CYCLING IRELAND AGM TOMORROW

Cycling Ireland will present an outline of its future direction at the AGM tomorrow, which takes place at the Citywest hotel in Saggart.

2005 has been a varied year for the Federation. Irish riders have performed strongly in overseas competition, earning a good collection of world ranking points. The Sean Kelly cycling academy has also been a success. CI has however had to rein in its spending considerably in order to address the ongoing budget deficit, which has persisted for several years. General Manager Tamara O’Driscoll said this week that this is paying off. “The situation is a lot healthier than before. The treasurer will present details of that at the AGM, but we are in a much better position than before. We have to keep moving forward now, implementing changes and building for the future.”

One of the tasks is to replace some of the personnel who have left the Federation in 2005. Head of Coaching Padraig Marrey and youth development officer John Bann Lavery resigned last month, while road commission chairman and performance manager Martin O’Loughlin said this week that he will stand down at the AGM.

Three board positions are up for election and these will be decided tomorrow. Outgoing members Liam Horan and Patrick Moriarty will go forward once again, while Peter Thornton and Connor Sweeney have also been nominated. Two of the positions are for a full two years while the third is for one year only.

The AGM will be followed later on tomorrow evening by CI’s Champions’ Night Dinner.