Nov 13, 2014
TOTAL FUNDING OVER FOUR YEARS REACHES €500K
ATHLETE DERVAL O’ROURKE JOINED MINISTER MICHAEL RING TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS
Five organisations shared in €125,000 of funding from the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund for innovative projects which will promote active lifestyles in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Fund awards grants to organisations for new initiatives aimed at encouraging people to incorporate physical activity into their day to day lives. In existence since 2011, the Fund today celebrated reaching the milestone of half a million euro in total funding with this latest round of grants.
The latest awardees are Canoeing Ireland, Killarney Rugby Football Club, Omagh Wheelers Cycling Club, Spraoi agus Spórt and Swim Ireland, which each received €25,000 today.
Michael Ring TD, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, congratulated the organisations on their achievement and said he was looking forward to seeing their projects in action.
Speaking today Minister Ring said: ‘The Coca-Cola Thank You Fund continues to have a positive impact across Ireland and Northern Ireland, with €500,000 donated in grants since the Fund began in 2011. The Government also continues to be committed to increased participation in sport at all levels, and I was delighted to announce a third Sports Capital Programme in Budget 2015. Participation in sport has risen from 44.8% in 2011 to 47.2% last year. Coca-Cola, through this level of investment, has shown a commitment to improve the level of participation in physical activity in our local communities. The Fund invests in active lifestyles and programmes and has been a great success in reaching out to people who may not engage in regular physical activity. It continues to identify initiatives that will spark people’s interest and get them moving. Through Government investment and Funds like this, participation in sport and physical activity can grow and lead to an overall improved quality of life for participants.’
Derval O’Rourke, Coca-Cola Thank You Fund Ambassador and former Olympic athlete, tweeted her congratulations to the five winning groups. “Five organisations each received €25,000 today in major funding for brilliant projects that are sure to get you moving #greatnews #letsmovetogether.”
Ailish Forde, Public Affairs and Communications Director at Coca-Cola HBC Ireland, said:
“Thousands of people stand to benefit from programmes that will variously: train a range of new kayak instructors to introduce young people to the sport; equip Kerry with its very first “Trim Trail”, a one kilometre path for use in exercise; get the whole family cycling; train people who do no exercise currently to run 5k over a ten week period; and encourage the nation to swim in their local pool through the return of a greatly expanded Swim for a Mile programme which also facilitates open water swimming for the first time. I congratulate each of the organisations responsible for these worthy and exciting projects and, indeed, commend all the applicants to the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund this year for their many brilliant ideas and for their considerable efforts aimed at increasing movement in Ireland and Northern Ireland.”
More information about the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund is available at www.coca-cola.ie/thankyou.
Descriptions of the five successful projects from the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund 2014:
| Organisation |
Description |
| Canoeing Ireland |
Canoeing Ireland will work with five youth groups in disadvantaged areas in Leinster to deliver local Kayak Instructor Training Initiative programmes. The organisation aims to change forty young people’s lives over nine months and to transform communities by training local activity leaders with professional qualifications. They will work with youth services on the project, eight of which have already expressed an interest in taking part. The project will culminate in the Irish Sea Kayak Crossing Challenge, whereby the participants will cross the Irish Sea by kayak between Ireland and Britain supported by Canoeing Ireland. |
| Killarney Rugby Football Club |
Killarney Rugby Football Club will create a ‘Trim Trail’, a walk/run path 1km in length with exercise stations at 10 or 12 intervals along the way. There will be equipment at these stations where users can do press-ups, sit-ups, squats, leg raises, chin ups and dips. Some users will just use it for walking or jogging, others will incorporate vigorous exercise programs, mothers with buggies may use it while their older children play matches. Killarney Rugby Football Club coaches will also be able to incorporate the Trim Trail into their training programmes. The Trim Trail will be a valuable, free addition to the amenities available in Killarney (there is no other such facility in Kerry) and will promote healthy, active lifestyles in a fun and easy to use manner. |
| Omagh Wheelers Cycling Club |
Through the use of a secure training track, Omagh Wheelers Cycling Club will provide specific training for dads, mums, and children – ensuring the family unit is involved. It will have trained and vetted adults on hand to look after the children who are not old enough to get on their bikes, who are on stabilisers, who are gaining confidence, and are ready for the racing circuit – ensuring a controlled environment. The key objective is to get the whole family fit. The organisation aims to have trained coaches on hand to take adults safely out on road with a view to improving their racing abilities, with specialised programmes running simultaneously for children. |
| Spraoi agus Spórt |
The “Inishowen “100”, Ready, Steady Run!” project will provide coaching from experienced runners in 3 flagship towns – Buncrana, Carndonagh and Moville. It will encourage people who currently do little or no exercise to get active and get from the couch to running 5k over a ten week period. It will also offer nutritional advice sessions so that healthy eating in conjunction with running is explained in detail. The project will cater for 200 people in Buncrana and 150 people in both Carndonaghand Moville. The organisation will provide 3 training sessions per week using experienced coaches. Each session will be approximately 1 hour and cover about 5 kilometres. Therefore each week the participant will be running approximately 10 miles, so over ten weeks they will clock up 100 miles. At the end of the 10 weeks it will organise a Family 5k Fun Run/Walk to celebrate the success of the project. |
| Swim Ireland |
The Swim for a Mile initiative aims to encourage people of all abilities to build swimming into their daily lives. Swim Ireland will provide coaching sessions 2-3 times a week at 5 flagship pools in Cork, Limerick, Galway, Bangor and Dublin. The training programme culminates in 150 events run at pools where swimmers come and swim the mile. Swim Ireland will also oversee timing, merchandising, and registration and event management of the five major swims. Project partner Ireland Active will provide access to 200+ pools, as well as assisting with event management of the smaller events in local pools. Meanwhile, the Simon Community will add volunteers, promotional reach and participants. As a follow on from the Swim for a Mile in the pool, “Swim for a Sea Mile” will also take place in the summer for those that have already completed Swim for a Mile in the pool. Participants will be encouraged to continue swimming and to try out sea swimming. A full training programme will also be in place for the gap between the pool swim and the open water swim. |
Nov 10, 2014
Ireland’s first match of the Guinness Series was against South Africa on Saturday 8th November.
Two sides, different stories
Both sides had contrasting positions coming into this match. The Springboks have had a long and gruelling year: the newly expanded Super Rugby season which now runs from February – August, broken up with two tests versus Wales and one against Scotland in the June international window. Combine this with back-to-back games against the All Blacks, Wallabies and the Pumas in the Rugby Championship, not to mention the travel and South Africa were certainly battle hardened. In contrast this was Ireland’s first encounter of the year. Not only this, but Ireland would have to make do without the services of many senior players. Speaking of the Rugby Championship, South Africa’s form was patchy at best – two narrow victories against an ever improving Argentina (13-6 in round one in Pretoria and 33-31 in the return fixture a week later) and a loss and a win versus an Australian outfit that was dogged with off field controversies that seemed to never end! Throw in a defeat to the old enemy New Zealand and the Boks campaign was not what many would have hoped for. However, piping the world champions in the final round in Johannesburg meant the tournament ended on a high, as South Africa ended a drought going back to August 2011 when they last beat the men in Black.
South Africa were unchanged from the side that beat the All Blacks last month
Three points of contact
The ruck, scrum and lineout were the three main areas that were sure to decide who came out on top. The Springboks are largely seen as the best in the business in both scrum and lineout departments and this was not lost on assistant coach Les Kiss prior to the match. “It’s still important to understand that they will go to the core part of their game,” acknowledged the Australian. “They will drive, they will run big forwards at you, their nines are savvy and canny players. They can shape that ruck area very nicely, so you’ve got to be aware of that.” With this in mind, one of the key one-on-one battles was always going to be in the second row between Paul O’Connell and Springbok stalwart Victor Matfield. Matfield had complemented his opposite number in the week leading up to the game – “I think Paul O’Connell is a fantastic player, I have said it before, I think he is probably the best player I have played against in my career. He is also a student of the line-out, you can see he puts in a lot of hours analysing and preparing, getting his whole unit ready for the weekend. It is always tough going up against him.”
Ready, Set, GO!
New Era
It was always going to be intriguing to see Joe Schmidt’s team selection for a number of reasons. Firstly, the question that the world and his mother had an opinion on – ‘who would play at centre?’ . Although Brian O’Driscoll was not present on Ireland’s tour of Argentina last June, many see this campaign as the start of the post O’Driscoll era. The most experienced player – Gordon D’Arcy – seemed to be in most people’s starting XV. As to who would partner him – Connacht’s Robbie Henshaw and newly Irish eligible Jared Payne were the front runners for a starting birth, with Leinster’s Ian Madigan an outside bet. Further interest as to Joe Schmidt’s plans was his selections given the ever growing injury list. Rory Best was withdrawn from contention due to an ongoing calf strain and joined the long list of those unavailable – Cian Healy, Marty Moore, Sean O’Brien, Jordi Murphy, Andrew Trimble, Luke Fitzgerald (only just returning to Leinster), Dave Kearney, Luke Marshall and Fergus McFadden. Good news however did come as Jonny Sexton was given the green light after he had to come off early in a match for club side Racing Metro the previous weekend. South Africa had injuries themselves, albeit not nearly as many as the home side. Ulster’s South African playmaker Ruan Pienaar was ruled out of the Boks entire tour as he failed to recover from a knee injury picked up against New Zealand in September, with Jano Vermaak being drafted in as cover for the remainder of the tour.
Jared Payne was picked at centre with Robbie Henshaw
Team Selection
The Springboks announced an unchanged 23 man squad from their recent victory over the All Blacks. Ireland’s centre partnership in this ‘new era’ was one of complete change with both Henshaw and Payne selected to start. Gordon D’Arcy, most people’s choice to start at 12 was omitted. Jack McGrath, Sean Cronin and Mike Ross were selected at one, two and three respectively while Ireland’s back row saw a late change as Chris Henry, who was originally selected at openside was withdrawn on the day of the test and was replaced by Rhys Ruddock who partnered Peter O’Mahony and Jamie Heaslip. Rob Kearney was selected at fifteen although only recently passing fit due to on-going back issues.
All Systems Go
Dublin was hit by torrential rain in the morning and early afternoon on the day of the test that threatened to blight what had the potential of being a free flowing game given the Boks new expansive and attacking style. Thankfully it cleared up in time for the late kick off.
Kearney had spoken about Ireland’s “need to get out of the blocks really, really early” in the lead up to the match. Ironically the full backs first involvement was to take out Willie le Roux in the air in what was more a clumsy act rather than anything else.
The TMO was consulted in the opening minutes as French referee Romain Poite wanted another view of some potential foul play from South African flanker Marcell Coetzee. Heaslip took a heavy fall and Poite wanted another angle to see if Coetzee had led with the elbow when swatting off the Leinster man. Replays were inconclusive and play resumed with a scrum.
South Africa were by far the more dominant team. The vast majority of the first half was played between Ireland’s 10 metre and try line. With a conveyor belt of giants all chomping at the bit to get their hands on the ball, the South African pack regularly punched holes and constantly made the gain line. On top of this, Ireland coughed up possession as Matfield and Eben Etzebeth put on a master class in stealing lineouts. In spite of all of this it was Ireland that drew first blood as Sexton kicked a penalty after Jannie du Plessis was pinged for illegally scrummaging. Handre Pollard had an opportunity to draw level on 18 minutes but it went wide before Sexton doubled Ireland’s lead six minutes later. Ireland spent much of the remaining fifteen minutes of the first half camped deep in their own half. However South Africa’s lack of return was a huge psychological win for Ireland. The Springbok’s turned down a number of kickable penalties in the hope of pushing for a five pointer. With their huge pack and position on the pitch who could blame them? Despite this energy sapping pressure, Ireland’s defence was incredible. The Boks finally conceded ‘defeat’ and on the stroke of half time choose to go for goal having exhausted all other avenues to get on the score board. Ireland led 6-3 at the break.
Try Time!
While clichéd as it sounds, Ireland couldn’t have asked for a better start after the interval. Tommy Bowe collected his own up and under and the ensuing attack saw Henshaw hack the ball down field which sat perfectly five metres from the Boks try line. Le Roux scrambled back to cover but could only prod it into touch. Ireland now had an attacking lineout on the Springbok’s door step. The ball went to the front of the lineout and after a quick maul and some miscommunication between South African scrum half Francois Hougaard and his pack, the Bok defence parted like the Red Sea and Ruddock cantered in. Sexton converted from out wide and Ireland led by 10.
Rhys Ruddock scores the games opening try
South Africa continued to lack the execution to convert huge amounts of possession into points as handling errors and poor discipline continued to cost them. However, it was never going to last forever and eventually after another successful lineout by commander in chief Matfield, the Boks got a good maul rolling and crossed the Irish line. Coetzee came up with the ball and the Boks were back into it. Sexton kicked another goal five minutes later but the game looked like it could swing either way as both sides looked to deal a killer blow. And so it came! On 67 minutes Kearney was taken out in the air by a swinging arm from South Africa’s substitute hooker Adrian Strauss and Poite referred it to the TMO Jim Yuille. After much consultation the referee decided to sin bin the hooker as Duane Vermeulen had only just been warned about a high tackle and the official had had enough.
One infringement too many…. Strauss was sent to the bin!
Ireland stretched their lead a few minutes later with another penalty from Sexton which put the home side nine points in the clear with only eight minutes remaining. However, the All Black encounter a year previous was still itched in the minds of many. Surely this Ireland team who since that match have won the Six Nations title could see this one out, couldn’t they?
The answer was yes. Ireland put the game to bed with a memorable try. Again, possession was coughed up by the Boks – a simple knock on, le Roux this time the culprit. From the ensuing scrum, Ireland went left. Sexton saw a ray of light in the defence as substitute scrum half Cobus Reinarch, with his handful of caps, showed the outhalf far too much room and the Lions pivot stepped back inside and gained huge ground. He was hauled down by the covering defence but Ireland were on the front foot and the damage had been done. Instead of continuing the attack down the left side where the Springbok’s were now desperately trying to cover, Conor Murray turned and chipped the ball over everyone to the right hand side in what was very French esq in its flair. Although Bryan Habana tried desperately in vein to back track and cover his wing the damage was done and Tommy Bowe had the pace to gather the ball and dot down. The killer blow was dealt. Madigan kicked another goal a few minutes from time before South African substitute JP Pietersen scored a consolation try after a nice break from le Roux in the last play of the game.
Contender for try of the season? Tommy Bowe’s try sealed the game in style
Squad Effort
Not many saw the game end the way it did. As 29-15 winners it wasn’t just the result that was so pleasing but the manner in which they won that is the greatest positive from the game. Ireland found a way to win, they adapted their game and their tactics were astute to say the least. On top of this Ireland can now positively say they have a squad and not just a team. With the way the modern game is, the ability of a team to have as wide a squad as possible is paramount. When one considers Ireland were missing the likes of Cian Healy, Rory Best, Sean O’Brien and Chris Henry in the pack alone, the future is certainly bright. On top of this the ‘new era’ centre pairing was hugely successful and a gamble well taken from Joe Schmidt. South Africa on the other hand were far from their best that saw them end the All Blacks record unbeaten run only a month ago. They missed Pienaar desperately as Hougaard and Pollard struggled to find their rhythm. Poor handling errors and a high penalty count also cost them dearly.
Huge respect. Paul O’Connell and Victor Matfield after the game
Turning Point: South Africa were possibly a bit hard done by the sin binning of Strauss but if you do what he did you leave yourself open to ten minutes in the naughty boy chair. It couldn’t of come at a worse point for the Boks and really took the wind out of their sails.
Man of the Match: There were many that put in stellar performances for Ireland. Paul O’Connell was pivotal in Ireland’s win and underlined his credentials as one of the best in the game. Rhys Ruddock did remarkably well given the little time he had to go from the bench straight into the cauldron like match. Conor Murray too put his hand up in another performance that must make him within the top two scrum half’s in the world right now. But it was Jonathan Sexton that was the difference. His kicking was immaculate as he struck six from six from the tee. On top of this he regularly pinned the Boks back with inch perfect kicks from hand and played a crucial role in the lead up to Bowe’s try.
Man of the Match: Jonathan Sexton
The Score Card:
Ireland: Try – Ruddock, Bowe. Conversions – Sexton (2). Penalties – Sexton (4), Madigan
South Africa: Try – Coetzee, Pieterson. Conversion – Pollard. Penalties – Pollard. Yellow Card – Adrian Strauss
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip 7 Rhys Ruddock, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Paul O’Connell, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Dave Kilkoyne, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Mike McCarthy, 20 Tommy O’Donnell, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Felix Jones.
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Tebo Mohoje, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 JP Pietersen.
Date: Saturday, November 8
Kickoff: 17:30
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees: JP Doyle (England), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
Nov 4, 2014
Winter is closing in. It is getting colder and darker earlier and less attractive to be outdoors. But we all still need to be physically active… and avoid getting cooped up and bored. So what do we do? Do YOU have the answer??
South Dublin County Sports Partnership is looking to get your ideas on how to best stay active while at home. The ideas can be for individuals or a family unit, able bodied or less so. We are inviting all members of the public, young and old, to send in their suggestions. The suggestions do not need to be accompanied by a descriptive drawing and indeed we would like them to be simple to understand so that no drawing is needed. You may however forward a Youtube clip link if wished.
SDCSP will review all suggestions and those chosen will each receive a free gift – it may be swim vouchers, pedometer, walker/runner water bottle, Frisbee.
Please send your suggestions with your name and address and contact details (email, mobile phone #) to;
SDCSP, c/o County Hall, Tallaght, Dublin 24
Email info@sdcsp.ie
or through our Facebook page www.facebook.com/sdcsp
Oct 31, 2014
Irish Heart Foundation & Federation of Irish Sport Call for More Post-Primary Schools to Provide Recommended Two Hours’ PE Each Week, As Pumped Schools’ Video Awards Launched
*Department of Education and Skills Recommends that Students Receive a Minimum of 120 minutes’ PE Each Week
*One in Five Teenagers Overweight or Obese
Leading heart disease and stroke charity, the Irish Heart Foundation, and the representative association for National Governing Bodies of Sport, the Federation of Irish Sport, have today called on post-primary schools to redouble their efforts in implementing the Department of Education and Skills’ recommendation that two hours’ physical education be provided to post-primary school students each week1.
The call was made at the launch of the Pumped Schools’ Video Awards, supported by Bayer in partnership with the Irish Heart Foundation, the Federation of Irish Sport and RTÉ news2day, which seeks to encourage young people to unleash their creative juices and produce 90-second movies on a heart health theme. The competition invites participants to explore the science behind physical activity, diet and smoking, the impact of these on health and well-being, and produce compelling videos that inspire viewers to act. With a prize fund of €10,000, there are three categories in which to enter – “Smoking Stinks”, “Active Teens—Healthy Hearts” and “Weighty Matters”. The awards are open to all post-primary students between the ages of 12 and 16 years with the winner of each category winning €3,000 for their school’s sports department and each individual student receiving a €100 voucher. More information can be found at http://www.pumped.ie/
It is estimated that one in five teenagers is overweight or obese2 with Ireland’s rates amongst the worst in Europe3. Our young people also top an international league in terms of levels of inactivity, a major risk for overweight, obesity, cardiovascular and other diseases. The league, part of an analysis of 15 countries worldwide presented at a Global Summit on Physical Activity of Children in Toronto earlier this year, accorded Ireland a Grade D minus for physical activity amongst children, behind countries such as Mozambique, New Zealand, Mexico, Kenya and Nigeria4. Only 12 per cent of post-primary students meet the Department of Health’s guideline of 60 minutes’ moderate to vigorous physical activity each day—girls less so than boys—and just 10 per cent of post-primary students are timetabled with the recommended minimum 120 minutes of physical education each week5.
Speaking in advance of the awards launch, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD, said: “In Ireland our health really is our wealth. The government’s Healthy Ireland initiative is aimed at improving the health and well-being of all the people of Ireland and for generations to come. Through our plan, we’re asking everyone to play their part. Educating young people and encouraging participation in physical activity are essential to improving the health of our future generations. I hope that the Pumped Schools’ Video Awards will prove to be a fun and engaging way for students to find out and share the information they need about heart health as well as picking up tips on having a healthy lifestyle that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. This is your chance—our chance—to get together and get involved in making our life everything it can be in body, mind and spirit.”
Iwer Baecker, Managing Director, Bayer Ireland Ltd, noted: “As a life science company, Bayer understands the crucial importance of raising the level of awareness of health issues within our society and especially amongst our young people. Bayer is very proud to be part of the Pumped campaign which is now in its third year. The competition helps engage young people and to get them thinking about the importance of diet and physical activity in living a healthy life. The quality of the entries from the previous two years really shows our students’ growing understanding of how behaviour impacts health and the entries highlight a high level of innovation and imagination.”
Obesity Epidemic
Maureen Mulvihill, Head of Health Promotion, Irish Heart Foundation, commented: “PE is an intrinsic element in encouraging young people to be physically active. Given the high levels of inactivity in teenagers, increasing levels of overweight and obesity and early signs of heart disease, it is vital that the recommended level of PE is compulsory for all pupils, as is the case across Europe for primary and Junior cycle education6. Projects like Pumped are part of the mix to help educate our young people on how to live a healthy lifestyle and prevent disease. Cardiovascular disease, mainly heart attack and stroke, is the leading cause of death in Ireland with about 10,000 people dying each year7.”
Sarah O’Connor is Chief Executive of the Federation of Irish Sport and a member of the Healthy Ireland Council that seeks to mobilise communities, families and individuals with the aim of supporting everyone to enjoy the best possible health and well-being. “It is hard to understand against a backdrop of growing levels of obesity and physical inactivity, and the vision of Healthy Ireland—where everyone can enjoy physical and mental health and well-being to their full potential—that according to available research that only 10 per cent of post-primary students are receiving the recommendation of 120 minutes of PE every week. We also know that girls are less likely than boys to meet the physical activity recommendations for health of at least 60 minutes each day, that they receive fewer minutes of formal PE in school and that they are more likely than boys to be timetabled for single as opposed to double class periods. Schools along with parents have a key role to play in ensuring that young people meet the physical activity levels needed for health. It is vital that we take this issue seriously and we join with our partners in the Irish Heart Foundation in urging that all schools deliver on this and that all students participate.”
Change of Heart
Fiona Coghlan, Captain of the Ireland team at the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014, PE teacher and member of the judging panel, knows about speaking to young people in a language that they understand. “Although parents and teachers are often the best people to advise young people on what to do with their lives, the people they most listen to are their friends. That’s why the Pumped Schools’ Video Awards are a great way to get young people thinking about what they put into their mouths and how they look after their bodies. With these awards, hopefully we can get young people to think twice about how they live their lives and look after themselves. In fact, I believe that these awards should be included as part of the Junior Cert curriculum for all students in exploring their heart health.”
Olympic medalist, boxer Paddy Barnes, is also lending his support to the Pumped Schools’ Video Awards initiative. “As a boxer, I know what it is to get pumped before a big fight. But these awards provide an opportunity to focus on getting an altogether different kind of pumped. Pumped about what we are eating and what we are drinking, whether we smoke and whether we exercise and what it means for our body fitness. Unless we make the right life choices, the stark reality is that we are just storing up lots of health problems for ourselves down the tracks. Why make life harder than it needs to be? We need to have a change of heart when it comes to looking after our heart health. And that change needs to start right now.”
Orla Walsh, presenter RTÉ news2day, added: “From cricket to kickboxing, dancing to badminton, we’ve covered it all on news2day! Myself and fellow presenter Nick meet loads of young people every day who are involved in all sorts of sports and other physical activities. The one thing that always leaps out at us is the fun that they have. Whether it’s taking part in rugby, being on the hockey team, playing basketball, GAA, or doing hip hop dancing, anything that gets the body moving is a good thing. Experts tell us how beneficial taking part in sport is for our physical health, yet we also see the great fun, the team spirit, the friendships that form when people get together to do something active. Even tennis and boxing need at least two people! So, whatever way you want to do it, get moving, get pumped!”
For more information on the Pumped Schools’ Video Awards, visit http://www.pumped.ie/. The closing date for entries is January 16 2015.
