Apr 23, 2015
The Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan TD, launched Active Schools Week (ASW) 2015 on 20th April 2015 in Our Lady’s National School Adare Co. Limerick, supported by the Minister for Health Leo Varadkar. Jointly sponsored by the Department of Education and Skills and Healthy Ireland, it reflects their commitment to the promotion of students’ well-being and interests. All schools, primary, post primary and Youthreach centres are encouraged to include the Week as part of their annual school calendar. It is also an integralpart of the Active School Flag initiative which recognises schools that strive to achieve a physically educated and physically active school community. To date over 480 schools have been awarded the Active School Flag.
Highlighting her support for the project, Minister O’Sullivan said: “I would encourage schools across the country to get more active. It is a wonderful opportunity for promoting physical activity and raising awareness of Physical Education. I hope that all schools will get involved and I would ask that schools and parents encourage students to participate. We know how important it is to be physically active and I believe that Active Schools Week can enhance the PE experience of children and young people.”
Minister for Health Leo Varadkar welcomed the launch of Active School Week saying: “I’m really keen to promote more physical activity in schools. Children who are active from an early age are more likely to live healthy and happy lives, and society as a whole will benefit. Sport and physical activity have so many benefits for physical and mental health and wellbeing. The Active School Week is a great opportunity for the whole-school community to work together and be more physically active, and create a more Healthy Ireland”
The Federation of Irish Sport and many National Governing Bodies of Sport are lending their support to the Initiative, and will work with schools to help promote physical activity and to raise awareness about the physical activity opportunities available in every community. Ireland Active leisure centers are also demonstrating their support for ASW by offering complimentary swim passes, class passes and use of their facilities to local schools.
Healthy Ireland is the national framework for action to improve the health and wellbeing for people living in Ireland. Its main focus is on prevention and keeping people healthier for longer.
The Active School Flag is administered and based in Mayo Education Centre, Castlebar, Co Mayo. For further information visit http://www.activeschoolflag.ie/home.html
Apr 23, 2015
‘Maximising the Impact of Sport Tourism’
4 Events over 2 Days with 25 speakers from the world of sport, tourism, events, marketing, sponsorship and destination development.
Overview:
The second European Sport Tourism Summit will be in held in Thomond Park Stadium, Limerick on Thursday 14th May with an industry experts sessions on Friday 15th May. These expert sessions are designed for tourism and sport industry practitioners to learn from experts in of event planning, bidding, operations, impact evaluation and digital marketing. This year the event will also host the first European Sport Tourism Awards which will be held in King Johns Castle, Limerick. An academic conference will also run on Friday 15th May at UL Sport.
Speakers;
Among the line-up of speakers includes;
- Major Events: Ryder Cup, Commonwealth Games, 2015 Rugby World Cup, UEFA, Grand Depart Tour de France
- Event Development & Marketing: IMG, Manchester City, London 2012, Social Media Experts
- Industry Development: Sport UK, SportCal, International Triathlon Union, Event Ireland
- Tourism Development: Sport Event Denmark, Visit Flanders, Tourism Ireland, Failte Ireland, Visit England
Who should attend;
The event will attract delegates from sport tourism, international and regional events, sport organisations, sport marketing & sponsorship, tourism industry, tourism marketing, local authorities and national destination marketing companies.
Registration details
Registration: http://sporttourismsummit.ie/event-registration/ (FIS Members select discount ticket- €250)
Schedule;
Thursday 14 May
- 9.30am Shannon Airport European Sport Tourism Summit, Thomond Park Stadium
- 7.30am Shannon Group European Sport Tourism Awards, King Johns Castle
Friday 15th May
- 9.30am Shannon Airport Industry Expert Sessions, Thomond Park Stadium
- 9.30am Shannon Airport Academic Conference, UL SPORT
Delegates can register for both days or attend one day only.
Nominations for the European Sport Tourism Awards are now open on www.sporttourismsummit.ie
Apr 23, 2015
Gymnastics is one of the oldest Olympic sports and largest sports in the World.
The World Gymnastics Championships is broadcast to a global TV audience of around 200 million people and at every Olympic Games, gymnastics is one of the first sports to sell out.
In Ireland Gymnastics Ireland is one of the largest Olympic sports in the country, while also being one of the most inclusive so male or female, young or old, able bodied or disabled there is something for you.
Physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance are the sports core components however participation in gymnastics activity also develops confidence, creativity & leadership, not to mention a healthy body and mind. Gymnastics also promotes an active, physical lifestyle and develops key motor skills.
There are 8 disciplines that fall under the umbrella of gymnastics, four Olympic & four Non-Olympic…
Olympic Disciplines
Men’s Artistic, Women’s Artistic, Rhythmic gymnastics & Trampoline Gymnastics
Non-Olympic Disciplines
Tumbling, Acrobatics, Aerobics and Gymnastics for All
Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by FIG – the International Gymnastics Federation. There are also 4 continental gymnastics unions, including the European Gymnastics Union – UEG.
Gymnastics Ireland is the national governing body for the sport of gymnastics in Ireland. We are affiliated to both FIG & UEG in addition to the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) and are recognised as such by the Irish Sports Council (ISC).
It remains the aim of Gymnastics Ireland to firmly establish Gymnastics as a core Irish sport and provide opportunities for all members of Irish society to participate in what is undoubtedly one of the greatest sports in the world.
Gymnastics Ireland 2015 and beyond…
2015 is a particularly busy year – both on our national competition side and for our international gymnasts.
On the national competition front we kicked off the New Year with the WAG Level 1 in DCU where approx. 350 gymnasts competed in the first competition of the 2015 season.
In February we took delivery of around €340,000 worth of equipment from Janssen Fritsen/Eurotramp and the busy events schedule continued with over 300 gymnasts taking part in the Trampoline/Tumbling Grand Prix, Rhythmic Novice & MAG Levels 1-3 and over 650 gymnasts participating in the WAG Level 2-5.
March also saw us host the first of our two internationals of 2015, the Acrobatics Celtic Cup. With visiting delegations from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, Scotland prevailed as the overall winner, while both Team Ireland & Wales were joint runners up. There were some standout performances from the Irish team however the 11-16 FIG Team finishing in 1st place was a particular highlight. Following the success of this event we now look forward to hosting the 2015 Northern European Championships in UL Sport Arena in September.
On the international circuit Ellis O’Reilly & Andrew Smith stepped out at the WAG/MAG World Cup in Cottbus, the highlight being Andrew’s 10th place finish on Floor. Kieran Behan also competed in the World Challenge Cup in Slovenia placing 19th on both Floor & Rings. Gymnastics also will be one of the largest Irish teams that will compete in June at the European Games in Baku, while our Olympic Qualification starts in late October at the 2015 World Championship in Glasgow.
The next quarter will be just as busy on the national event front with May in particular shaping up as a month of National Championships.
2015 will also see us introduce our new annual flagship participation based event – ‘The Floor’. This event will provide member clubs with the opportunity to put on an entertainment spectacle in front of an enthusiastic crowd of gymnastics fans. The aim of this event is to create an annual showcase where our member clubs pull together a performance to show everyone just how skilful, fun, entertaining & exciting our sport is.
Finally 2015 marks a key milestone in the development of our organisation and sport in Ireland as construction has commenced on the National Gymnastics Training Centre within the new National Indoor Arena at the National Sports Campus in Dublin. This state-of-the-art facility will provide gymnastics Ireland with a world class base of operations for everything from our education system through to our participation & performance programmes in addition to providing a home for our national & international events programme.
Email: ask@gymnasticsireland.com
Telephone: 01 – 625 1125
Website: www.gymnasticsireland.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/GymnasticsIreland
Twitter: @GymnasticsIre
Apr 23, 2015
This year sees the return of the FIS Annual Conference for its third year and it has fast become a must attend event for leaders from Irish Sport, government and business. In 2015 the event will again be hosted in the Storehouse and the keynote address will be delivered by Minister Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. FIS Members can book their tickets by clicking here
The event will give an opportunity for NGBs and LSPs to share ideas and learn from member workshops, network, meet industry exhibitors and engage in lively debate….not to mention the opportunity to win some great prizes in the business card draw…The evening will end with a drinks reception, entertainment and dinner in Arthur’s on the 5th Floor. We look forward to seeing you there….
Conference Schedule
1.30pm- Registration, Tea, Coffee and Sandwiches
2.00pm- Conference Opening
2.05pm- Minister Donohoe keynote speech
2.20pm- Workshop 1- The Future of Irish Sport, member discussion and feedback facilitated by MC, Caroline Murphy
3.50pm- Tea & Coffee break
4.20pm- Workshop 2– Fundraising and Networking, hosted by Kingsley Aikins
5.50pm- Conference Closing
6pm- Drinks in Arthurs Bar
6.30pm- Dinner
8.30pm til late- Networking and drinks
FIS Members can book their tickets by clicking here
Biography
Kingsley Aikins
Kingsley Aikins is the founder of Diaspora Matters and has a lifetime of involvement in the sector. Born in Dublin he is an economics and politics graduate of Trinity College and also has a postgraduate diploma in International Marketing.
For five years he was the Sydney Australia based representative of the Irish Trade Board and the industrial Development Authority (IDA) of Ireland. He founded the Lansdowne Club in Sydney which has become one of the largest Irish business networks in the world. He was a founding director of the Australian Ireland Fund and served as Executive Director responsible for the growth of the fund in Australia and New Zealand. In January 1993 he moved to Boston to take over as Executive Director of the American Ireland Fund and in 1995 he was appointed Chief Executive of the Worldwide Ireland Funds active in 39 cities in 13 countries.
He was responsible for the five year Hope and History Campaign to raise $100 million for projects in Ireland. After 21 years he left the Ireland Funds and now runs Diaspora Matters in Dublin which is a consultancy company which gives advice on Diaspora issues to governments, corporates and individuals. He writes and speaks extensively on Philanthropy, Diaspora and Networking and in 2011 produced a Global Diaspora Strategies Toolkit. In 2012 he was the keynote speaker at the Hillary Clinton Global Diaspora Forum in Washington and in 2013 was the Conference Chairman of the Global Diaspora Forum which was held in Dublin.
In 2008 Kingsley was awarded a CBE for his work on British-Irish relations.
NOTE: The conference is a Federation of Irish Sport members event and tickets are not open to general sale. Commercial organisations can attend the conference through a number of partnership options which can be discussed by contacting: Conn McCluskey, Business Services Manager, 01-6251155 conn.mccluskey@irishsport.ie
Apr 16, 2015
WEXFORD’S Bertram Allen is Ireland’s only representative at this week’s Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final in Las Vegas, USA, which starts early on Friday morning (Irish time) and finishes on Sunday night.
Allen and his grey mare Molly Malone V will be amongst 41 of the world’s best human and equine athletes competing.
Allen, who is just 19, astonished pundits by winning the first ever World Cup Qualifier in which he had competed, at Verona in Italy late last year.
He followed this with another World Cup Qualifier victory at Bordeaux in France in February.
After a dazzling series of performances internationally, he is now ranked tenth in the world, and is one of the favourites to win the World Cup Final – with the promise of the trophy going to Ireland for the first time in its history.
Other attempts by Irish riders have resulted in runner-up places from Trevor Coyle and the legendary Cruising in 1999 and Jessica Kurten with Castle Forbes Libertina in 2006. Eddie Macken and Carrolls of Dundalk placed third in the World Cup Final in 1979.
Bertram Allen and Molly Malone face a daunting series of up to five world class courses over three days in the Mack Centre arena at Las Vegas, with the World Cup winner being announced after the final competition on Sunday night.
SCHEDULE – SHOW JUMPING WORLD CUP FINAL, LAS VEGAS
- Live video is available for all competitions by subscription from www.feitv.organd starts ten minutes before each competition.
- Updates on scoring will be available via Team Ireland Equestrian’s Twitter feed @teamirleq and on Team Ireland Equestrian’s Facebook page here.
Friday, April 17, 2015
3am (Irish time) Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final I
Speed class, with seconds added for knockdowns
Saturday, April 18, 2015
3am (Irish time) Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final II
One round against the clock, and one jump-off which is also against the clock. Results are then converted into points which are carried into the third and last competition
Sunday, April 19, 2015
8pm (Irish time) Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final III
Two rounds of jumping over a Grand Prix course of fences between 1.50m and 1.60m in height. The top 30 horse-and-rider combinations are eligible to compete but only 20 go through to the second round. The leading rider after the first two competitions goes last, and starts on a zero score.
•Total prize money for the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2014/2015 Final is €1.3m. The World Cup winner receives 750,000 euro.
•The defending champion is Germany’s Daniel Deusser (Cornet D’Amour).
•Ireland has never won the World Cup Final. Trevor Coyle and the legendary Cruising placed second in 1999 and Jessica Kurten with Castle Forbes Libertina in 2006 also finished as runners-up. Eddie Macken and Carrolls of Dundalk placed third in the World Cup Final in 1979.
