W.A.T.C.H. stands for Walking And Tandem Cycling Health Club. It was constituted in July 2004 with funding and the support of Slieve Gullion Wheelers. The idea to have a tandem cycling club for the partially sighted became a reality when Slieve Gullion Club member Danny McSherry took up a post with the Blind Centre for Northern Ireland(BCNI) to work with blind and visually impaired people in the Newry and Mourne area.
On-going preparations for
Paralympic World Cycling Championships.
Two members of Slieve Gullion Wheelers and Newry and Mourne WATCH club are continuing with their hectic schedule of training and competitions in order to prepare for the Paralympic World Cycling championships, which are due to be held in Bordeaux, France in late August this year.
Andy Fitzgerald and his wife Emma, both from Warrenpoint, are visually impaired and cycle as `stokers` on tandems, with a sighted pilot in front. Andy is competing as part of the Irish International squad for the second year, where he is piloted by a category A cyclist, John Lynch, from Bray Wheelers. They have taken part in many national and international races and time-trials over the past year, and hope to build on their very promising first year on the international circuit.
Emma is a new-comer to the Irish squad this year after having been selected following team trials at the Newport velodrome in South Wales. She is hoping to excel in the indoor track events and her training has been more track-specific, involving turbo sessions and spinning classes. In Bordeaux she will be piloted by Miss Kate Rudd from Tipperary. Kate has a long pedigree of competitive cycling and is the current national track sprint champion. She was national time-trial champion in 2002, and represented Ireland in the highly popular `Gladiators` TV show.
The programme of events for the tandem teams has been fast and furious over the past few months, and they will take part in both track and road events in the World Championships. The pair got off to an excellent start at the Grand Prix of Wales which was held in Newport. Emma and her pilot set a new Irish record for the flying 200m, and narrowly missed out on bronze in the match sprint, being beaten by the British pair by a wheel length. Andy and John finished second place in the 3km time-trial, and followed this by finishing tenth in the Manchester Omnion held the following week. These events were followed by the teams participation in the Alpina European road championships in Correze, France, where they finished an excellent 14th in a top-ranking field. These events are high-ranking internationals and have cyclists competing from all over the world including Britain, Australia, United States, New Zealand, Austria and France. The field for these competitions included many reigning world and Olympic champions, and Andy and Emma hope it is only the start of their success. The National road championships will see Andy and John trying to improve on their 3rd place position at last year’s event.
“It is a great honour to be selected to represent our country at such a high-profile sport” said Emma. “The training is intensive and Andy and I have
been working hard with Mr Brian Nugent who is the Irish track coach, and Mr Barry Monaghan of BGM fitness in Newry. Our main aim for this year is of course the Worlds in Bordeaux, and we have a number of further international events in the next month to help in preparation for this. We are due to compete in the National time trial championships in Dungarvan on 29th June, and the Murphy & Gunn International track championships in Dublin on July 14th. We hope to fly the flag proudly in Bordeaux, for the WATCH club, Slieve Gullion Wheelers and the whole squad”
Paralympic cycling has gone from strength to strength in Ireland over recent years, and Ireland will be sending its biggest ever team to Bordeaux. This will consist of three male tandem teams, two female tandem teams, one locomotor disorder athlete (arm amputee) and one cereberal palsy cyclist.
“Participation at these events is a great way to raise the profile of disability sports” said Andy. “it is great to compete at top-level event, and we hope it will encourage others with physical disabilities to get involved with cycling, or any other sport. The development of tandem cycling within Slieve Gullion Wheelers is I believe, a marvellous example of how those with disabilities can become involved with mainstream sports. Tandem cycling is an ideal sport for those with sight loss, and I hope that our selection for the Irish squad will help to raise the profile of tandem cycling in this area and further a field.”
Andy and Emmas success at Paralympics World Championships …. continued from front page
W.A.T.C.H. Club Members excel at World Championships
Paralympic competition involves cyclists who have physical disabilities namely, blind or visually impaired, amputees, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injuries. Over forty nations and 400 cyclists competed at the Bordeaux championships, with events taking part both on the indoor velodrome and the road circuits. The world championships are held under the auspices of the UCI (International cycling union), and this year held particular significance due to the run up to the Beijing Paralympic games in 2008. Ireland sent its biggest ever squad to the event this year, with 3 male tandem teams, 2 female tandems, one amputee and one cerebral palsy cyclist, as well as support staff including mechanic, masseuse, coach and management.
“We feel proud and honoured to have been selected to represent Ireland at such a high-ranking and prestigious event”, said Emma. “The standard of paralympic cycling is phenomenal, and we gave our all both physically and mentally during the championships”. Emma`s pilot was Fionnuala Ni Bhradaigh from Bray Wheelers Cycling Club, Co Wicklow. They were a relatively new pairing on the tandem but competed very well in the championships, with top 20 finishes in all track and road events. Their highest finish came in the gruelling 72kkm road race, taking place in temperatures in excess of 45 degrees centigrade. They finished a very creditable 16th in a race which saw many experienced riders having to withdraw due to heat exhaustion. “I personally have a preference for track cycling “ continued Emma. “As Fionnuala and I hadn`t a lot of experience together prior to Bordeaux, I was particularly pleased with our track performances. We competed in the 1km time trial, and 3km pursuit. We were pleased with our 18th place, and know the areas we need to work on over the Winter. The road race and time-trial were particularly tough for us, not being acclimatised to racing in such high temperatures and humidity. I wish to thank profusely the lovely citizens of the Bordeaux area who kindly hosed us with water as we passed – it was a Godsend!”
Andy had an extremely successful championships also, resuming his tandem partnership with Bray Wheelers` John Lynch. The pair had first competed together at the worlds in Switzerland last year, and were keen to build on their performances from that event. This they did with considerable improvement in all events. They took 2 seconds off their 1km time, and a massive 6 seconds off their 4km pursuit time. Road events were also cause for celebration, when the pair finished 27th in the extremely tough 106km road race.
Andy explained that his focus now is looking forward to qualification for Beijing next year. He explained “The qualification for Beijing is extremely complicated. Basically we have to attend worldwide cycling events that carry Olympic ranking points. The more ranking points we get for the country, the more likely to qualify for the Beijing games. To this end John and I will be attending the Pan-American games in Colombia in November this year. This is the last ranking event before team selection for the Olympics and we wish to put everything into hopefully qualifying for these.”
There is a huge financial burden for Andy and Emma, as neither currently receives funding from the Irish Sports Council, or the Sports Council for Northern Ireland. They have organised fund-raising spinathons and have contacted local businesses for support. Andy continued “Our trip to Colombia will cost John and I in excess of €5000, and we would be extremely grateful for any financial assistance individuals or business people feel able to give us. We wish to thank our sponsors for the Bordeaux games, particularly Mr Hugh Murray from Diamonds restaurant Warrenpoint, Malachy Cunningham from AV Taxis, Simon Grant of Jack Ryans, and members of the public who have supported our spinathons. Without their help it would be impossible for us to continue or sport at this level, and we greatly appreciate their help.” Anyone who feels able to help the squad should contact either Emma or Andy on 4175 2556, or Irish Paralympic team manager Mr Denis Toomey on 00353 872533630.
Emma also wished to thank the WATCH Club for their support, and in particular their main training partners Danny McSherry and Brendan Campbell. Also big thanks went to Barry Monaghan at BGM Fitness. “All their efforts helped keep our legs turning over those agonising miles throughout the year, and we hope to keep up the work for next year, and fly the flag for Newry & Mourne and Ireland!” She concluded.