Holycross Ballycahill GAA club's unique 'Club's Fittest Four'

Holycross Ballycahill players getting ready for the Club's Fittest Four

placeholder image — Holycross Ballycahill players getting ready for the Club's Fittest Four

We have seen seen virtual walks of Ireland, auctions of cars, camper-vans and houses - well, here is something new.

It has been a year of innovation and creativity for GAA Clubs all over Ireland as they respond to fund-raising challenges in the wake of Covid-19.

We have seen seen virtual walks of Ireland, auctions of cars, camper-vans and houses.

Holycross-Ballycahill senior club players have added further innovation by introducing the novel concept of The Club’s Fittest Four competition. Inspired by RTE’s ‘Ireland’s Fittest Family, teams of four will battle it out for the honour of the prestigious title on bank holiday Monday, June 7.

Fifteen teams of four (comprised of adult players) have already registered for the event and each of them has successfully secured a commercial sponsor. Juvenile players are also participating for their own juvenile title across different age groups.

Each of these teams will complete a challenging obstacle course (including: climbing wall, log carrying, sand bag lifting, tractor tyre pull, net crawl, water pipes and lots more…) against the clock on June 7. Each team will be given a specific time slot and the event will be compliant with all public health guidelines.

Padraic Russel, one of the player organisers tells us that we can contribute to the fundraiser in two ways: directly sponsoring club players who all have sponsorship cards, or by donating to their go fund me page at: https://gofund.me/ 863042fc. There will also be an opportunity for non-player teams to participate on the day. For further queries re sponsorship or participation in the event, please contact Club Secretary Tomás Slattery at 0877569582.

Interest and enthusiasm for the event is fantastic and a launch video, produced by senior players has been a social media sensation. Pa O’ Dwyer one of the organising players thanks all their generous sponsors for their generosity and Bryan O’ Mara is delighted to announce that the club will be making a donation to Jigsaw, who support young people with mental health difficulties and are setting up a Thurles branch this Summer.

Other senior players on the launch video are very proud of their club. Jack Ryan cites their three pitches, astro-turf, gym and walkways, while Kieran O’ Dwyer refers to the impressive number of competitive teams in both codes this year.

Shane Ryan gives an overview of the day with different slots for juvenile teams, non-player novelty teams and senior teams. Jack Carey informs us of the novelty coaches from the 1990 senior County winning team. It is clear that the players have put huge effort into organising the event and deserve to be supported.

The Club wishes to sincerely thank event sponsors to date including: Centenary CoOp, Thurles Recycling Centre, OMC Technologies, Premier Engineering, O’Dwyer Refrigeration & Electrical Services, Frank Ryan Care Sales, Pro Craft Engineering, FDC Group, The Recovery Hub, Michael Doyle Printing Ltd, Thurles Credit Union, O’ Gorman’s Bar & Restaurant, The Wytchway Inn, Premier Meats, Hell’s Kitchen Holycross, 65 Degrees Coffee Bar, Duggan Veterinary & Seanie Nally Groundworks.