Cumann Na Bunscoil Down Handball Finals

Last Saturday 18th February Saval GAC held a very successful Cumman Na Bunscoil Down Handball Finals. Participating boys and Girls represented St. Colman’s Saval, St Patrick’s Saul, Newry Bunscoil, Downpatrick Bunscoil, Ballyholland Primary School, Holy Family Teoconnaught, Our Lady and St. Patrick’s Downpatrick, St. Mary’s Dunsford and St. Patrick’s Legamaddy. We would like to say thanks to the all those who helped organised the event. Thanks also to the players who played such great handball. After some very competitive games the results were:                                                                                                        

U-11 Boy's Singles Ruari Quinn St. Patrick's, Saul beat Eoin McMullan St. Mary's, Dunsford.

U-11 Girl's Singles Rachel McKeown Our Lady and St. Patrick's, Downpatrick beat Cailiosa Ni Dhuill Newry Bunscoil.
U-11 Boy's Doubles Rhys Cunningham and Aiden Harney St. Patrick's, Saul beat Seamus Havern and Cormac Turley St. Colman's Saval.
U-13 Boy's Singles Tim Prenter St. Patrick's, Legamaddy
beat Ronan Murphy Holy Family, Teconnaught.
U-13 Girl's Singles Eilis Murphy Holy Family, Teconnaught beat Cailiosa Ni Dhuill, Newry Bunscoil.

Scor Sinsir On Sunday 12th February the South Down Final of Scor Sinsir took place at Saval Sports and Leisure Complex. The evening proved a success with the club coming first in the Novelty and Solo Singing Acts, both acts will now progress to the Down Final on Sunday 26th February in the Abbey Grammer Newry. Saval Sponsorship Draw 2012 Congratulations to D & E Fisher Solicitors who are the new sponsors of Saval’s jerseys after Senior Manager, PJ Magee pulled out the winning ticket at the draw on Friday night. All at Saval would like to thank everyone who entered the draw and each entrant will have an advertisement placed in the programme for all home games for the season ahead. Many thanks for your continued support A Real Craic -er We had a great day in Saval Hall on the Sunday before Christmas when Santa came to visit with his friends Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Jessie. The hall was packed full of excitement with lots to do for everybody. We would like to thank all those people who came along and supported this event. By all accounts, everyone enjoyed their day. We thank all the many people who helped out in a variety of ways – in the kitchen, the shop, supervising the Wii games, helping with photos, setting up and clearing away. All are very much appreciated. A special word of thanks to Marty Madine who helped Santa and his bags full of goodies to find his way to the hall. Also to Cormac and Killian and Niamh who were very kind to Buzz and Woody and Jessie who provided the show-time entertainment. And to D.J. Colleen for keeping the party going late into the evening – to Noel and Emma and all who worked so hard in the kitchen all day long, and to all the other helpers for various jobs. And not forgetting Saval GAC for their help and the use of the facilities. A big thank you to all. A cheque for £800 was presented to Charles who is leader with I.H.C.P.T. local group 93 of  the Irish Children’s Pilgrimage Trust, who provide respite care for children with special needs.                                                                                                                                                                       Thank You! Young Referee's Course On Tuesday 6th December the club was the venue for a very successful young referees' course. This was an ideal opportunity for young people especially from our club to develop their skills and knowledge of the game. It would allow them to referee up to and including Under 12 and also would be a worthy addition for future job/educational course applications and CVs. The course was expertly delivered by Down Referee's Secretary and Saval clubman P J Quinn. Secretary's Report 2011 The AGM was held on Sunday 4th December and was well attended. The meeting was very positive. It was encouraging to see so many of our younger members there with some interesting ideas. The secretary's report is available to download from the website, hard copies are available on request.  Annual Awards Night Last Saturday 26th November was an opportunity to celebrate Saval’s achievements in 2011. Saval welcomed special guests including Dan McCartan, who the previous evening had been awarded the prestigious Hall of Fame Award at the South Down Awards evening in Burren. 2011 has been a successful year for football in Saval with the senior panel retaining first division status and both the Reserve and Minor panels finishing as runners-up in their respective leagues. Handball continues to add titles and trophies to Saval’s growing achievements. The Saval Gaelic for Mothers team is leading the way for other G4M teams in not just the county, but also the province.   Player of the Year Awards 2011: Senior Player – Stephen Kearney Minor Players - Brendan Turley and Rowan Turley Reserve Players - Declan McNally and Martin Poland Senior Ladies – Christine McCarthy and Fiona Lively G4M – Theresa Fearon and Personality of the Year Clare Cull Handball - Martin Turley   Club Spirit: This is a new award for 2011. Clare Sands deserves the Club Spirit award for all of the hard work that she has done throughout the year at football matches, training sessions, tournaments and various other entertainment events.  She promotes the club in a very positive way to people both inside and outside Saval. She is also the best ticket seller in Ireland!   Club Personality: Anne Monaghan has given a lot to the club over the years through her many roles including club treasurer. She consistently shows support of club functions and events. Down through the years she has proved to be one of Saval’s most loyal supporters both on and off the field. She continues to create funds for the club through the club lotto and has organised numerous fundraising events including Duck Derbys and club auctions

Ladies FUNdamentals Course at Saval 26/11/11

On the 26th November 2011, a FUNdamentals coaching course was held in Saval GAC County Down. 26 fully involved participants attended the course, coming from all the ladies'clubs throughout the County.The FUNdamentals course comprised of several unit (Good Coaching Practice, ABC’s of Gaelic Football, Group magagement & Child Protection and Coaching a Session). The participants had a look at issues such as planning and implementing training programmes as well as practical coaching and an introduction to the player pathway.There was positive feedback from all coaches,which augers well for the future of Ladies football in Down 

The Course was delivered by LGFA Coach Education Tutors  Seamus Braniff and Francie Toner