Would it be too much to ask for some facilities or entertainment to be arranged when we put in time and effort to attend these events? I realise how much work Adrian and others put in to make sure that Carrick ran this year, but I dont think we got sufficient return for all that effort.

Mike.

[Mike]

Seems like no one cares.

[missy]

Are there any other competitions that are run at such a large profit?
Would it be too much to ask for some facilities or entertainment to be arranged when we put in time and effort to attend these events? I realise how much work Adrian and others put in to make sure that Carrick ran this year, but I dont think we got sufficient return for all that effort.

Mike.
Mike,

I cant anwers questions about the plans for purchasing this year on behalf of the committe (cos i have short attention span and never remember details!)

But based on Adrian response it would appear that:
Yes there are other comps that run at large profits, though it would be up to those organises to inform you as to weather it is personal profit or to finance their club!
Facilities: at many comps the facilities are a local pub. Though i do agree that public toilets should become a nessecity at all Outdoor comps.
Entertainment: this is not always supplied by the organisers. I know in some comps there is a venue and drink tickets eg cork/belfast but just for example Docklands had no organised entertainement it was just a pub. Enniskillen had no organised entertainment last summer. Liverpool comp had no entertainment last year. While it is great fun when evryone meets up at night, i dont think it is really that important for a comp.

I certainly think that organisers put in more than enough effort to ensure that comps happen and run effectively. At outdoor venues things dont always go to plan....parked boats/barges moving/unschedualed releases.... But yes, there is almost certainly more room for improvement and if you think there are more cost efficent and time saving ways of organising the events, please mail me or the committe or post the ideas here because everyone would rather save a few :twocents:

[atbarber]

We have listened to some of your comments and for the Irish Open the committee are working on T-shirts and drinks for everyone. Unfortunately t-shirts are not cheap and this has to be accounted for in the entry fee.

Adrian

[Fi H]

Usually at competitions where t-shirts are given out they are sponsored and therefore dont cost too mcuh. where they are going to be expensive i reckon sell them separately without increasing any entrance fees. I dont think many people actually want to BUY a t-shirt which is efffectively what you are talking about. I think the bigger issue is social events after the comp on sat night. i am happy to help organise the party if you want me to do this! if you are up for it please give me a shout Ado and we can talk about possibilities as i have been thinking about what would be a good party!
anyway let me know what you think
Fi

[atbarber]

Touch base with sean on this. He is looking into that end.

adrian

[EricDowdall]

If we stop the practice of giving out tee shirts at comps, I'll have nothing to wear to work! Wandering about in a Lime green/Orange tee shirt that says "Throw the Ball" is doing wonders for my career advancement! :cool:

I vote Nik designs the ones for the open! :D

E

[Fi H]

Eric
How is it possible that a member of Kamakazi could ever have nothing to wear - dont you guys get a t-shirt printed per competition unless you get more than one printed?
:D
ps you never sent me the t-shirt contact!
Fi

[atbarber]

Funny enough Nik is the person looking after tthe t-shirts for the committee.

Adrian

[Effe]

the Irish Open the committee are working on T-shirts and drinks for everyone. Unfortunately t-shirts are not cheap and this has to be accounted for in the entry fee.

Adrian

The vast majority of t-shirts given out free at polo comps go unworn because they are either cheap quality, look embarrassing or are badly sized... (I'm fully expecting if this goes ahead that the ladies teams will still be handed a full set of large T's)

I for one have more than enough and don't want any more, especially if its upping the cost instead of being sponsered!
And as for the maths on the drinks.... each team pays an extra 20quid entry...? most of the crates are swinked into the back of cars and the general masses don't get any??... OR since it is increasing the entry you are forcing people to buy drinks they don't want, will you have a wide selection of isotonic drinks/water/cokes/beers. I'd perfer to go to a shop and buy my own!

Your better off cutting out the extra's unless they are sponsered, concentrate on the essentials (toilets/showers...) and a good polo comp.

[Robert]

God be with the days when you would enter a competition, arrange your own camping / B&B / Hotel / Back of someones car, use the nearest pub's jacks. Refereshment would be a 6 pack of bud sitting at the side of the pitch.

Paddlers are to pampered these days. :wavey:

[Mike]

God be with the days when you would enter a competition, arrange your own camping / B&B / Hotel / Back of someones car, use the nearest pub's jacks. Refereshment would be a 6 pack of bud sitting at the side of the pitch.



But it wouldnt cost nearly €100 per team to organise that, would it? :)

[Robert]

But it wouldnt cost nearly €100 per team to organise that, would it? :)

Probably not far off... I think it would have been around IRP£60 (€76), DCPL was around IRP£120 (€152.36) per team per season. Now this would have been around 10 - 15 years ago. But we did get proper prizes then, not tee-shirts. In fact 1 competition gave tee-shirts as prizes, the following year they found it very hard to get entries.

[TheMasterG]

Eh, I don't think so Robbie. Last time we ran the Naas Cup the entry was 30punts and 20punts for junior teams.

[Robert]

Feck it, that's me memory gone as well.... Must be thing of the Old national league fees or something.