Awards, glorious awards

On Athletics:Six weeks to Christmas so it must be the start of the sporting awards season, and naturally enough Athletics Ireland are first out of the blocks. After falling into terrible neglect the national athletics awards have this year been revived in association with Waterford Crystal, with the winners' ceremony set for this day week.

It's a deserving and also well-timed venture, given the past year was particularly rewarding on all levels. The World Championships in Osaka didn't produce any medals but proved Irish athletes can handle the big stage, which wasn't the case just two years ago in Helsinki.

The long tradition of Irish indoor running was maintained with David Gillick's European gold medal in Birmingham, and without doubt the unsung heroes of the year were the four medallists at the European Youth Olympics in scorching Belgrade.

The awards are divided into several categories; the most prized being the track and field athletes of the year, and the performance of the year.

Without prejudicing the panel of judges, which include Eamonn Coghlan and Catherina McKiernan, these winners won't require much debate. Paul Hession has to be the track athlete of the year after his extraordinary record-breaking spree over the 60, 100 and 200 metres, and likewise Eileen O'Keeffe the field athlete of the year for her record efforts in the hammer.

Both Hession and O'Keeffe are also contenders for performance of the year, yet that award must go to Gillick, who gave possibly the performance of his career when defending his European Indoor 400-metre title back in March.

This time last year no one would have believed Derval O'Rourke wouldn't even make the nominations, least of all herself. Clearly 2007 was a year she'll want to forget, and already has, as O'Rourke has left the comforts of her Dublin training base and long-term coach Jim Kilty and is now working in England with Malcolm Arnold, coach to Britain's former champion hurdler Colin Jackson.

Joanne Cuddihy makes the four nominations for track athlete of the year (along with Hession, Gillick and Roisín McGettigan), and in any other season, her Irish 400-metre record of 50.73 could well have won the award. At 23 her best years are still to come, and she, too, has moved away from home comforts and based herself in England, working with Loughborough University coach Nick Dakin, who this time last year took over Gillick's coaching with obvious success.

The other important date for Athletics Ireland next weekend is their National Coaching Conference, set for tomorrow week, which features two keynote addresses at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Santry, followed by four afternoon workshops in nearby Morton Stadium.

With the broad theme of "Developing Athletic Talent", there's something in it for everybody - not just those from the athletics world. Sonia O'Sullivan and Brian Kerr address the athlete and coaching perspective, and veteran Scottish coach Stuart Hogg features among the afternoon workshops with his presentation on "Developing Speed in Juveniles".

Hogg is the man who two years ago took Hession under his wing, and therefore helped lower the Irish 100-metre record from 10.35 to 10.18. Phew! Anyone who thinks their little Mikey or Mary is struggling in their sport through lack of speed - be it soccer, rugby, GAA or whatever - would do well to listen to Hogg. The truth is you can always learn to run a little faster. It's just sometimes the truth hurts.

It's worth noting that athletics has always influenced other sports, and this is proving particularly so with the GAA. Kilty famously introduced his speed-agility-quickness regime to the hurling world, which is now the model of most county training sessions. Current All-Ireland champions Kilkenny can thank former distance runner Noel Richardson for their enviable fitness levels, and Pat Flanagan gets the credit for modernising Kerry's football fitness.

There's now the constant referral to ice baths as the favourite mode of recovery, especially among rugby players, although it's still not that long since Paula Radcliffe first made this practice famous, mainly because most people thought she was mad to try it, which she may well have been.

Anyway, places at next Sunday's conference are limited, and booking with Athletics Ireland is essential, at (01) 8869933 or by e-mailing admin2@athleticsireland.ie. The fee is a mere €20 and includes lunch.