Decision time in Senior Hurling

The second round of this year's winners and losers group stages of the Greville Arms Senior Hurling Championship took place last weekend.Castlepollard overcame St. Oliver Plunketts in a tough, hard fought battle and with their last game against old rivals, Lough Lene Gaels be prepared for a lively one.Brownstown claimed their first points in this year's competition at the expense of Ringtown who are now going to be relegated to Senior 'B' for 2010. Brownstown's last match will be against Castletown-Geoghegan who lost out to Clonkill at the weekend in a lack lustre encounter and in truth both Castletown-Geoghegan and St. Oliver Plunketts really have failed to deliver on their performances of last year. The loser of this match will join Ringtown in Senior 'B' next year.Lough Lene Gaels claimed the scalp of reigning champions, Raharney in what was the game of the championship so far and this keeps the top group wide open with Raharney needing a win to progress in this year's campaign.Coaching and gamesUnder 12 Leinster Hurling TournamentWould any club wishing to take part in this Fé 12 Hurling Tournament please make contact direct with Kathleen McPoland of Dublin GAA by e-mail at kathleen@dublingaa.ie or Damien Murphy by e-mail at dmurphy@dublingaa.ie or by phone on 086 1706420. Westmeath are limited to five teams. Also please note that permission to take part must first be obtained from Leinster Council via the Westmeath Management Committee.Under 16 'B' All-Ireland HurlingThe Under 16 'B' All Ireland Hurling is being hosted in Westmeath again this year on Saturday, August 29, with 13 teams taking part. The first games are at 11am with registration/refreshments at each of the four proposed venues from 9.30am. A great day's entertainment is guaranteed for all, All clubs please put this date in your diary as we will also need all the help we can get to ensure the smooth running of this tournament.Minor Board noticeOnce again would Clubs who won Competitions in 2007/2008 please bring the Trophies i.e. Cups/Shields to the meeting as they will be required, for engraving where necessary, before presentation for 2009 competitions. Clubs assistance in this matter would be much appreciated.Westmeath GAA Referees Association All-Ireland drawAs August dawns and the All-Ireland series begins in the football and hurling championships, Westmeath Referees' Association is in the process of organising its annual All-Ireland ticket draw. Tickets will soon be on sale for this draw and we are, once again, seeking the support of the clubs in Westmeath and, indeed, all GAA people. We also want to acknowledge the great support of people for this draw over the years.MeetingThe association held an important meeting on Thursday evening last in St. Loman's GAA clubhouse. A number of important matters were discussed. The Referees' Co-ordinator, Liam McDaniel, chaired the meeting and County Board Chairman, Tom Farrell was present. James Savage, Secretary of the Competitions Control Committee, also addressed members and some of the new assessors were in attendance. The County Board is to sponsor a new top for all referees in the county and these will be distributed at the next meting. Members will be contacted by the co-ordinator in advance.GAA Club NewsletterTicket Packages for 2009 All-Ireland SeriesA whole new range of ticket offers will be available from the GAA for the quarter-final and semi-final games of this year's football and hurling championships.A total of six new packages are on sale combining the knock out games in the latter stages of both the football and hurling championships.The Hurling Heaven package priced at €90 includes tickets for one hurling quarter-final and two semi-finals.The Football Feast deal offers supporters tickets for two football quarter-final days and both semi-finals and costs €99 - meaning matches cost less than €25 each.On last year's ticket prices these packages offer savings of €35 and €60 respectively.Other offers include a quarter and semi-final package covering one quarter-final and semi-final costing €65 and a Dual Deal for the quarter-final and semi-final stages of both the football and hurling championships priced at €175.There are also Club Pass and Group Pass offers.Check out the Ticketing section of www.gaa.ie for further information.The GAA's new Ticket Shop has opened at 53 Lower Dorset St and match tickets can be purchased through this outlet between 10am and 5pm daily.MuseumNew in the Museum this summer is the Croke Park Timeline. Starting in 1864, the timeline takes museum visitors on a visual journey through the significant events and milestones of the stadium's rich history.There are some fascinating documents that remind us all of the huge social, cultural and sporting history behind the iconic stadium starting with a sepia-toned map of "Butterly's Field".This 21 acre area of land "on the south side of Clonliffe Road in the parish of Saint George and County of Dublin" that Alderman Maurice Butterly purchased back on April 16, 1864 is the current site of Croke Park Stadium.Other early significant dates featuring on the timeline include March 15 1896, which marked the first All-Ireland Football and Hurling Finals to be played at Jones' Road, and the purchase of the site by the GAA in 1913, renaming it Croke Memorial Park.Non-GAA events also feature, with images showing the huge hype and publicity around the July 19, 1972 meeting of Muhammad Ali and Al 'Blue' Lewis, as well as mention of the first historic Rugby and Soccer matches in 2007, the Special Olympics in 2003 and U2's numerous sell-out shows since 1985.The GAA Museum is offering all GAA Clubs a saving of 25% on published list prices, between July 1 and December 31, 2009.Booking is essential, and this offer must be quoted at time of booking.NotesI would ask all clubs to note the folllowing issues:Garda vetting.To date there has been a poor response to the return of Garda Vetting Forms. The issue will have to be addressed as soon as possible so I appeal to all clubs to commence the process as soon as possible.E mailMany thanks to all clubs for their co-operation with the new email - we are not totally compliant as of yet.MembershipSome of our clubs are still not compliant with the online membership system. As we are nearing All Ireland time we are informed that in future if online membership system is not completely in place, then it will have consequences for our allocation.Westmeath GAA LottoThe winning numbers last week were 2, 5, 6 and 15. There was no jackpot winner. Two people matched three numbers and received €160 each: Leon Hynes C/O St. Oliver Plunketts GAA and Anne Dunne C/O Westmeath Ladies GAAResultsGreville Arms SHC Winners Group: Castlepollard 1-13 St Oliver Plunketts 0-14; Lough Lene Gaels 2-15 Raharney 1-13Greville Arms SHC Losers Group: Brownstown 1-11 Ringtown 1-9; Clonkill 1-16 Castletown-Geoghegan 1-8IFC Div 1A: Tang 2-12 St. Mary's, Rochfortbridge 1-14; Kilbeggan Shamrocks 1-7 Moate All Whites 0-9Slevins Coaches IHC: Turin 3-12 Delvin 2-11; Crookedwood 3-17 St Oliver Plunketts 0-6; Fr Daltons w/o Southern Gaels scrSlevins Coaches JHC 'A': Brownstown w/o Ringtown scr, Raharney 3-13 Castlepollard 1-10Slevins Coaches JHC "B": Turin 1-16, Crookedwood 3-8; St Brigids 3-15 Southern Gaels 3-8ACFL Division 1: St. Loman's, Mullingar 2-12 Castledaly 3-9WebsitesSenior: http://www.westmeathgaa.ie/Minor: http://coistenanog.westmeath.gaa.ieContactI can be contacted by phone on 044 9666476, 087 2777987 or by email on pro.westmeath@gaa.ie.