John Lambert - Federation of Irish Sport

Taoiseach officially opens Irish Sport HQ at National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown – Wednesday 29 May, 2013

May 31, 2013

Taoiseach Enda Kenny, together with Minister Leo Varadkar officially opened the Irish Sport HQ at the National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown on Wednesday 29th May.

Performing the opening the Taoiseach said, “Ireland is a country that is passionate about sport and it is fitting that where possible we should have world class facilities to support, encourage and inspire everyone to get involved in sport. This Government has put a renewed focus on supporting sporting activities nationwide and I’m delighted that significant progress has been made in the development of the National Sport Campus over the past 12 months. The opening of the Irish Sport HQ and the arrival of 19 national governing bodies is a major step in the development of the Campus. Today’s milestone will also help foster the sense of community and cooperation which I know already exists in Irish sport.”

The Federation of Irish Sport is one of the 19 National Governing Bodies who moved into the Campus. Work is currently underway on the Multi-Sport Pitches and Sport Pavilion and the planned High Performance facilities for Horse Sport Ireland and Pentathlon Ireland are scheduled for completion in August.

Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar said: “When I was appointed Minister I developed a new vision for the National Sports Campus. We decided there wasn’t going to be any new stadium. Instead, we made lands and facilities available and invited the governing bodies to develop them.”

Federation CEO, Sarah O’Connor commented on the signifiance of the opening: “Today is a step forward in the right direction for Irish Sport. A home for Governing Bodies as well elite training and high performance facilities for our current and emerging international athletes is a valuable asset from which Irish sport can benefit hugely. The new Irish Sport HQ enables Governing Bodies to interact and work together more collaboratively and the Federation will continue to work with Government to promote sport as a key tool in the creation of a better Ireland.”Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar said: “When I was appointed Minister I developed a new vision for the National Sports Campus. We decided there wasn’t going to be any new stadium. Instead, we made lands and facilities available and invited the governing bodies to develop them.”

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Federation of Irish Sport CEO, Sarah O’Connor got the opportunity to discuss ‘Why Irish Sport Matters’ (see left).

For more information on the opening click here

Irish Swimming Goes High Tech

May 27, 2013

Swim Ireland has teamed up with NUI Galway with a view to developing a new high performance analysis system for competitive swimming. The development work is well under way on the new system which utilises innovative kinematic sensing technology. The new technology which is in test mode is being designed to deliver performance information in real time both to the swimmer and his/her coach.

The technology is the brainchild of PhD student Robert Mooney who is a former Swim Ireland employee. The development team is led by Professor Gearóid Ó Laighin of NUI Galway’s Discipline of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Funding for the research is being provided both by Swim Ireland and by the Irish Research Council’s Enterprise Partnership Scheme. It is hoped to have the prototype system up and running by early 2014.

Once developed, the system will be tested on elite Irish swimmers to measure, record and track their technical improvements achieved with training. Athletes to be tested will include swimmers based at the recently established Swim Ireland Connacht Performance Centre, based at the Kingfisher facility on the NUI Galway campus and which was officially launched last November.

Lead researcher Robert Mooney commented: “A coach can often observe where improvements need to be made, but having hard evidence to back this up is key. We want to facilitate a new approach to swimming coaching, allowing for improved analysis of stroke mechanics, race performance and energy expenditure as well as real-time feedback to the swimmer, enabling more efficient, competitive and quantitative swim coaching.”

“Any competitive swimmer will tell you just how demanding their sport is. In a sport of narrow margins where the difference between winning and not winning can be little as one one-hundredth of a second, the availability of the proposed system might make all the difference”, explains Professor Ó Laighin. “With this in mind we are capitalising on low-cost, high-performance Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMs) technology coupled with innovative algorithms to achieve our goals.”

Peter Banks is Performance Director with Swim Ireland, the national governing body for aquatic sports in Ireland. Banks is no stranger to success, having coached US swimmer Brooke Bennett to three gold medals at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. “We have seen a marked increase in the success of Irish swimmers on the international stage in recent years, with medal winning performances by the likes of Gráinne Murphy, Sycerika McMahon and Melanie Nocher. This type of technology is very exciting for Irish swimming to be involved with, the project gives our coaches and swimmers an opportunity to learn more about how athletes perform in the training pool and helps us make more informed decisions around their training programmes.”

Coca-Cola Ireland launches €125k 'Thank You Fund' for 2013

May 27, 2013

Coca-Cola Ireland today launched the 2013 Coca-Cola Thank You Fund (The Fund). The Fund, now in its third year, is once again making €125,000 available to eligible non-profit organisations on the island of Ireland. The Fund is inviting applications from non-profit organisations, charities and community groups who are seeking support to develop new and innovative projects or initiatives that encourage communities to lead more balanced, healthy and active lives. Entries are open from today until Friday 19^th July 2013 and applications can be submitted on www.coca-cola.ie/thankyou.

The Fund is supported by The Federation of Irish Sport, The Wheel and The Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA). The Fund is seeking proposals from organisations who take an innovative approach to encouraging communities to lead more balanced, healthy and active lifestyles. Taking a balanced approach to nutrition as well as incorporating activity and exercise into daily routines is vitally important for the health of the nation. This year The Fund is specifically looking for interesting new projects which are promoting innovative approaches to nutrition and activity which could have the potential to be scaled and rolled out across numerous communities.

A total of €125,000 is available this year for distribution through the The Fund. The overall winner will receive €25,000 and a further ten organisations will receive €10,000 each. The projects selected will represent best practice and will serve as a model for other communities wishing to implement similar programmes. Applicant organisations will be required to provide details on the reach and impact of their proposed project, as well as the innovative aspect which will capture the imagination and interest of the local community and encourage them to become involved.

In 2012 the winner of the main award of €25,000 was The Irish Olympic Handball Association (IOHA). The IOHA applied for funding to introduce the concept of Street Handball to communities across Ireland. Their entry focused on introducing 10,000 new people to Street Handball and the training of 200 teachers and youth group leaders across Ireland who would be able to make this vision a reality in Irish communities. Other organisations were awarded €10,000 in funding for their initiatives which included the creation of a new well-lit outdoor walking track in the grounds of Ballyduff Football Club in Co. Waterford; a dancing programme by Cois Ceim Dance Theatre in Dublin, Fortwilliam & Macrory Presbyterian Church in Belfast and a boxing programme focussing on females developed by Ballina Boxing Club, Co. Mayo.

Erica Roseingrave, Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland, said: “Today we are inviting community-based non-profit organisations to take the opportunity to apply to the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund. We are keen to support projects that are new and take an innovative approach, and will engage people who may not be involved in sports and other activity-based hobbies at the moment as well as those that seek to highlight the importance of a balanced diet. The Fund also aims to recognise the enormous contribution made by organisers and volunteers each week across the country through worthwhile initiatives, and to maximise the effectiveness of their work through targeted financial support from Coca-Cola.”

The Coca-Cola Thank You Fund was formed in 2011 on the occasion of the Coca-Cola Company’s 125^th anniversary and has seen €125,000 donated to non-profit organisations throughout the island of Ireland each year since. The Fund began as a way for Coca-Cola to say ‘thank you’ to the people of the island of Ireland for their loyal custom, and has since developed into a valued support mechanism for non-profit organisations.

The Fund will accept applications from today, 27^thMay, 2013, until 19th July, 2013. All applications should be submitted via the Coca-Cola website: www.coca-cola.ie/thankyou. After the closing date, a judging panel, which will include representatives from The Federation of Irish Sport, The Wheel, NICVA and Coca-Cola, will convene to agree on a shortlist of 45 organisations which will be published on the Coca-Cola website on September 1st, 2013. The public will then be asked to vote on who should be selected. 50% of the final decision will derive from the public vote and 50% will be determined by the expert judging panel. The winners will be announced in November 2013.

To find out more about The Fund, or to submit an application, please visit www.coca-cola.ie/thankyou.

Motorcycling- Best World Supersport Result for Jack Kennedy & Rivamoto at Donington

May 27, 2013

Rivamoto Honda and Jack Kennedy produced their best World Supersport championship result with a determined ride to 6th position in the 5th round of the championship at Donington Park this afternoon.

The result is all the more satisfying after the whole team worked flat out to solve a small fuelling problem which was uncovered in the morning warm up.

After battling hard for the podium in the early stages, Kennedys’ charge forwarded was hampered slightly by arm pump which prevented a last lap attack. Nevertheless Jack has once again shown his speed and both he and the team are delighted to have secured today’s result, their career best to date.

The team’s other rider Edik Blokhin retired from the race when he overheated the clutch at the start but is looking forward to the next race in Portugal in a fortnight.

Jack Kennedy – 6th position: “It was a good battle throughout the race. I’m really happy to get our best result in World Supersport here at Donington. I gave it my all and the Rivamoto Honda worked brilliantly. Arm pump towards the last couple of laps kind of stopped me from trying something at the end but it’s a great result and I want to thank the whole team. Roll on Portimao.”

Jeremy McWilliams – Team Manager: “We are all delighted with the result. We were up against it after the problem in the warm up but the whole team worked hard to give us the best chance. It was nerve wracking so close to the race as we needed to test Jack’s bike just before lining up on the grid. It’s not ideal riding with no morning warm up session to check changes and tyres, but once again Jack did a great job. In light of everything, I am really happy to get today’s result which is the best for team Rivamoto in World Supersport. Jack barely puts a foot wrong which is all we can ask for.”

Today’s result maintains Jack’s 9th position overall in the World Championship standings after 5 races.

Federation of Irish Sport Conference 2013- 21st May, Guinness Storehouse

May 24, 2013

The inaugural Federation of Irish Sport Conference was held on Tuesday 21^st May 2013 and saw a coming together of representatives of Ireland’s sporting community at the Guinness Storehouse. Over 40 sports were represented at the event and distinguished guests also included the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Irish Sports Council and the National Sports Campus Development Authority.

RTE’s Jacqui Hurley was MC for the event and the keynote address was delivered by Sir Keith Mills. The Federation of Irish Sport also took the opportunity to launch its new five year Strategic Plan which has as its central theme the potential of sport to contribute to a better Ireland. A lively panel discussion followed closing the session.

The conference finished off with a drinks reception and dinner for the delegates giving all present an opportunity to cement existing relationships and support new ones. The conference was supported BHP, Coca-Cola, Diageo, IPB and Shared Access with a number of exhibitors also attending.

The Federation’s aim for the conference was to bring representatives from the sporting community together as well as create some positivity around the potential of sport for Ireland. It was highly appropriate therefore that, Sir Keith Mills who served as Deputy Chair of the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and who more recently set up his own foundation, Sported, which looks to change the lives of Young People Through Sport, used his address to focus on ‘working together in sport’.

Sir Keith Mills emphasised the need for sport to demonstrate to stakeholders both public and private “why sport is important.” In particular, he stated the need to produce hard evidence of the social and economic benefits of sport as failing to do so will ensure that sport will continue to be bottom of the political agenda. He argued that there is a real need to prove to all funders that ‘prevention is better than cure’ and that investing in sport will have huge economic and social benefits.

Sir Keith referenced recent work of his own foundation Sported in this regard. Sported assists some 2,500 clubs across the UK including 150 in Northern Ireland which, look to use sport as tool to transform the lives of disadvantaged children. In particular, he referenced the recent results of a three year research project into sport for development which found that such work reduced the risk of young people becoming involved in alcohol and drugs misuse by 19%, in crime and anti-social behaviour by 15% and in improving health and well-being by 14%. The report also found that up to £4,000 per young person is saved by using sport as an intervention to tackle social problems. This evidence he said was crucial in Duetsche Bank coming on board as the foundation’s first corporate partner with the work of the foundation to date having been supported in its entirety by Sir Keith himself.

Sir Keith then used his experience first in winning the bid and then in delivering the London Games to demonstrate the importance of working together. In relation to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games bid process, Sir Keith outlined that in 2003 the UK were not in a good place to even make a bid. 13 other countries were bidding so it was a hugely competitive environment. Previous British bids had not had all the stakeholders behind the bid and the challenge therefore was to get all the bodies namely, government, the sporting agencies and indeed, the cultural sector to come together. Indeed, he said that the IOC feedback on why London was successful over the fancied Paris Bid was that the UK presented a united front. This was in contrast to the French where there were evident divisions between the French Olympic Committee and the Ministry for Sport.

Sir Keith also addressed the challenge of raising corporate support for sport. He reference the £1 billion secured from corporate partners for the Games but said the challenge for sport is to seek to maintain corporate funding in the aftermath of the Olympic and Paralympics. He talked about a project he was involved with called the ‘British Sports Marketing Bureau’ which would provide sporting bodies with the opportunity to pool commercial rights with a view to attracting an increased amount of corporate support for sport.

Sponsorship he noted had moved away from branding. One of the big lessons from the corporate investment for the London Games was the need for businesses to be sure that the investment would deliver on their corporate objectives. He reference BT’s investment of over £100 million which was aligned to their transition from a landline to broadband provider and the reality that the communications hub at Olympic Park would allow them to demonstrate to clients the quality of their produce and service in the most demanding of environments.

He also referenced the recent Premier League broadcast deal worth over £5 billion which sees the League sell their rights collectively with even the biggest sports brand in the world, Manchester United believing that by coming together with its “competitors” created a bigger opportunity than choosing to go it alone. Despite this and the reality that the creation of a British Sports Marketing Bureau would not inhibit sports from continuing to sell their rights individually support for the project from a number of sports bodies remained under discussion.

Sir Keith said he felt an element of this was that sport traditionally worked in silos. However, he feels that a cultural shift towards working more collaboratively as a sector would provide greater opportunities for sport collectively as well as facilitating the movement of sport up the political agenda. He said that he was working to see the UK government adopt a National Sports Strategy that would facilitate the bringing together of different government departments impacting on sport to deliver real change by working together – not something that government departments have traditionally done.

A full video of Sir Keith’s address can be viewed here

Alistair Gray followed Sir Keith to the podium and spoke about the ‘journey’ towards the publishing of the Federation’s new Strategic Plan and went through his long association with sport in Ireland stretching back to 2001. His work includes developing a High Performance Strategy for Irish Sport and working with the FAI, Cricket Ireland, the IRFU and Irish Boxing in developing various strategic reviews.

Alistair spoke about how sport in Ireland has progressed from being underdeveloped and underfunded before the establishment of the Irish Sports Council in 1999 to a position of achieving its best ever performance at the Olympics and increasing participation rates more recently.

He outlined how the Federation had made a similar journey from early beginnings in 2002 to more recent success in establishing Just Sport Ireland and the bringing of sport together in respect of the “Sport Matters” Campaigns. In assisting in the development of the Federation’s new strategic plan he outlined the wide and significant consultation process that had involved the member organisations, key stakeholders such as the Irish Sports Council and the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport as well as a “Vision Event” at which people from the media, sports industry and business were invited to attend.

Alistair concluded that he felt there was a special role for the Federation in bringing sport together on issues that would be of benefit to sport as a whole and ensure that the full potential of sport was maximised for the betterment of Irish Society.

A full video of Alistair’s presentation can be viewed here

Sarah O’ Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport then outlined the contents of the Strategic Plan in which the Federation sets out its vision to “to provide dynamic and effective voice for Irish Sport, promoting the value of sport to Ireland whilst providing outstanding representation and services to members.”

Sarah said that the Plan set out five Goals namely;

To ensure that sport is recognised and use by government as a key tool in the creation of a better Ireland
To increase the operational effectiveness of our members
To be the independent and authoritative voice of Irish Sport
To raise public awareness of the contribution of sport and the work of our members to Irish Society; and
To strengthen resources through strategic partnerships

She then went on to outline a number of initiatives that the Federation would look to develop and initiate to facilitate the achievement of these goals. This includes the development of the Sport Matters Campaign beyond funding to other issues impacting on sport, the on-going development of the Federation’s public affairs function to include the establishment of a Friends of Sport Group within the Oireachtas, the development of media relations given the challenge of engaging the media on the wider impact of sport away from the “sporting activities”, the development of relevant group purchasing scheme such as the group insurance program which, to date has achieved savings of 23% on average for sporting bodies and the growth of services such as Just Sport Ireland.

Sarah also stated it is intended that the Conference would develop into an annual event which would serve as the culmination of a year round events programme including peer networks and relevant award schemes. The Federation also will look to serve as a bridge between sport and the business as well as the rest of the not-for-profit community with involvement in Coca-Cola’s thank you fund for example evidence of some progress on this to date. Sarah also highlighted the need for the Federation to be as well run an organisation as possible.

The Federation hoped that by 2017 significant progress would have been made in ensuring sport lay at the heart of government policy. Evidence of this would be a National Strategy around Sport but that this could only be achieved through sport coming together.

A full video of Sarah’s presentation can be viewed here

The theme of the panel discussion centred on ensuring ‘that sport is recognised by Government as a key tool in the creation of a better Ireland’ and was expertly hosted by Jacqui Hurley. Sir Keith spoke again about the importance of sport coming together as a group to put forward its views to government and indeed the Department responded positively to this suggestion from the floor. It was felt that key issues of common ground across all sporting bodies, such as Charitable Status for sport, should be presented to government through the Federation as the definitive ‘voice of Irish Sport’.

The full panel discussion can be viewed here