Dear Members,
We hope you are all keeping safe and well and enjoying the festive season.
As we reflect on the last year, we have made much progress in living with the current Covid situation. All teams are back training indoors and leagues are up and running again. It’s fantastic to see everyone back playing and overcoming the obstacles we have faced. Covid however has not gone away, and our member’s health and safety continue to be our number one priority.
We continue to follow all the latest guidelines that we receive from Basketball Ireland, Sports Ireland and the HSE. We all have a responsibility to keep each other safe from Covid-19. We ask that everyone stay in touch and follow our latest policies so that we can continue to run Covid compliant games for everyone.
I would particularly like to express my gratitude for our coaches, assistants and volunteers who help in organising training and games for our teams. Not only do they keep their teams playing but now also must adapt and deal with new challenges as safety guidance continues to change. Nevertheless, they continue to be vigilant and do a tremendous job to keep everything running smoothly.
While we might live in the shadow of Covid our current season is also unique for other reasons that are cause for celebration. After 18 months of waiting, we finally began our first season in the Super League and will go into the Christmas break on top of the table, an extraordinary achievement by any measure. Our U20 men’s team have also made history by reaching the Semi-final of the National Cup to be played in January. Perhaps no less significant on the junior side of the club, after such a long wait, many of our younger boys and girls have gotten to play their very first games of basketball in the last couple of months.
We would like to extend our appreciation to our local sponsors whose ongoing support has been so important for us. We know how difficult it can be to lend support to our club at these times and we ask that you show your appreciation in kind by supporting these local businesses.
Finally, I would like to thank you, our members, for your patience and understanding throughout this season. Without your continued support and commitment none of this would be possible so on behalf of everyone in the club, may I wish you all a very safe and happy Christmas and we look forward to seeing you all in 2022.
Mike Moynihan
Chairperson
Ballincollig Basketball Club
