IT’S been a great season for basketball in Tralee and a local club looked back on the year at its annual awards on Thursday night.
There was a big crowd in The Rose Hotel as Tralee Imperials players received awards with three Tralee Warriors, Daire Kennelly, Eoin Quigley and Darragh O’Hanlon also present.
“We’ve had a good year with numbers up and new coaches on the scene,” said Vice-Chairperson Helen Pierse. “It’s all about building and developing our players. The Warriors success on a national stage is certainly helping.”
Highlights of the year included the Girls U13 and U17 teams winning the County Cup competition, the Girls U14 got to the County final, the U18 side got to the quarter-finals of the National Cup for the first time and the U20 team competed in the Cork League, finishing in 4th place.
Continued below…
It was also an occasion to present a cheque for €1,875 to the Kerry Hospice Foundation thanks to fundraising efforts in the club.
A good year then and — with the level of interest in basketball in the town — even better ones are sure to come for Tralee Imperials. Scroll down for photos…
Juvenile winners
U12 Boys Team 1 MVP Fionan Ryan MIP Darragh O’Shea
u12 Boys Team 2 MVP Daniel Sheehy MIP Jamie Cleary Lynch
U14 Boys MVP Tomas Kennedy MIP William O’Donoghue
u16 Boys MVP Darragh O Connor (Beag) MIP Darragh O’Connor (Mor)
u18 Boys MVP Daire Kennelly MIP David Burke
u12 Girls Team 1 MVP Lisa Slattery MIP Rebecca O’Mahony
u13 Girls MVP Holly O Brien MIP Siun Fitzgibbon
u14 Girls MVP Niamh Collins MIP Cara Gannon
u16 Girls MVP Ciara Rath MIP Aoife Burke