Beijing GAA Looking back on 2006 it wasn’t a very profitable year when it came to silverware. We came away from the All-China games in Shenzhen empty handed after the greedy Hong Kongers took everything. Fortunately the Asian Games in Shanghai proved to be a little more successful, but still no cups in hand. Our Girl's A team suffered a cruel one point defeat when the Plate Final vs. Japan went to golden points following an extra-time draw. Our Men's A team had a disappointing exit from the competition in the Plate semi-final at the hands of Dubai B. Our Girl's B team may have notched just one victory over the weekend but that is a poor reflection of the achievements of a team that entered the competition with just 9 players and not a whole lot of experience but managed to go from strength to strength with each game and clocked up some great scores. Our Men's B, again at a numbers disadvantage from the beginning, had a remarkable tournament, winning all of their Saturday games but was unfortunate to be beaten in the bowl semi-final by a single point. Nevermind, it’s not all about the football. We’re prone to a little socialising at the best of times but late last year we out did ourselves. We combined our two greatest skills (after football) of having the craic and spending money. In a night of unsparing generosity the club raised over RMB 50,000 (euro 5,000) to donate to a local orphanage we have been supporting over the last few years. 2007 has shaped up to be a more successful year. The club has been busy organizing events both on and off the field and is continually attracting new players. We are very proud of the Beijing Ladies A team who won the first Korean Cup in April. Congratulations and Well Done to Seoul Gaels for organizing a very successful event. Hopefully it will be the beginning of an annual event to be shared by all competing clubs. We are very much looking forward to the All-China games being hosted by Dalian in the autumn. We intend traveling up north in big and intimidating numbers! Finally, best wishes to Singapore GAA club with hosting the Asian Gaelic games for the first time. Unfortunately we won’t be traveling with the numbers we have brought to previous games but we’re looking forward to a great competition and a great weekend. Thank you to our main sponsor Saongroup and also to Kerrygold. |
