Club Notes Archive - 2018

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MARCH

6 March

Registration 2018
This Friday we will be collecting membership at underage training in the various halls. We would appreciate if parents / guardians could use this opportunity to ensure membership is in order. Currently we have only 60 members registered out of the roughly 550 members usually registered each year, so we have some distance to go yet. Membership can be paid at any time to Gerry Ferguson at Ferguson's Jewellers. Players can also download registration forms from aodhruadh.org and submit this along with the relevant fee directly to their manager. Further registration sessions will be organised over the coming weeks and it is especially important all players are signed up club members.

Football
Peter Boyle announced his decision to step down from the county panel over the weekend. While it certainly won't have been an easy decision for Peter to make, the county's loss should very much be Aodh Ruadh's gain.

Kerry Ryan's under 16s will become the first club side to field in competitive action in 2018 when they entertain Ardara in Father Tierney Park at 12 noon this Sunday. We wish the team and management all the very best for the coming season.

Congratulations to our under 14s on the receiving the news last week that they are to represent the county at Féile this year.

Under 12 training takes place on Monday evenings at the Breesy Centre in Cashelard from 7pm to 8.15pm and Friday evening's in the Mercy Hall from 7.15pm to 8.15pm. There is a charge of €3 per session.

Indoor underage training for boys continues this Friday. The under 10s are in the New Hall from 7.15pm to 8.15pm. Under 6 and under 8 training continues on Friday. The under 8s are in the New Hall from 6pm to 7pm. The under 6s are in the Mercy Hall from 6pm to 6.45pm. There is a charge of €3 per head, please note the new rate. Please bring your own water and wear runners as no other footwear allowed. Parents/Guardians are asked to please collect children promptly after their session is finished. Girls underage football resumption will be notified to the relevant age groups in due course.

Ladies
There will be a meeting of the ladies committee this Wednesday in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh at 7pm. All committee members are asked to attend.

Congratulations to Sarah Jane Keon and Eilish Gallagher who both lined out for the county under 15s last weekend against Sligo. Sarah Jane played at half forward while Eilish played at corner back. Their next game is in the Ulster League on St Patrick's weekend away to Derry and we wish the girls all the best against the Oak Leafers.

Under 6 girls training continues in Creevy School Hall this Friday and runs from 6pm to 7pm. There is a charge of €2 per child to cover the cost of the hall. Under 8 girls training continues on Tuesdays in the Mercy Hall and runs from 6pm to 7pm. There is a charge of €3 per child to cover the cost of the hall. Under 10 girls training continues on Tuesdays in the Mercy Hall and runs from the later time of 7.15pm to 8.15pm. There is a charge of €3 per child to cover the cost of the hall.

Under 12 girls training continues this Wednesday in the Mercy Hall from 5.30pm to 6.30pm. Please bring €3 to cover cost of hall hire as well as water. You can pay registration on the night to the manager. We are still welcoming new girls. For any girls who haven't played before, come along and talk to Karol and she will help you get to involved at your own pace. If anyone is able to give a hand contact Karol on 086-8780164.

Hurling
Underage hurling started last Sunday morning. On a fresh morning it was great to see so many enthusiastic hurlers out. Boys and girls from 5 years of age are welcome hurls and helmets provided for training. Training for all ages continues this Sunday at 12 noon. For any enquiries contact John Rooney on 086-2587793.

Donegal v Tyrone
The county under 17 team get their Ulster League campaign under way in Father Tierney Park this Saturday at 12 noon. We need our usual key stewards at the Park for 10.30am. Please text confirmation of availability to Tom Daly or Conal Gallagher by Thursday evening.

Question time
Due to unforeseen circumstances the Saint Patrick's Day Quiz fixed for Owen Roe's this Thursday has been cancelled. A fund raising quiz for Rockfield School will take place instead this Thursday with the action getting under way at 9.45pm

A date for your diary. Bord na nÓg will be staging a Sports Quiz on Saturday 14th April in the Bridgend Bar at 9.30pm. There will be a raffle on the night and a big turnout of support is needed to help continue the great investment in underage football in recent years.

Scór
Commiserations to the Trath na gCeist team of Sylvester Maguire, Paddy Kelly, Eamonn Martin Maguire and John Hughes who came up just short in the county final against Gaeil Fhánada. Aodh Ruadh scored 23 out of 30 to finish second, but Gaeil Fhánada racked up 25 to take the county title. Good luck to them as they go on to represent Donegal in the All-Ireland finals.

Bingo
After an unbroken run of 113 consecutive Fridays of bingo, we were unfortunately unable to hold bingo at Coláiste Cholmcille due to the red weather alert last week. The last Friday where bingo was missed was Christmas night 2015. We return to normal service this Friday at 9pm at the Abbey Centre, with a mighty €2,150 prize fund including the €450 snowball and €400 jackpot. Books priced just €10.

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13 March

Registration 2018
With the club registration deadline closing in we urge members to ensure they have their club membership paid. Currently we have only 80 members registered out of the roughly 550 members usually registered each year, so we have some distance to go yet. The Ladies will be hosting an open registration session on Thursday 22nd March in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh and hope to largely take care of registration for our female players at that evening. Membership can be paid at any time to Gerry Ferguson at Ferguson's Jewellers. Players can also download registration forms from aodhruadh.org and submit this along with the relevant fee directly to their manager. Further registration sessions will be organised over the coming weeks and it is especially important all players are signed up club members.

Football
Kerry Ryan's under 16s will finally get their season up and running on Tuesday when they travel to Ardara.

Well done to the county under 17s who earned a 2-8 to 0-13 win over Tyrone in their opening fixture of the Ulster League played at Father Tierney Park last Saturday. Aodh Ruadh had strong interest in the game with Shane Gillespie anchoring the defence at centre back and Senan Rooney in the attack. Eoin Doherty was also an early sub as Donegal got the better of the Red Hands. Senan Rooney made a especially telling contribution, finishing the game with 1-1 to his credit. We have a great gallery of pictures from the game up on aodhruadh.org.

The under 12s will have a challenge game next Bank Holiday Monday at home against Grange. Throw in is at 10.30am and all players are to be up at the Park for 9.45am. Training continues on Friday evenings in the Mercy Hall from 7.15pm to 8.15pm. There is a charge of €3 per session.

Ladies
Under 6 girls training continues in Creevy School Hall this Friday and runs from 6pm to 7pm. There is a charge of €2 per child to cover the cost of the hall. Under 8 girls training continues on Tuesdays in the Mercy Hall and runs from 6pm to 7pm. There is a charge of €3 per child to cover the cost of the hall. Under 10 girls training continues on Tuesdays in the Mercy Hall and runs from the later time of 7.15pm to 8.15pm. There is a charge of €3 per child to cover the cost of the hall.

Under 12 girls training continues this Wednesday in the Mercy Hall from 5.30pm to 6.30pm. Please bring €3 to cover cost of hall hire as well as water.

There was a big Aodh Ruadh representation in county action over the weekend. On Saturday the minors and the under 14s were taking on Tyrone at Killygordon. Briana Maher fielded at full back, with Cáit Gillespie at half forward and Ana Keon on the squad too. They had a tough battle with the Red Hands and it finished all square 2-5 to 3-2. The under 14 game also finished level at 2-7 to 3-4. Aodh Ruadh had three starters on the team. Áine Hill in goal, Lucy McGlynn at centre back and Caoimhe Hughes-O'Brien in midfield. Also on the squad were Katie O'Brien and Aoibheann McGarrigle. On Sunday it was the under 16s turn to take to the field as they tackled Monaghan at Inniskeen in the Ulster Championship group stages. They emerged with a 2-11 to 0-6 win over the hosts with Caoimhe Keon lining out at midfield and Caitlin McGarrigle also part of the panel. Well done to all the girls on flying the flag for the club at the top level.

Hurling
Underage hurling training continues on Sunday morning at 12 noon. Training is open to boys and girls from 5 years old upwards. Hurls and helmets are provided for training. Come along and learn the skills of our ancient game in a fun-filled environment. For any information contact John Rooney on 086-2587793.

The under 14s are training hard at the moment and have their first league game on Thursday 22nd March at home to Setanta.

Saint Patrick's Day
Aodh Ruadh will once again be taking part in the Saint Patrick's Day parade. Bord na nÓg players, underage ladies players and juvenile hurlers are invited to take part this Saturday. Players are to assemble at Gaelscoil Éirne at 1.40pm. Jerseys will be provided. Parents / guardians can collect players at the Market Yard after the parade.

Recycle fund-raiser
Aodh Ruadh Ladies are collecting any unwanted clothes, bags, belts, pairs of shoes and bed linen you might have. The aim is to collect as many 10kg bags as possible. To arrange a drop off or collection please make contact with Siobhán McGarrigle (086-6860178), Mairead Caldwell (083-1099434), Paul Gillespie (086-0430045) or Thomas O'Brien (086-6091852). Please spread the word as we'd like to see a big response to this much needed fund-raiser

Egg-citing news! The Duck Race is back!
The Aodh Ruadh ladies Duck Race returns to its traditional Easter slot this year and with that comes the return of the famous Easter Egg raffle giveaway. The Ducks go under starters orders at 2pm on the testing McKenna's Brook course on Easter Bank Holiday Monday, 2nd April. Members of the under 6, under 8, under 10 and under 12 teams should all have their cards by now with under 14 players receiving their cards over the next week. All players are asked to fill a card, except where there is more than one player in a household.

Easter Camp
Aodh Ruadh are running an Easter Camp from Monday 26th March to Wednesday 28th March. Each day runs from 10am to 2pm and welcomes children from junior infants to sixth class. It costs €30 per child, but family concessions are available. Contact Brian Roper on 087-6139065 for further information and bookings.

Last One Standing
Round five of Last One Standing only saw two players leave the competition. Galway, Tipperary and Mayo were the popular selections and as we head for round six there are still 58 people left in the hunt for the big prize.

Child Protection course
There will be a child protection course in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh on April 7th starting 2pm and running to 5pm. There are 20 places on the course with ten places available for Bord na nÓg coaches and ten for Ladies coaches. Contact Patricia Hill, David O'Donnell or Lisa McTernan to book your place.

Question time
A date for your diary. Bord na nÓg will be staging a Sports Quiz on Saturday 14th April in the Bridgend Bar at 9.30pm. There will be a raffle on the night and a big turnout of support is needed to help continue the great investment in underage football in recent years.

Scór
Well done to the Trath na gCeist team of Sylvester Maguire, Paddy Kelly, Eamonn Martin Maguire and John Hughes who took silver at the Irish language Ulster final in Armagh, just losing out to Cornafean after eight tough rounds of questions.

Bingo
Last week's €400 Bingo jackpot was won be Josie Lynch, Ballyshannon, whilst Mary Donagher took the stand up game prize of €140. There was no claim on the winter snowball so it rises to €475 on 47 numbers or less. Due to the drama festival taking place at the Abbey Centre this week, bingo will be held at Coláiste Cholmcille this Friday at 9pm. There will be a full €2,150 prize fund to play for, books priced just €10.

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20 March

Registration 2018
With the club registration deadline closing in we urge members to ensure they have their club membership paid. With only ten days left to the 31st March deadline we have only 160 members registered out of the roughly 550 members usually registered each year, so we have some distance to go yet. There is an open registration session this Thursday in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh from 7pm to 8.30pm. Membership can be paid at any time to Gerry Ferguson at Ferguson's Jewellers. Players can also download registration forms from aodhruadh.org and submit this along with the relevant fee directly to their manager. Further registration sessions will be organised over the coming weeks and it is especially important all players are signed up club members.

Football
The seniors put in an impressive display as they took on Four Masters in a challenge on Saint Patrick's morning. A lot of players got game-time and on the evidence of this showing Division 1 football shouldn't be approached with many undue fears. We have pictures from the game up on aodhruadh.org. Aodh Ruadh open their Division 1 campaign with a double header on the Easter weekend. First up is the trip to Dunfanaghy to take on Saint Michael's on Good Friday, 30th March. The reserves lock horns at 4.30pm, followed by the seniors at 6pm. The first home game is on Easter Sunday, 1st April, with the reserves throwing in at Father Tierney Park at 1.30pm, followed by the seniors at 3pm. Needless to say, with this marking the return of Division 1 football to the town after an absence of a decade, we'd like to see a crowd present equal to the magnitude of the occasion.

The under 16s have had a tough start to the league campaign. They lost out to Ardara in their first match of the season on a scoreline of 1-2 to 3-16 down in Pearse Memorial Park last Tuesday. On Bank Holiday Monday their first home game against Dungloe was a more balanced affair, but the visitors still managed to claim a 6-5 to 5-17 victory. Kyle Murray was good in defence while Senan Rooney went well in midfield. Up front Harry Howard battled well while Shane Brady did a fair bit of damage in front of the posts. Aaron Neilan came on and helped bolster the Ballyshannon cause. Next up for the under 16s is a trip to Donegal Town on Sunday to take on Four Masters. Throw in for that game is down for noon.

Under 12 training continues on Friday from 7.15pm to 8.15pm.

Indoor underage training for boys continues this Friday. The under 10s are in the New Hall from 7.15pm to 8.15pm. Under 6 and under 8 training continues on Friday. The under 8s are in the New Hall from 6pm to 7pm. The under 6s are in the Mercy Hall from 6pm to 6.45pm. There is a charge of €3 per head, please note the new rate. Please bring your own water and wear runners as no other footwear allowed. Parents / Guardians are asked to please collect children promptly after their session is finished.

Ladies
The Ladies are hosting an open registration session this Thursday 22nd March in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh from 7pm to 8.30pm. Our aim is to complete registration of ladies players at this session and as a wee incentive everyone who registers on the night will be entered free into the prize raffle at the Duck Race. The session is open to all, but we specifically urge all ladies players to use this opportunity to take care of registration.

The under 16 girls will commence training in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh this Wednesday from 6pm to 7pm.

The under 12 girls began their season with a challenge game away to Ballintra on a wet and windy Wednesday night last. Every girl got a run out and even though daylight was against us all the girls were glad to get outdoors. Training continues this Wednesday from 5.30pm to 6.30pm at the Holy Family school field. Remember boots and gum shields girls.

Well done to Eilish Gallagher and Sarah Jane Keon who were starters on the Donegal team which defeated Derry in Glenswilly on Sunday. Sarah Jane was among the goals as the hosts easily accounted of the Oak Leafers.

We are hosting the Donegal v Derry Ladies under 16 inter-county championship game in Father Tierney Park at 2pm this Sunday. If you are not going to Ballybofey, come up and support what is a quality and promising Donegal team at this level.

Hurling
The under 14 hurlers open their League campaign this Thursday at home to Setanta. Throw in at Father Tierney Park is 6pm. All support welcome to cheer on the lads.

Training continues as normal Sunday at 12 noon. Boys and girls from 5 years upwards are welcome, come along and learn the skills of our native game in a fun filled environment. Helmets and hurls are provided for training. For any information contact John Rooney on 086-2587793.

National Hurling League
Armagh play Derry in Father Tierney Park at 3pm this Saturday in a NHL Division 2B relegation play-off in what is expected to be a closely contested game. We need the usual key stewards at the Park for 1pm.

Scheduling of games and training
All team managers are asked to attend a meeting with Park / Development Committee Officers on Tuesday next, March 27th, at 8.30pm to deal with scheduling as we move into the busy months of April and May in terms of games, coaching and training.

Question time
The annual Table Quiz organised by the Park / Development Committee takes place in Owen Roe's on Holy Thursday night, March 29th at 9.15 pm. This is a way of showing your support for the continuing development programme at Aodh Ruadh's grounds. Please text a confirmation of your participating team as soon as possible to Tom Daly, David McLoone or Conal Gallagher. This is always a good social night for the club so we would like to see as many supporters as possible.

Last One Standing
The Healy Rae's weren't the only cute Kerry supporters this week as 29 people had Kerry as their pick in week six of Our Last One standing competition. Five of our entrants were left like Stephen Rochford after picking Mayo. Meanwhile, Johnny Heaney's last minute point in Pearse Stadium saw three more leave the competition. Following this weekend's games there are 40 left standing in our competition kindly sponsored by Liam Gallen of Mr G's.

Saint Patrick's Day celebrations
The weather might have been a touch on the Arctic side on Saint Patrick's Day, but that didn't deter our young footballers and hurlers who came out in large numbers for the annual Saint Patrick's Day Parade last Saturday. Well done to all who endured the chilly conditions and did so with a smile. Thanks to all those who helped pull together a great display by the club. We have a big gallery of images from the festivities up on aodhruadh.org.

Additions to the aodhruadh.org
Thanks to the Donegal Democrat we have been able to add a few items to aodhruadh.org for posterity. These include the Democrat's obituaries for John Larkin Sr and Jackie McDermott. We have also been permitted to reproduce their marvellous coverage about the 1992 Ulster minor champions. We are still working on converting the Ulster final video to a YouTube friendly format, and will publish that on ShamTV in the near future.

Well done John
Well done to John Travers on his inauguration into the Ballyshannon Drama Society Hall of Fame on the opening night of the 66th Ballyshannon Drama Festival.

Bingo
Last week's €400 bingo jackpot was won by Bridget Quinn of the Knather. The stand up game prize of €130 was won by Paddy McDermott of Belleek. Anna Daly, Belleek checked out on 42 to bring home the spot prize teddy, Lucky. The winter snowball had no winner so rises to €500 on 47 numbers or less. Bingo as usual this Friday at the Abbey Centre at 9pm. Books cost just €10 with a €2,200 prize fund up for grabs.

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27 March

Registration 2018
There's now only five days left to the 31st March deadline. At this stage we have 360 members registered out of the roughly 550 members usually registered each year. All players must be aware that if they don't have membership paid by Saturday they cannot line out for the club. In addition, anyone who pays membership after the Saturday deadline cannot play until five days after the registration has been logged on the system. The reasons why we can't play unregistered players are twofold. First, any team which fields an unregistered player is liable to lose the points for the game that player played in. Secondly, unregistered players are not covered under the player injury scheme. Therefore it is a matter of urgency that we get all players registered by the deadline of Saturday midnight. PLAYERS - do not put your manager in the position where they have to tell you they are unable to play you. There is a final open registration session this Saturday in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh from 12 noon to 2pm. Membership can be paid at any time to Gerry Ferguson at Ferguson's Jewellers. Players can also download registration forms from aodhruadh.org and submit this along with the relevant fee directly to their manager.

Club meeting
The monthly club executive meeting takes place on Thursday night in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh at 8.30pm. All executive committee members are asked to attend.

Football
Aodh Ruadh open their Division 1 campaign with a double header on the Easter weekend. First up is the trip to Dunfanaghy to take on Saint Michael's on Good Friday. The reserves lock horns at 4.30pm, followed by the seniors at 6pm. The first home game is on Easter Sunday, with the reserves throwing in at Father Tierney Park at 1.30pm, followed by the seniors at 3pm. Needless to say, with this marking the return of Division 1 football to the town after an absence of a decade, we'd like to see a crowd present equal to the magnitude of the occasion.

Fielding with just 16 players, the under 16s had a difficult clash with Four Masters on Sunday with the Donegal town side finishing well on top. Nevertheless Cian Rooney stood out up front, fighting all the way. Elsewhere Senan Rooney soldiered hard around the centre of the pitch, while Eugene and David Doherty battled to the end too. Their next game is another away assignment, this time a trip to Glenties on Wednesday with the game down for a 5pm throw-in.

The under 14s are back in action with the first five sessions of the season under our belt. Monday night was our first challenge match away to Roibéard Eiméid in Castlefinn. The boys put in a great shift in a very tight game, coming out on top by a single point on a scoreline of 4-12 to 2-17. Over Easter there will be under 14 activity on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. The Bakery Cup group stages will take place in a blitz format on Wednesday 28th March at 12 noon. The finals will be the following Wednesday, April 4th, again at 12 noon. Captains for 2018 are Danny Breen, Aaron Neilan, Ryan Keenaghan and Damian Weber. Training on Good Friday is at the earlier time of 12 noon. Next Monday, April 2nd, we are away to MacCumhaill's, throw in at 6pm. Fund-raising for our trip to Féile 2018 trip will begin with a Mystery Bus Tour in the coming weeks. Tickets are available from next week on at €20 each.

The under 12 had a good challenge in Ballybofey against MacCumhaill's on Monday evening. Jack McCadden was impressive in goals with Barry Campbell keeping things well organised in defence, while up front Killian Bradshaw did a lot of damage. Under 12 training continues on Friday from 5.45pm to 6.45pm.

Training for under 10s goes outside this Friday to Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh (Munday's field) from 6.15pm to 7.15pm. The team's next match is away to MacCumhaill's on Wednesday, 4th April. We will have full details at training on Friday.

Ladies
The under 16s had a good outing against Derrygonnelly on Saturday evening. There were particularly good showings from Roisin Daly, Dearbhla Hughes-O'Brien, Alicia Clyne and Caoimhe McCauley, but player of the match was Leah O'Brien at wing back. Training continues Wednesday at 4pm with a game pencilled in for this Friday also, full details to be confirmed via the team WhatsApp.

The under 12 girls had a challenge against neighbours Bundoran on Saturday. There were big numbers on both teams which was great to see and four teams togged out. See everyone up at the park on Wednesday at 5.30pm for training.

There is no under 6 girls training this week.

Hurling
The under 14s began their league campaign last Thursday with a convincing win over Setanta. The lads know they'll have tougher games ahead. We have a full gallery of pictures from the game up on aodhruadh.org. They followed up this win with a good win over Omagh Saint Enda's on Sunday in Omagh. Many thanks to the parents who drove the lads to Omagh. Next up for the lads is an away game to Saint Eunan's on Thursday.

Scheduling of games and training
All team managers and sub-committee officers are asked to attend a meeting with Park / Development committee officers this Tuesday at 8.30pm to deal with scheduling as we move into the busy months of April and May in terms of games, coaching and training.

Question time
The annual table quiz to support all the work which the Park / Development Committee undertakes, will take place in Owen Roe's this Thursday night March 29th at 9.30pm. This is always a good social night for Aodh Ruadh with many people home for Easter. Everyone involved in the various structures of the club is asked to support this fund-raiser by getting a team of four there for the night or come along and join a team. Sylvester Maguire will do quiz master. As always there will be plenty of prizes on the night.

Duck Race countdown
The Aodh Ruadh ladies Duck Race returns to its traditional Easter slot this year and with that comes the return of the famous Easter Egg raffle giveaway. The Ducks go under starters orders at 2pm on the testing McKenna's Brook course on Easter Bank Holiday Monday, 2nd April. Players should get their cards completed this week and get them back to their managers ahead of the race on Monday afternoon.

Last One Standing
Fintan Kelly's last minute winner for Monaghan saw nine entrants who had Dublin as their final pick exit our competition. While Conor Madden's last gasp point for Cavan saved five entrants who were on their way out of the competition. As it stands there are 27 left standing out of 350 entries! 23 of them head to week 8 where they pick the winners of the four League Finals while the other four have to wait for the rearranged week six games to be played next weekend to see if their selections for the finals will be still involved. All 27 Left Standing will be contacted and will have to pick their winners by 6pm Good Friday, all names and selections for the finals will be posted on Good Friday.

Schools Coaching Programme
Well done to our Schools Coaching Officer Stephen McGurrin who recently completed his Level 2 Coaching Award.

Busy at the Park
We had three good competitive games at Father Tierney Park over the weekend with a Derry team boosted by the return of the Slaughtneil players defeating Armagh in the National Hurling League. There was a good run out for our own senior team in a challenge game. Then the Donegal under 16 ladies had a resounding victory over Derry.

Works at Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh
Further maintenance work will be undertaken on the main playing field in the coming weeks. Prior notice will be given. Additionally , the entrance area including car parking area will be upgraded and this may result in having to use the club's own entrance from the west Rock for a period. Again, prior notice will be given.

Abbey Centre Bingo
Last week's €400 bingo jackpot was won by Ann Mitchell, whilst the stand up game prize of €130 was won by Kathleen Curran of Donegal Town. The winter snowball had no winner so rises to €525 on 47 numbers or less. The March Big Bingo takes place this Friday at the Abbey Centre at 9pm. Note the increase in Big Bingo prizes, where the €1000 super jackpot must be won every month. Books still cost €15 or a book and half special deal for €20, with a €3,200 prize fund up for grabs.

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