RTC

 Home Up  Last updated 30 July 2010

 

 

2010

RATHANGAN LAOIS LEAGUE REPORT 

This year RTC entered 2 teams in the Laois League. The section 2B team of Catherine Hackett, Mary Mc Crann and Tom Gallagher was Captained by John Goff.  With holidays and injuries ably covered by Ned Kelly, Ritchie Ryan, Claire Breen and Anne Marie Hanlon  the team did very well qualifying in third place for the Knockout stages.   

Rathangan drew 2 - 2 with Carlow, Portarlington1 and Abbeyleix. The only team to beat them was the very strong Portarlington 2, who in taking maximum points conceded just 2 of their 24 matches.  The first of those was lost to Athy and the second to the Rathangan Team.  So  Rathangan were up against it when they had to beat Athy to reach the semi-finals. 

On a warm night in Athy, in a very sporting and close match, John Goffs team did just that, taking 3rd place with a 3-1 win. The semi-final was played against Abbeyleix last Sunday and in a very hard fought contest played over 3 hours, the home team proved the deserved winners by 3 matches to one.   That Abbeyleix team eventually beat Portarlington 2 in a tight final.

Liam Tiernan led the division 3 team for Rathangan.  However, a severe foot injury caused him to withdraw to the sideline after a few games so Kieran Maguire joined Ronnie Heffernan Michell Byrne and John Gallagher to represent the club.  Up against some well seasoned teams like Athy, Abbeyleix and Portarlington the competition proved a bit steep.  However, Liam's team battled on bravely and took their share of matches.  The experienced gained will prove invaluable in the future.  As this was most of the players first time to play in any external competition it was a credit to them in the way that they performed so well. It would not surpise anyone if they went on to qualify for the semi finals next year.  

A date to put in your calendar is Sun Aug 29th. This is the clubs biggest comp. of the year, The Kevin Tiernan Memorial Tournament. Only fully paid up members will be allowed to enter.

 

Here are a few pictures of Rathangan's Division 3 team having super fun in Abbeyleix 15th July

 

Rathangan Players on the move

 

 

John has his Team mates smiling

 

Ronnie on the backhand

 

Michelle Serves

 

John gets High

 

 

Kieran ready to Serve 

 

 

 

 

 

NB All RTC Players and Captains: 

While competitive all matches should be considered social outings.  Visiting teams are our guests and should be looked after like welcome guests at all times, irrespective of the result.

  • Each Player should study the team schedule and if unable to play on a particular night, THEY should ensure that THEY inform their Team Captain and THEY ORGANISE a qualified substitute well in advance of the match. 
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  • If possible consult with team captain and partners before confirming substitute.  Subs should be selected from the team's subs list
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  • It is the responsibility of the home team to organise supper – This is not the sole responsibility of the ladies.  The Team Captain should contact all team members in relation to this – 
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  • The team captain is representing the club and is responsible for organising the team and ensuring the competition runs smoothly.
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  • At Home the captain should ensure that: 
    • Our team arrives on time, 
    • We have a sufficient supply of new Approved Tennis Balls
    • The keys of the pavilion 
    • The visiting team is welcomed, introduced to the home team and after supper are formally thanked for travelling.
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  • When away the captain should ensure that all members are present and on time, that he/she makes his/her team known to the opposing captain, identifies his first and second line players and introduces each member of the team. They should try to ensure that the game is played in good spirit and that the captain should formally thank the host club for the game and the supper.
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  • The captain is also responsible for ensuring the competition rules are adhered to, It is the captains role to read and understand the rule of the competition.  NB substitution rules are very intricate and should be studied in detail.  The captain must fill in the team sheet each night before the match and afterward must fill in and sign the score sheet.    
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  • The captain of the winning team shall e-mail the results of each match to the Competition/Division Secretary doylegs@eircom.net  with 4 days of the match.  The signed result sheets can be retained to be sent at any date prior to the end of the league section.   In the event of late reporting the secretary shall deduct one game from the winning teams result and in the event of repeated late reporting the penalty imposed may be greater and can include the forfeit of all points of the fixture by the winning team.