Feb 17, 2014
The Irish Sports Council announced an investment plan of €25 million for 2014 on February 12th. This investment includes €11 million for National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs), €5 million for Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) and €8.7 million for High Performance Sport and provides an overview of the Council’s investment strategy for 2014.
€10.6 million will be allocated to support the core activities of 59 Governing Bodies of Sport. In addition, €583,000 will be dedicated to Women in Sport activities across the NGB sector. This investment will look to continue the support of participation programmes which has seen considerable increases in membership including Athletics Ireland (49,000 members) and Cycling (20,000 member).
The National Network of Local Sports Partnerships will receive €5.01 million to support their work in promoting participating in sport and physical activity. In 2013, over 200,000 people took part in local participation programmes while mass participation events such the An Post Cycle Series and Operation Transformation National Walks and Fun Runs attracted over 35,000 participants.
€8.7 m will be invested directly into high performance sports bodies. This investment will continue to build on the success of high performance sport in Ireland which saw a record 67 medals achieved last year at European and World events across a multitude of sports. In 2014, the Council will continue to implement the recommendations of the London Debrief and International Carding Scheme. For the first time Golf will be supported as a single entity by the Council. The establishment of the Confederation of Golf in Ireland is a major development which brings the three golfing organisations together in a joint structure to develop golf in Ireland to its full potential.
2014 promises to be another incredible year of sporting events. One of the highlights of the year will be the Special Olympic Ireland Games taking place in Limerick in June. To support the success of the games, the Council has made an additional provision of €200,000 available to Special Olympics Ireland.
Kieran Mulvey, Chairman of the Irish Sports Council said that “I want to acknowledge the sports bodies and partnerships that provide opportunities to support our mission to increase participation in sport and enhance high performance. I also want to acknowledge the Council’s commitment to the Governance Code for Community and Voluntary organisations. This code for good governance will further strengthen our sector, providing a guide on policies and procedures that will empower all Council funded bodies and assist them in achieving excellence in all areas of their work”.
In addition to High Performance, Governing Bodies and Participation, the Council will continue to lead the development in areas such as Anti-Doping Coaching, the Institute of Sport, National Trails and Research.
John Treacy, CEO of the Council said: “In addition to today’s investment announcement, the Council is also committed to building capability across the sports sector organisations. The strategic provision of Organisational Capability Building services in the areas of Project Management, Governance, Risk Management, Strategic Planning, Change Management, Employee Performance Management and Organisational Leadership will be a priority in developing the sporting sector”.
Irish Sports Council Supporting NGBs in 2014
- Confederation of Irish Golf commences work
- Special Olympics Ireland host summer games in Limerick
- Rolling out Organisation Capability Building Programme
- Supporting NGBs grow membership and drive participation in sport
- Funding 26 NGBs for Women in Sport Programmes
- 59 NGBs will receive funding for core activities
- 18 sports will receive support to deliver High Performance Plans
- 2 more (Gymnastics and Clay Pigeon Shooting) will receive support for high performance projects
- Coaching Ireland delivering services directly to NGBs
- Institute of Sport working in partnership with NGBs to deliver services directly to athletes and coaches
- Local Sports Partnerships work with NGBs at community level to deliver programmes to target groups
- Supporting Sport HQ at the National Sports Campus @ Abbotstown
Irish Sports Council Supporting LSPs in 2014
- Investing in 30 Local Sports Partnerships to support the Participation strategy
- Delivering the An Post Cycle Series across five counties to over 16,000 participants
- Investing in the Sports Inclusion Disability Programme including support to 16 Sports Inclusion Disability Officers throughout the network.
- Working with Operation Transformation to deliver National Walks and 5k Fun Runs to over 35,000 people
- Investing in the Women in Sports programme to deliver activities across in local communities
- Supporting innovation in sport through initiatives such as Park Run
See more here
Feb 14, 2014
John Kelly has been appointed as the new National Handball Manager for the GAA. The Longford native takes over from Tony Hannon who had been acting National Manager and departed the post last November.
A member of the Ardagh St Patricks GAA club in Longford, John has been employed as Fixtures and Events Officer for the past 5 years with the Association and now takes the step up to National Manager. “I am very honoured to have been appointed to the position of National Handball Manager” Kelly said, “In the past five years I have met some incredible people in the sport and have seen the terrific work that is being done at grassroots level and it is a credit to all the volunteers out there. My job is to maintain this great work and build our Association from here as the clubs and the volunteers are the lifeblood of our Association.”
One of his main aims will be to increase the profile of the game here in Ireland and throughout the World.
“We currently boast the top Mens & Ladies Handballers in the World in Paul Brady and Aisling Reilly. This is something not many Irish Sports can say. Paul Brady has been one of the most phenomenal athletes in Irish Sport in the last decade but has not always got the recognition his brilliance deserved. Others like Fiona Shannon, Aisling Reilly, Catriona Casey, Robbie McCarthy and Eoin Kennedy to name a few have raised the standard of the sport significantly in recent years and my aim is to try and raise the profile of GAA Handball to ensure that the talent in our sport gets the recognition it deserves and also our sport grows and appeals to people all over Ireland and indeed worldwide”
He also believes that there is a very bright future for GAA Handball with the talent that the sport currently has at Juvenile level.
“There is great work currently been done at schools level and at Juvenile level throughout the country and it is imperative that we give these players the best possible opportunity to succeed in the sport”
John Kelly was educated at St Mel’s Longford and DIT, graduating with a Degree in Marketing and E-Business. He has previously worked for Celtic FC, AIB, CDC Software and Mars Ireland aswell as his previous role in GAA Handball.
His first official function will be at GAA Handball Congress on Sunday 9th February which takes place in Clare.
Read More Here: http://www.gaahandball.ie/
Jan 31, 2014
Featured Event: Snowsports Association of Ireland (SAI)- XXII Olympic Winter Games-Sochi 2014
Location:
Sochi
Date:
7-23 February 2014
Participating Athletes:
2,500+(estimated)
Host Nation:
Russia
[divider_2]
About Snowsports Association of Ireland (SAI):
The Snowsports Association of Ireland (formerly known as the Ski Association of Ireland) was formed in 1971 to promote the development of the growing sport of Skiing in Ireland and affiliated to the International Governing Body of the sport, namely Federation Internationale De Ski (FIS) and subsequently the Olympic movement through the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI).The Snowsports Association of Ireland has been affiliated to the Federation Internationale De Ski for more than twenty years and the Olympic Council of Ireland since 1997. ( http://www.snowsports.ie/about-us.8.html)
[divider_2]
Irish Athletes:
Five young snowsport athletes will represent Ireland at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games which commence in nine days time in Russia (Feb 7th).
Team Ireland is:
Florence Bell (women’s downhill slalom & giant slalom)
Conor Lyne (men’s downhill slalom & giant slalom)
Sean Greenwood (skeleton)
Jan Rossiter (skiing cross country)
Seamus O’Connor (snowboarding – half pipe & slopestyle)
The team is being led by Chef de Mission Stephen Martin.
Making the official team announcement, Pat Hickey, President of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) said that the growing popularity of winter sports in Ireland and with the Irish diaspora abroad was now being reflected in Ireland’s participation in the Winter Olympics.
“We now have many excellent Irish athletes achieving the very tough Winter Olympic qualification standards all over the world and Team Ireland for Sochi is a good example of the Irish talent that is out there. We wish the 2014 Irish team every success in Sochi.”
“The OCI also congratulates Snowsports Ireland and the Irish Bobsleigh Association for their ongoing support for these fine young Olympians”, he added.
Stephen Martin, Team Ireland’s Chef de Mission said that Team Ireland would be one of over 80 countries competing in Sochi. “We expect the Games to be an important milestone in the development of Irish winter Olympic talent and are confident of excellent individual performances in the face of severe competition from the Alpine nations”.
The OCI through its Olympic Solidarity programme has supported preparations for the Sochi Games over the past three years to help athletes to qualify for the Games.
Team Ireland will be wearing a range of competition wear provided to the OCI by key sponsor New Balance plus a range of technical gear.
[divider_2]
Event:
There will be 16 days of Olympic events in 10 competition centres in Sochi, featuring almost 2,800 competitors. In total, there will be 98 medal events – the most ever at a Winter Olympics, including 12 new events.
[divider_2]
TEAM IRELAND BIOS
FLORENCE BELL – DOWNHILL SLALOM & GIANT SLALOM
Florence (Flo) is almost 18 and was born in Birmingham. She comes from a Northern Ireland family and took up ski racing at age 12. Within six months she became Yorkshire, Scottish and British Indoor Champion and was then crowned European Indoor Champion. At 13 she commenced outdoor training and joined the British Ski Academy based in France. In 2009 she was selected for the British Children’s Ski Team and represented Great Britain in races in Europe and New Zealand. Florence then joined her sister Victoria in declaring for Ireland and has continued to race for Ireland in premier events in Europe, New Zealand, Australia and Japan in the build-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics. She represented Ireland at the first ever World Youth Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria in 2012 and at the 2013 European Youth Winter Olympics in Romania.
CONOR LYNE – DOWNHILL SLALOM & GIANT SLALOM
Conor makes his Winter Olympic debut in Sochi at age 21. When not competing around the world – from Europe to New Zealand – he lives in Logan, Utah, near the famous Beaver Mountain ski resort. His father is John Lyne from Brandon, Tralee, Co. Kerry and his mother Anna hails from Hospital, Co. Limerick. Conor maintains strong links with Co. Kerry and is a regular visitor to Brandon. He has also worked in Dublin restaurants as a waiter/server during his student breaks. Conor has competed for Ireland at the last two Skiing World Championships (Germany 2011 and Austria 2013). All his family are involved in skiing and his younger brother Sean competed for Ireland at the European Youth Olympics in Brasov, Romania in 2013. Conor is also an avid golf, GAA and soccer fan.
SEAMUS O’CONNOR – SNOWBOARD HALF PIPE & SLOPESTYLE
Seamus, at age 16, is creating quite a stir in the snowboarding world since he declared for Ireland and set his eyes on the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. Seamus’s grandparents came from Drogheda and Dublin. His father Kevin grew up in England, and has spent the last 30 years in the US. Seamus was born there. His mother Elena comes from Siberia, not too far from Sochi, so he will have some strong family support at the Games. Seamus was raised in San Diego, California and the O’Connor family moved to Park City, Utah to avail of the snowboarding facilities in the region. He was twice European Junior Half-Pipe champion at age 12 and is one of the hottest prospects in the stunning world of snowboarding. Seamus already has some major sponsors behind him and is a full-time professional, training in Colorado.
SEAN GREENWOOD – SKELETON
Born in Vancouver, Sean, age 26, grew up in Western Canada and partly on the west coast of Ireland. His mother, Sibéal Foyle (Ní Fhoighíl) emigrated to Canada from Galway in the early 1980′s and maintains deep family connections in Ireland. His father is Canadian, a chartered business valuator. Sean started skeleton racing in 2008 following a sporting career in competitive rugby. After gaining a BA in Economics from the University of Calgary, he decided to take the opportunity to slide at the site of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Whistler BC, on the world’s fastest skeleton track. A commercial helicopter pilot, Sean is based in Whistler, Canada working on fitness, sled preparation and general racing experience in order to compete for Team Ireland for four runs against the best in the world. To date, Sean has performed impressively, winning gold, silver and bronze medals in the North America’s Cup in Whistler and New York’s Lake Placid, and at the Elektro Melcher competitions in San Moritz. Switzerland. He recently gained a World Cup spot as a result of his 2012-13 season and is currently ranked 25th in the world.
JAN ROSSITER – CROSS COUNTRY SKIING
Jan, age 26, was born in Cork to an Irish father and Czech mother. He grew up in Kingston, Ontario -a town with no ski club. While completing a degree in Physiology at McGill University, Montreal he was introduced to cross country ski racing. He then moved to Ottawa to complete a programme in respiratory therapy at Algonquin College. His skiing accomplishments include being named MVP of the McGill University’s Nordic Ski team, coaching this team in 2009/2010, and completing the Canadian Ski Marathon – Coureur des Bois Gold – three times. He has worked in the past as a cross country ski, canoe, kayak and backpacking instructor and holds numerous certifications in these disciplines. Jan lives in Kingston, Ontario and speaks English, Czech and French.
From left to right: Conor Lyne, Pat Hickey, Florence Bell, Seamus O’Connor
Jan 31, 2014
Richard has a BSc degree in Sports Studies from the University of Gloucestershire (1992). In 2011 he was appointed Performance Director of Cricket Ireland. He currently sits on the ICC Global Development Committee, the European Cricket Advisory Committee, and is the Youth Rep of the European Cricket Committee.
FIS: It has been a really busy and successful year for Cricket Ireland, what have been the highlights for you?
RH: Our main objectives for the year were to win three senior trophies and qualify for three world cups – and we did just that. The Women’s and Men’s senior teams qualified for the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh in March this year, and the men have qualified for the ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2015. The men also won the 4-day competition – the ICC Intercontinental Cup for the third time in four competitions. We hosted Pakistan and England in one day international at home, the latter in front of 10,000 supporters in Malahide on a school day in September, which was a great achievement. We expected to compete well in these, and ties one match and lost narrowly against Pakistan whilst for much of the match versus England we competed strongly and were in a great winning position until the England captain (former Irish player Eoin Morgan), took the game away from us. In all we were very pleased with the way we performed.
FIS: What changes did you make or systems did you put in place when you first took up your role with Cricket Ireland?
RH: Once understanding the current systems and processes, it was a case of implementing a number of strategic aims in high performance which management, the CI Board and other stakeholders had identified. These included review and restructuring our player contracts; producing a 4-year high performance plan submitted to both sports councils and institutes of sport (which helped gain high performance status); finding funding for and establishing a new Inter-Provincial structure of three formats; establishing a new National Cricket Academy; and recruiting and training staff for these new initiatives. A pretty hectic first year, but it has set Cricket Ireland on a path to success, plugged some key gaps in our player pathway and will help ensure we do not lose more players to England.
FIS: The Vision of 2020 is to have reached 8th in the world ODI rankings by 2015. We are now the start of 2014, do you think this goal is possible? How long does it take to reach the top of the ranks?
RH: With Ireland not involved in the ICC Future Tours Programme (FTP) at present we are not assured of any internationals with the full members (top 10), so it is a case of encouraging them to play us and working hard with relationships. The best opportunities come at the World Cup (which Ireland has qualified for the last three events), and in 2015 we are assured six matches in the first phase of which five are against full members; we also play the West Indies and Sri Lanka in the next four months. A few wins from these matches would make a huge impact on our position in the global rankings, and we go into these games expecting to win these days not just turning up and being competitive.
FIS: What advice would you give to any young athlete hoping to make a career in high performance cricket?
RH: Like any sport at an elite level – hard work, commitment, a winning mind-set, patience, motivation, and a passion for the game are crucial. There are now many more opportunities in Ireland to become an elite cricketer and make a career in the game. Clubs and Provincial Unions have good coaching these days and there are representative youth teams from under 11 upwards. The new senior Inter- Provincial structure allows players to play semi-professionally and train and play at a high level. With 24 player contracts at senior level and 21 players with Academy contracts, there is no a pathway in this country or any young player to benefit from world class coaching and player support services to help them develop.
FIS: Many thanks for taking the time to talk to us, finally what are Cricket Ireland’s goals for the High Performance cricket system over the coming years?
RH: Our women’s senior team are hoping to gain a win against the full members (who are fully professional) in the ICC World Twenty20 in March in Bangladesh, and the men hope to win their group and progress to the 2nd stage and defeat two full members at least and a chance of a semi-final spot in the same event. We have Sri Lanka coming to Dublin in early May and we expect to win at least one of those one-day internationals. Then our preparations for the 2015 World Cup will be in full swing in October when we have a tour to New Zealand and Australia, after which we are targeting a top 3 finish in our group of 7 in the World Cup. A big 12 months!
[divider_2]
Jan 31, 2014
This week the Federation spoke to Irish Hockey prize winners of the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund 2013 about their project ‘Healthy Heart Hockey’ …
[divider_2]
1. Hockey has a rich heritage, dating back to the late 19th Century. How has hockey continued to grow in Ireland today?
Since 2007, the IHA have had a development team in place to ensure continued growth of the sport across the country. Our 
national development officer and regional development officers put together a number of programmes and support structures to ensure that there is sustained growth in our clubs and schools.
An example of one of these programmes would be Tricks4Sticks, which is mainly a primary school programme where we introduce hockey to schools that have a club in their local area that is looking to increase its numbers. The programme runs for 4-6 weeks and the school receives a number of sessions. The club then hosts an open day and the school children are invited down. The programme has proved hugely successful in increasing underage numbers and has led to a number of new clubs, new junior sections in existing clubs and new schools playing the sport. This programme falls under the ISC’s Women In Sport initiative.
Our underage numbers have grown year on year as the popularity of the sport increases and last year we achieved growth of 12% in the girls’ game and 10% in the boys’.
On top of this, we also look to recruit at the adult end, and run and support a number of veterans and social hockey events throughout the year for adults.
2.What is your advice to someone who has never played hockey but would like to sign up for the ‘Healthy Heart Hockey (H3)’.
H3 is a programme designed for everyone, whether you’ve ever held a hockey stick or not. The first port of call will be to find your local centre, whether that is within a hockey club, a community centre or a leisure centre. We will have details on www.hockey.ie, or you can contact one of our development officers or the IHA’s office itself. From there it is a case of simply turnign up to the sessions and making the most of it. Everyone is welcome!
3.What can people expect from the 5 week physical well-being programme offered?
Our primary aims for H3 are to educate people about physical wellbeing and to increase the number of people undertaking regular exercise. Participants will be offered the opportunity to try hockey as part of the exercise programme and will receive information about nutrition and leading a balanced lifestyle from our sports’ leaders. It will also allow people to enjoy exercise whilst having fun in a non-competitive, social environment.
4.The group targeted for ‘H3’ are teenagers and young adults. Can the whole family take part in the ‘H3’ programme?
There is no reason that younger or older members of families can’t join in. Hockey can be played from the age of 5 and there is no limit to playing the sport as you get older. Ireland competes at masters level internationally, with team up to over 50s. We hope to have an over 60s team in the future. The programme, whilst targeted at a certain group, is open to everyone.
5.What balanced lifestyle skills do you hope participants retain from the ‘H3’ project?
We want to show people that effective exercise doesn’t have to be boring or hugely demanding and that using sport in a social environment along with eating well and looking after yourself can have huge beneficial effects on your life. We hope to change people’s attitude towards exercise and give them the know how to make the right choices when it comes to nutrition and living well.
6.Where and when will the ‘H3’ events be taking place?
We are currently in the process of drawing up exactly how the programme will be delivered on the ground. The programme will run in the second half of 2014 and will be centered primarily in hockey clubs, where the local community will be invited in to take part. Where we do not have an existing club, community and leisure centers will be used as part of the programme.
7.Describe what people can expect at the active lifestyle session with a ‘Hockey Champion’?
The hockey champions will deliver the active lifestyle sessions in each of the centers. Part of the sessions will be based on general exercise such as warming up, the importance of flexibility, increasing heart rate etc. There will then be an introduction to hockey and a chance to play Quick Hockey, which is a small sided modified version of the sport for beginners of all ages. The participants will also be given a talk on nutrition and leading a balanced lifestyle.
8.How will people be able to sign up to take part?
The programme will be promoted using our network of clubs, social media (Twitter @irishhockey; website www.hockey.ie; Facebook, Instagram) and our newsletters which you can sign up to here http://mad.ly/signups/90797/join . People will be able to sign up through their local centre or through the IHA itself.
9.Can you participate in the regional and national hockey festival if you are not a participant of ‘H3’ programme?
The festivals, while being primarily aimed at the H3 participants, will be open to everyone, provided we can accommodate the numbers. The festivals will offer more opportunities to participate in social exercise, so all will be welcome!
10.Thanks again for your time and perhaps you have some more information on other projects and programmes that Irish Hockey are running?
A focus for Irish Hockey in 2014 is the development and promotion of Quick Hockey, our small-sided version of the game that can be played on any surface. This will be launched in the summer and hopes to make hockey more accessible to the community. We are also excited to be developing a ‘Club Accreditation Scheme’ to enable our clubs to develop and become more sustainable. We also run Primary and Secondary School programmes, details of which can be found on our website www.hockey.ie.
[divider_2]
