Athletics Ireland release club stats for April 2017

Athletics Ireland recently released the membership stats for all the athletic clubs in Ireland as of the end of April 2017.

For the first few months of the year, the membership stats don't have much value as they can often can just show how good clubs are at getting renewals in rather than their actual size. By the end of April, the true size of the respective clubs can be seen .

These are the athletic clubs in Cork with more than 50 adult members...

Club (Seniors & Masters) (End of April 2017)   
Leevale AC    193
Ballymore Cobh AC    181
Mallow AC    169
Eagle AC        166
Midleton AC    158
Youghal AC    147
Ballintotis Fit4Life    136
Bandon AC    132
St.Finbarrs AC    129
Togher AC    125
Watergrasshill AC    106
Dromahane Road Runners    102
St.Nicholas AC    100
Aghada Running Club    94
Grange Fermoy AC    84
Tracton AC    68
North Cork AC    68
Bweeng Trailblazers    62
St.Catherines AC    60
Carrigtwohill AC    59
Clonakilty Runners AC    54
Bantry AC    51


In 2015, there were 18 clubs with 50 or more adult members. In 2016, it was 21. This year, it's 22.

The number of adults in athletic clubs in Cork has grown by 10% in the last 12 months. 97% of that 10% growth was due to an increase in members in the 'masters' category, i.e. aged 35 and above.

In comparison to 12 months ago, there are a number of changes in those clubs with 50 or more adult members. These are the main movers...

Increases...
1) Leevale AC...up 44.
2) Bandon AC...up 44.
3) St.Nicholas AC...up 41.
4) Aghada Running Club...up 32.
5) Carrigtwohill AC...up 30.
6) Carrigaline Road Runners...up 26.
7) Mallow AC...plus 24.

Decreases...
1) Rosscarbery Steam Runners AC...down 38.
2) Clonakilty Runners AC...down 20.
3) Skibbereen AC...down 11.

It's interesting to note that the 3 clubs showing the biggest losses are all in West Cork.

Athletics Ireland release club stats for April 2016

Athletics Ireland have just released the membership stats for all the athletic clubs in Ireland as of the end of April 2016. These are the athletic clubs in Cork with more than 50 adult members...

Club (Seniors & Masters) (End of April 2016)   
Ballymore Cobh AC    177
Eagle AC        171
Midleton AC    157
Leevale AC    149
Youghal AC    148
Mallow AC    145
Ballintotis Fit4Life    140
St.Finbarrs AC    138
Togher AC    127
Watergrasshill AC    112
Dromahane Road Runners    101
Bandon AC    88
Grange Fermoy AC    80
Tracton AC    76
Clonakilty Runners AC    74
Aghada Running Club    62
St.Nicholas AC    59
Rosscarbery Steam Runners AC    58
Bantry AC    57
Bweeng Trailblazers    55
North Cork AC    54

Last year, there were 18 clubs with 50 or more adult members. This year, it's 21. This is due to three new clubs...Dromahane Road Runners, Aghada Road Runners and Bweeng Trailblazers.

In comparison to 12 months ago, there are a number of changes in those clubs with 50 or more adult members.

Top 3 increases...
1) Togher AC...up 51.
2) Youghal AC...up 31.
3) Grange Fermoy AC...up 20.

Top 3 decreases...
1) Bandon AC...down 67.
2) North Cork AC...down 23.
3) Midleton AC...down 14.

Some points...
1) Clubs with Fit4Life beginner programmes tend to have a large membership. There are plenty of smaller clubs that are more focused on other areas like track and field and the faster end of road running.

2) Adult membership tends to reflect the clubs active in road race. There are plenty of clubs with lots of juvenile members but the number of adults coaching them would be relatively small.

3) These stats are for clubs registered with Athletics Ireland. There are a growing number of small running clubs who are doing their own thing.

You can find the stats for April 2016 up on the Athletics Ireland website.

The chart for April 2015 can be seen below for comparison...

Athletics Ireland release club stats for April 2015

Athletics Ireland released the membership stats for all the athletic clubs in Ireland as of the end of April 2015.

These are the athletic clubs in Cork with more than 50 adult members...

Just at a glance, it's obvious that the likes of Ballymore Cobh and Ballintotis Fit4Life are doing very well at the moment.

The full figures can be seen HERE

Mark Hanrahan of Leevale AC wins Cork City Sports Athlete of the Month award

At a recent award ceremony, Mark Hanrahan of Leevale AC was presented with the Cork City Sports Athlete of the month award for April 2014. This was in recognition of his winning the Irish 10k championship title at the Great Ireland Run in the Phoenix Park earlier that month. Having also won the Irish 5000m track title in 2012, Mark completed the hilly 10km course in Dublin in a time of 30min 20sec to take the title.