The new synthetic eight lane athletics track in the Mardyke is fully floodlit and is to an international standard.
An additional 40,000 square feet has already been added to the original Arena and now includes an indoor 60 metre running track, a performance analysis suite, two additional gym areas with over 140 additional pieces of the latest gym equipment and three additional fitness studios.
Update....this might be of interest as well
Anyone know if this is open to members of the public or do you have to be a member of the Mardyke, running club etc.?
ReplyDeleteStudents and Staff members are allowed use the Track.
ReplyDeleteClubs can book the track I understand
The only improvement to the track has been the resurfacing with the basic crumb surface. Otherwise it has been a step backwards for the track facility as there is no longer seating for viewing of any competitive athletics meet...e.g. Cork City Sports.
ReplyDeleteAn athletics meet would be possible but the track isn't up to international standard anymore... but who really cares if Cork isn't able to host a proper international standard meet at the Mardyke anymore? ...as long as the gym is able to have enough customers coming through its doors.
The indoor 60 meter running track isn't really usable for doing any significant amount of training... it just looks good rather than being a reasonably functional addition. The gym facilities are for "fitness" but not for any real significant sports training either.
Perhaps this is a commentary on the shift away from more competitive sport to recreational fitness activities. The next step in a few years time will probably be to remove the track altogether as they have done in UCD Belfield? ...possibly to expand the astroturf to allow for 5-a-side soccer pitches that generate more money?
Didn't Leevale have a plan of building an indoor track ?
ReplyDeleteThere was never anybody sitting in the stand.Once a year for the cork city sports the stand was used.I don't think that justifies its use.In my opinion better facilities to train are far more important than a stand which was always empty.The track has been renovated to an international standard.new drainage was instanlled and a new layer of undersurface mid layer and top layer were put down over the summer.in my opinion the Mardyke surface was always superior to CIT and now with improvements is surely still better than CIT.The Mardyke cavities and now world class and instead of moaning about a stand which was a waste of space we should be grateful that the home of athletics in cork is open for use again.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone confirm if the track will be guarded like Fort Knox by UCC grounds people or if members of the public will be able to use it?
ReplyDeleteSo CIT wil continue to host the cork city sports i assume?
ReplyDeleteThe track and its location were a perfect location for Cork City Sports. CIT is not near as good a setting in terms of atmosphere. Removing the stand, removed the chance for this top level event to be held here again? Therefore it is hardly the home of athletics in Cork anymore if you can't even comfortably hold a decent athletics meet there. Any other events will be highly restricted by the crowd which may attend due to the small standing room left available around the track. I'd actually like to know if it has been assessed by the appropriate health and safety authority if there are events to be held here in future?
ReplyDeleteWhatever facilities have replaced the stand don't really help the sport of athletics. I don't think the new facilities have in any way significantly helped any other sport either? They are just "fitness" suites to help those who have over-indulged burn off the calories :) If they have helped some other sports, fair enough, but the reduced dimensions of the new track have been another step towards diminishing the facilities for athletics in Cork. I accept the new track surface is good but it isn't world class.
There are over 5000 members of athletics clubs in Cork, the same as Dublin which has 5 or maybe even 6 athletics tracks in the county. If UCC does not see it as important to assist in maintaining the important place of athletics in Cork and the opportunity for athletics to develop in the long term at their University then perhaps they should make this clear with a statement. However the new design of the track is probably statement enough. They get the benefit of pretending to boast a world-class athletics facility but they only have to do the minimum to host the sport. This minimum seems to be growing strategically smaller and smaller over the past ten or so years.
I'm sorry that this comes across as negative or moaning but my expectation for my sport is higher than most it seems. I remember world record holders and large crowds attending the Mardyke for Cork city sports. I remember some other very good athletics competitions having taken place there in the natural amphitheatre that surrounded the track. I just don't understand the reason for continuing to diminish the facilities available for a sport over the past decade or so ... a sport which is obviously growing very strong indeed! Surely UCC could see the potential for being able to genuinely boast a world class athletics facility rather than paying lip service to it. It seems like there is no real vision and the new design was decided upon completely based upon economic reasons??? or was it??? What was the rationale for this design overall. On what long term development philosophy was this based? Surely a University has a sense of the need to engage with these kinds of ideas?
Perhaps this is a chance for Cork Athletics clubs to try to work towards developing a new facility and work towards building up the kind of history that was created at the Mardyke over the last 60 or so years at this new facility if UCC are determined to wipe away any chance of athletics continuing to develop in a meaningful way at its facilities?
Now there are 2 tracks for cork athletes to train on instead of 1.Last comments very negative would you prefer we had no track to train on? I think ucc should be commended and not knocked. A lot of counties have no track at all.
ReplyDeleteThe stand was not there in the glory years as you rightly called them.tennis courts were in place of the Mardyke arena and concrete steps were there in place of where the stand used to be and the cork city sports were great.If you want Cork to host a world class athletics meet then maybe the organizers should try harder to promote the event rather than you bemoaning the loss of a greatly under used stand.At the time the stand was built CIT did not have a stand.CIT has since built one so why is there a need for 2 of them.toing by the crowds attending the sports and other events the Mardyke is still capable of holding a high standard athletics meet there.Im not saying it would be world class or anything but it is the competition and athletes taking part which make a successful meet in my opinion not a stand which encourages a sedentary lifestyle.Get the crowds close to the action and line the track with people.That will create an atmosphere which was lacking in recent years.Fr Kelleher used to promote a meet in a field in north cork which by all accounts was better than the CCS of the last few years.I watched the CCS the last few years and you are right it lacked atmosphere and in my opinion basic organization.3 yrs ago the men's 3k had no pacers and the race turned into a farce.A stand or lack of a stand had nothing to do with that.At the end of the day if I had the choice between a decent track and facilities on which I or my children or everybody else in Cork could train on for 52 weeks of the year or an athletics meet I know which I would choose and I know which is better for the development of athletics in cork.The new cavities have an indoor sprint track which the sprinters have been dying for for years on cold wet nights.it has proper physio and hydrotherapy recovery areas.there are more weights areas and space which is actually used by people at every level.If you would rather sit in a stand for one day of the year while obesity and diabetes increase year on year then be my guest. With that level of negativity it is no wonder athletics is in the state it finds itself in.I agree with you on one point you made.The county board and AAI should build their own facilities and be progressive but there is zero chance of that happening.The AAI don't even help elites to secure adequate training facilities which already exist.Derval was thrown of ALSAA as sq try was unavailable.CIT is guarded like it was a gold mine.Lane 1 and 2 are never used.What is the point of having a track where accurate 400 m measurements are made in lane 1 so you can accurately run interval sessions where a few seconds either way have totally different and opposite physiological effects on an athlete and then for 300 days of the years close it in case the 60kg distance athletes wear it away with their little feet.Saving it for the day when the worlds best athletes will descend on the track??
ReplyDeleteI dont think the poster above is being negative.Im sure he/she only want the best for the sport.
ReplyDeleteThe days when ccs could attract big names in athletics are over because of the fees demanded by them, there could still be a quality meeting each year with our own top class athletes, might not bring in the 4000 or 5000 fans of yesteryear but i am sure the real athletics fans would attend. happy days though with ovett, walker, couglan, o,sullivan, maree, scott.....
ReplyDeleteHe is being negative.A stand is not good for athletics in cork.new facilities and a proper track is good for athletics
ReplyDelete