Record 205 entries confirmed for Golden Gloves
- killshotgloves
- Nov 21, 2022
- 2 min read
The 34th annual Fonacab Golden Gloves, which serves off this Friday evening in Belfast, promises to be the biggest and best yet, with a record 205 entries confirmed.
The organisers this morning released the provisional draws for this annual highlight, which has carved out a reputation as the best presented and organised tournament in the country. There are 15 grades in total across five venues, namely St Paul’s, Rossa, Gort na Mona, Queens PEC and Coláiste Féirste.
The Men’s and Ladies Open fields are stellar. The top eight seeds in the Men’s Open are Diarmaid Nash, Colin Crehan, Robbie McCarthy, Peter Funchion, Dominic Lynch, Owen McKenna, David Walsh and Michael Hedigan.
Action will serve off Friday evening at St Paul’s, with the meeting of Cork’s Tadhg O’Neill and American Loren Collado sure to be a cracker. Wexford’s former underage star Josh Kavanagh also makes his comeback and faces Patrick Funchion, with Kyle Jordan, fresh from a very impressive performance in the Irish U19 team trials, taking on local favourite Jordan O’Neill.
The big guns will roll out on Saturday morning, with quarter-finals on Saturday afternoon and semi-finals and finals down for decision on Sunday.
The Ladies open field is headed by Catriona Casey and the remainder of the top eight seeds are Martina McMahon, Fiona Tully, Eilise McCrpryr, Mollioe Dagg, Aishling O’Keeffe, Patricia Byrne and Ciana Ní Churraoin in what is one of the strongest fields of female players assembled in recent years.
A note from the organising committee stated: "These draws are provisional and it's important you check back Thursday am on the same link below to ensure you're up to date.
"We will only be making changes where there are errors discovered. We have a record 205 entries and we're pretty much at maximum capacity. This leaves us unable to accommodate requests for changes in times. We're sure you'll understand."
A message from tournament director Seamus Ó Tuama said: “Many thanks for your commitments to take part in the biggest and best independently-run handball tournament on the planet!
"Please ensure early/timely arrival as there is a water-tight schedule to work through over a short space of time. Now your times and locations and announce your arrival at the venue to the co-ordinators.
"Loser refs next game – a necessary evil given the volume of games.
"Any player more than 15 minutes late may have to be withdrawn from the tournament due to the potential negative knock-on effect on the schedule – there are 205 players to accommodate, please remember this!
"Players and families can help out with cleaning rubbish, helping with tea, coffee etc and managing their players. We wish you all a safe journey and a brilliant Golden Gloves."
Kill Shot will be on site in Belfast at the weekend for distribution and collection. If you wish to get kitted out before Friday, click here - order before midnight Tuesday to guarantee delivery in time for Belfast!
The provisional draws for the Fonacab Golden Gloves can be viewed here.
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