Ahead of Dive Ireland International 2013 which takes place place this weekend Eibhir Mulqueen, PRO of the Irish Underwater Council, tells us about how the potential of dive tourism in Ireland is being realised:
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The Government has recognised that scuba diving clubs and dive centres form part of the national tourism infrastructure in promoting Ireland’s rich dive sites.
Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan stated recently that the Government was committed to developing its archive of wrecks in Irish waters. “With the support of responsible dive centres and local dive clubs, which form a key part of our tourism infrastructure, these wrecks can be explored now and into the distant future by visitors from home and abroad.”
The Minister made his comments in the foreword to a recently launched Government publication, Warships, U-boats and Liners, which highlights 60 wreck sites in Irish waters and provides precise information on them using data from the Infomar seabed-mapping project.
Scuba diving is a growing industry and scuba tourists are recognising the potential of colder-water locations like Ireland for the unique and rich underwater features it has, along with its underwater archaeology. The growing scuba infrastructure also means that divers need never be far away from an air fill or from a dive boat and local knowledge.
Local authorities are also beginning to recognise the importance of developing water activities as a means of encouraging adventure tourism. With input from Comhairle Fo-Thuinn (CFT) – the Irish Underwater Council, Mayo County Council is pioneering the development of ‘Blue Ways’ to augment its Green Way walking trails. The Blue Way will list safe and attractive swimming and snorkelling areas along Mayo’s coast, along with lists of local guides.
For CFT, the challenge remains to continue to foster interest and expertise among its members and prospective members in diving and snorkelling. This year the organisation celebrates its 50th anniversary, and looking back over those five decades, it can be seen how scuba diving has developed from being a marginal, almost eccentric activity undertaken by a few mavericks following in Jacques Cousteau’s wake to an activity accessible by anybody of reasonable fitness and confidence in water.
We have over 70 clubs affiliated to the Underwater Council, which provides standards, training and a social network for its members. Diving and snorkelling appeals to people with a love of water and our natural heritage, and who want to indulge their sense of adventure, be it in our lakes and rivers or off our coast. Divers recently retrieved Viking-era swords from the River Shannon, near Banagher, and there have been many other such finds over the years. There is also the sense that diving essentially enables you to move freely in an alien environment.
If you don’t have $50 million to spare to book a seat on a trip to space, well a tiny fraction of that amount will get you set up to exploring an equally unknown environment that’s right on your doorstep.
Dive Ireland takes place in the Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone from March 2-3. Details can be found on the CFT website: http://diving.ie/
The Triathlon Ireland Talent Identification programme has the goal of locating talented junior athletes between the ages of 14 and 23 and developing them to their full potential in the sport of triathlon. This programme is about high performance sport and developing highly talented athletes who have the potential to compete for their country.
The Beyond 2012 Report published by Ofsted, the UK agency responsible for the regulation of services which care for children and young people and those providing education and skills for learners, found that whilst PE was generally in good health, teaching in more than a quarter of schools is not improving pupil’s fitness.
The Report found that one fifth of primary schools did not ensure all pupils learnt to swim, many teachers lacked specialist PE knowledge and only a minority of schools played competitive sport to a high level. Contributors to the Report stated that PE lessons often did not involve enough strenuous activity.
The Report also stated that very few schools had adapted PE programmes to suit the needs of overweight and obese students despite the Health Service in the UK classifying 3 in every 10 children as obese.
Included in the Report’s recommendations were that a minimum of two hours of physical education be provided each week. The Report calls on the UK government to build on the momentum generated by the Olympics & Paralympics and to ensure that those responsible for the initial training of primary teachers provides them with sufficient knowledge to enable them to teach PE well.
There may be some learnings for Ireland with only 10% of post-primary receiving the 120 minutes of PE per week as recommended by the Department of Education & Skills. There are 300,000 children in the UK estimated to be obese or overweight whilst, four out of five children do not get the minimum physical activity levels as recommended in the Department of Health & Children’s National Physical Activity Guidelines.
Susan Marron, Chairperson of the Irish Primary PE Association, outlined her vision for PE in primary schools by 2020 in the Federation’s Annual Review saying: “By 2020 Physical Education will be at the heart of children’s education. A child’s experience of PE will help develop their physical, social and emotional competences as well as give them the confidence to participate in physical activity and appropriate extra-curricular and community sporting opportunities.
“PE will be supported by physically active schools which maximise opportunities to promote physical activity at lesson transitions and break times and which encourage active travel to and from school. Optional extra-curricular activities will be suported by the National Governing Bodies for Sport, Local Sports Partnerships and the HSE.”
The Federation has for some time been outlining the need for an overall “Masterplan or Vision for Sport” which would cover all aspects of government’s interaction with Sport and physical activity including education and the availability and nature of sport in schools.
Commentating on the Ofsted report, Federation of Irish Sport Chief Executive, Sarah O’Connor, highlighted the need for sport and physically activity to be taken seriously: “Sport & physical activity have a key role to play in public health. 6% of deaths globally each year are due to physical inactivity whilst the UK estimate that 11% of their annual health spend is directly attributable to physical inactivity. ESRI research shows that people who participate in sport and exercise across the life course generally experience better physical and mental health than non-participants. Schools have a key role to play in ensuring that all Ireland’s children are equipped with basic physical literacy skills to facilitate not just adequate levels of fitness but also set the foundations for life long participation in sport and physical activity. A more active Ireland is a healthier Ireland.”
Triathlon Ireland is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Kitchen as the new Chief Executive Officer. Chris is well placed to steer Triathlon Ireland through the substantial growth they are experiencing having many years’ experience in both business and sport, running a number of companies as well as being heavily involved in triathlon as a competitor, technical official, coach and Board member.
Chris got involved as an athlete in triathlon in the mid 80’s and went on to set up a local Triathlon club, Chiltern Triathletes, in 1989, acting as Club Secretary for many years and is still Club Coach. He became a race referee in 1992, Qualified as one of the first Level 3 Coaches in the UK in 1994, helped write and deliver the early Level 1 and 2 Coach Education programmes and has run many coaching days or weekends.
He competed for GB in the Age Group Team at the ITU World Long Distance Championships in Nice twice in the ‘90s. In 2002, he became the BTA Long Distance Elite Team Manager during a time which saw a series of World and European Champions. Chris has been the race director of numerous triathlon events including a Children’s Triathlon which is in its 15th year and acted as ITU Team Leader in World Championship events around the World.
He was one of the key players in the British Triathlon’s modernisation programme and in January 2007 was appointed as Director with the Performance Portfolio to the British Triathlon Board. He was a part of the Board which oversaw a transition to a company with substantial reserves, significant growth and medal success in London 2012. Heavily involved in the High Performance Programme, Chris led the strategic direction, chaired the elite selection panels across all disciplines and reported to the Board on Performance matters.
The ITU Congress in Auckland saw him re-elected onto the ITU Multisport Committee where he now acts as Chair in the strategic development of Duathlon, Long Distance Triathlon, Cross Triathlon, Winter Triathlon and Aquathlon worldwide.
With a business background in Document Management Systems, Software Development, IT Solutions and Website Development he has substantial management experience and commercial knowledge and understanding.
Commenting on his appointment Chris said. “I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed as CEO. Triathlon in Ireland is really buoyant and exciting with a growing membership supported by coaches and technical officials and of course some great events. I have a great team behind me, both staff and volunteers, a supportive board and I am really looking forward to seeing what I can do to help develop Triathlon Ireland for triathletes in Ireland.”
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Dr Leo Varadkar, has highlighted his concerns that the introduction of a ban on alcohol sponsorship will have detrimental effect on Irish Sport, impacting both on the development of sport and opportunities available for people to partake in sport.
Dr Varadkar was responding to several parliamentary questions raised on Tuesday in relation to initiatives soon to be presented to government by Minister of State Alex White, which it is thought may see a proposal to ban alcohol sponsorship of sport.
Minister Varadkar confirmed that he was full supportive of measures to reduce levels of alcohol consumption and binge drinking he said: “I am concerned that placing constraints on sporting organisations by eliminating the alcohol industry as a source of sponsorship will have negative impacts on the development and availability of sport and consequently on our efforts to maintain and increase sporting participation at a local level.”
He continued: “In view of the the current economic constraints, Government investment in sport has had to be reduced in recent years. The imposition of a ban on sponsorship would further undermine the efforts of sporting organisations to be self-sufficient”
Minister Varadkar stated that it is estimated that alcohol sponsorship is worth €30m per year which, he put in context of the Irish Sports Council”s budget of just over €40 million for the current year. He also said that current difficulties being experienced by high profile teams and events suggest that this funding would not be easily replaced.
He believed that any measures introduced should be evidenced based, effective and proportionate. He also stated the need for consideration be given to the downside of any decision that might be made. Minister Varadkar stated that there was no evidence to show that a ban on sponsorship would be effective in terms of reducing alcohol consumption amongst youths. Reference was made to a recent European study which showed an increase in the number of youths in France who had admitted to having fiver or more drinks in one day over the course of the last 30 days despite the presence of such a ban on alcohol sponsorship there.
Minister Varadkar also referenced the reality that Irish teams were involved in international competition that would continue to be sponsored by alcohol companies and that all the introduction of such a ban here would do was deprive those Irish bodies of their proportion of the sponsorship monies.
Minister Varadkar did offer his alternative to a prohibition saying: “My preference is for the introduction of a voluntary system, such as currently exists in Australia, where the Department of Health would compensate sporting organisations who voluntarily give up such sponsorship and moving to the introduction of a ban only when it is shown that money lost can be replaces through alternative sponsors. Certainly, I do not think that the Government should impose such a law without fully compensating sports organisations for the revenue lost in the same way we compensated political parties where corporate and private donations were restricted.”
The Federation of Irish Sport has previously raised concerns with government about the detrimental effect such a ban would have on Irish Sport in light of the current funding environment. This is especially so given that, unlike other areas of the voluntary sector, sport does not qualify for charitable status and therefore does not, benefit from the same tax reliefs in respect of donations that often serve as an incentive for private sector investment.
The Federation has emphasised at all times that Irish Sport fully recognises the significant health and social challenges faced by Irish society from alcohol misuse. However, rather than introducing a ban the Federation of Irish Sport feels that a better way to deal with the underlying issues created by alcohol misuse would be to examine how Irish Sport and its wide network, stretching to every community in the country, could be best used to assist the government in the implementation of its strategy to tackle responsible alcohol usage and other public health issues.
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For CFT, the challenge remains to continue to foster interest and expertise among its members and prospective members in diving and snorkelling. This year the organisation celebrates its 50th anniversary, and looking back over those five decades, it can be seen how scuba diving has developed from being a marginal, almost eccentric activity undertaken by a few mavericks following in Jacques Cousteau’s wake to an activity accessible by anybody of reasonable fitness and confidence in water.