Vol.2 No.2 May 1999 Welcome! Welcome to the May edition of Na Fianna newsletter for 1999. Within these pages, we hope to keep you well-informed as to the activities of our exciting local Ladies Gaelic Football Club as well as bringing you North American Gaelic League news, anecdotes, a little bit of this, a little bit of that and whatever else we may find of interest during the year. Na Fianna Na Fianna are also featured on Cox Cable's online magazine, San Diego Insider! Look for us in their San Diego recreation group listing. Click Here to go to their website. Practise Weekly practise is scheduled at Kearny Mesa Recreational Center every Sunday morning(rain or shine!) at 10am on the corner of Mesa College Drive and Armstrong. In addition, the club meets on Wednesday nights at 6pm for fitness training, also at Kearny Mesa . In the coming months, we will be organising many fun social events, so stay tuned and don't miss anything.We're always looking for new members so remember- Bring a Friend! If you need any further information about team training, contact coach Tony O'Boyle at (619)624-0330 Membership and Registration Annual club membership is $30. Some of you ladies still need to get your membership dues for 1999 to Shannon Norman. All team players must be registered with the GAA in order to play, so if you are not registered you will not be eligible to play any competitive games for the club. As the first game of the season is not too far away, we would urge all those not registered to get their dues to Shannon A.S.A.P. Of course, you do not have to be a player to qualify for membership - supporters are invited to register with us also! Insurance Team players are required to have medical insurance, as Gaelic football is very much a contact sport and injuries, small and large, are inevitable. Na Fianna can provide details for a reasonable insurance policy that covers you on and off the field. We urge all players to take advantage of this policy, particularly if you do not have medical insurance of your own, as Na Fianna cannot be held responsible for any injuries sustained while participating in club activities. For further information, please contact Tracy Rivera at (619) 464-4261 days or (619) 464-2150 evenings. Fixtures Sunday June 13th: Na Fianna play their first home game of 1999 when they take on the Wild Geese/Durty Nellies from Orange County in a challenge game here in San Diego.Throw in is 1:00pm, and if you think this will start on time you're crazy Sunday June 27th: Na Fianna play their first league game of 1999! Once again their opponents will be the Durty Nellies and the game will be played in Orange County. Throw in is at 1:00pm. This year the two teams will play 4 league games in all against each other. The team having the best record following the league games will have home advantage for the championship game, so score differences for each game will be important. Banquet The annual G.A.A. banquet is coming up soon. It will be held on Saturday May 22nd at the Admiral Baker Club. The banquet starts at 7pm. Tickets for the event are $35 and are on a first come first served basis. Dancing to the popular band "Ruthless" follows the meal. Tickets to the the dance only are still available - contact Tony 'O Boyle at (619)624-0330 fir details. Latest News Several Na Fianna ladies have some exciting news to share... Congratulations to Kathy McGee on the recent birth of her daughter..Ciara Sinead Franke was born on April 12th weighing in at 8lbs 8ozs Congratulations also to Patricia and Joe Reddy on the birth of their son..Ronan Matthew Reddy who was born on May 4th also weighing 8lbs 8ozs Best wishes to Bina and ken Reilly who recently announced that they are also expecting a baby! Martina and Neil Patterson were married in Ireland on May 8th and several of the team travelled back for the happy occasion. We wish Martina and Neil a long and happy life together - congratulations to you both! Congratulations also to Bridget's dad - Bob and Dominique were married in San Diego on May 8th - Congratulations Mr and Mrs Burns! Focus On This section of the newsletter will introduce you to some of our team members from time to time. This month we feature Pamela McArdle, Debbie Wurth, Beth Strauss and Tiffany Hombs. Pamela McArdle : is the captain of Na Fianna Ladies Football team for 1998. She originally hails from Dundalk in the "wee county of Louth" in Ireland. Pam is currently working for a computer software company in San Diego. She joined Na Fianna in January of '98 and like many of our team members, she had never played before then. Pam also plays indoor and outdoor soccer in San Diego and growing up Ireland she played basketball, squash & did Irish dancing.Pam plays in the half forward line for Na Fianna. Debbie Lee Wurth : grew up in a little town in Texas called Baytown. She moved to California when she was 13 years old. She became involved in many sports including volleyball, basketball, track & Field and softball. Debbie says she loves to sing and has been a performer for most of her life - she still occasionally sings at weddings, you can catch her out at the Sod some Saturday nights singing her heart out! Debbie joined Na Fianna in January of this year and has quickly earned her place in Na Fianna's back line.Debbie works for a financial company in La Jolla and has two children. Beth Strauss : was born in New Jersey. She has a bachelors degree in journalism and has been working in advertising since graduating. Beth moved to San Diego from Manhattan about 3 1/2 years ago. Beth started playing on a co-ed indoor soccer team 3 years ago - there she met several other die hard ball players and when the soccer season was over and they all wound up playing Gaelic football. Beth says that when she was first asked to play soccer, she said she couldn't - but was told all she needed to be able was yell and drink beer after the game!! Beth's other hobbies include music (especially going to see live bands) and running. She ran her first (and she says, probably last) marathon last year to raise money for the Leukemia Society, which she says was an extremely challenging and rewarding experience> beth plays as a back for Na Fianna. Tiffany Hombs : was born and raised in Orange County, Yorba Linda to be specific, the birth place of Richard Nixon. Tiffany works as a physical therapist with brain injured patients and has just recently begun working with sports injuries. Tiffany spent the winter in Aspen treating sports injuries and just recently returned to San Diego. She is currently working at the Balboa Naval Hospital. Tiffany started playing Gaelic Football last year for the first time and plays in midfield for Na Fianna. She also skis, snowboards, plays volleyball and Lacrosse.