Sarah O’Shea was appointed as Chair of the Federation of Irish Sport following Fergus Murphy’s decision to step down due to increasing work commitments. She has been on the Executive Committee of the Federation for four years. Sarah is the Legal Director at the Football Association of Ireland (“FAI”) and is currently a member of the UEFA Hattrick Committee.
She works across a broad range of areas including regulatory, commercial and disciplinary and has been involved in projects including the Aviva Stadium and Europa League Final Dublin 2011.
Speaking on her appointment Sarah said, “I am delighted to have been appointed Chair of the Federation. Whilst much progress has been made in recent years, there is still much to be done to increase awareness of the wider contribution of sport to Irish society. I look forward to meeting this challenge and to working with all of the Federation’s membership to ensure that their vital contribution to Irish Life is recognised and supported.”
Basketball Ireland (B.I.) is the national governing body for the sport on the island of Ireland.
Part of FIBA Europe, the European Governing body, and of FIBA, the World Governing body, B.I. is responsible for the promotion and administration of basketball throughout Ireland and for Irish international participation.
Membership
Basketball Ireland has 16,000 members registered at club level.
Clubs & Schools
219 Clubs are registered with Basketball Ireland, while there are 378 registered schools.
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2012 Highlights
In 2012 Basketball Ireland introduced a successful new registration database with allowed the governing body to accurately capture membership numbers.
Both the 2012 National Cup and League Finals were televised by Setanta Ireland in front of a capacity crowds at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght. Basketball Ireland have formed a positive partnership with Setanta Sports, with a monthly magazine show on Setanta Ireland airing on the first Sunday of every month at 6.40pm.
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Looking Forward to 2013
Basketball Ireland has just completed their National Cup Semi Finals and Final. The Semi-Finals were held in Neptune Stadium and the Parochial Hall, Cork the weekend of 11th-13th January. The matches drew great crowds throughout the weekend and a sold out Neptune Stadium for the Men’s SuperLeague game between Neptune and UCC Demons.
The National Cup Finals took place in the National Basketball Arena from Friday 25th – Sunday 27th January. Once again the Men’s and Women’s SuperLeague finals were televised live by Setanta Ireland in front of a capacity crowd, while the remainder of the finals draw great crowds over Saturday and Sunday.
The All Ireland Schools Cup Finals took place in the National Basketball Arena from Tuesday 22nd January to Friday 25th January. Twelve great games took place, with the arena filling out on a number of occasions throughout the week, as some schools closed for the day to come to the Arena to support their team. In addition, Setanta covered two days of the schools cup finals to be included in this month’s magazine show. This was a hugely positive step for schools basketball and it continues to grow throughout Ireland.
A Men’s SuperLeague Select team has already travelled to Birmingham to play England before Basketball England’s National Cup Finals on the 13th January, with Ireland winning by three points, 80-83.
Looking forward to the rest of 2013, Basketball Ireland will increase the number of underage teams competing on the international stage from four to eight. Basketball Ireland are looking forward to a number of key events including; the National League Finals, the Ireland All Ireland Schools League Finals and the All Ireland Club Championships.
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Calendar of Events
Basketball Ireland National League Finals
March 2013
Basketball Ireland Schools Leagues Finals
March & May 2013
Basketball Ireland College Intervarsitites
April 2013
Basketball Ireland All Ireland Club Championships
April 2013
Basketball Ireland National Area Board Intermediate Championships
May 2013
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How to Get Involved
People interested in getting involved in basketball can check out the Basketball Ireland website where they have a handy club finder facility. This provides a map of the country and people can locate their nearest club.
Alternatively, you can contact Basketball Ireland HQ on (01) 4590211 or info@basketballireland.ie and they can help people get involved.
Basketball is a sport for life, and if people want to get involved as referees, table officials or commissioners they can also contact Basketball Ireland HQ. Basketball Ireland cater for all ages and can find a role for anyone within the sport. We’d love to have you!
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Fact File
TOP 6 participation sports in Ireland
NUMBER 1 sport for females under 16
NUMBER 1 indoor sport
219 CLUBS nationwide
50/50 SPLIT between male and female
3rd FAVOURITE sport amongst teenagers
100s play basketball in schools
300,000 people involved in Irish basketball as player, coaches, officials, parents & fans
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Social Media
You can stay in touch with Basketball Ireland on:
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Contact Basketball Ireland
Basketball Ireland Head Office, National Basketball Arena, Tymon Park, Tallaght, Dublin 24
Phone: (01) 4590211 Fax: (01) 4590212
Email: info@basketballireland.ie
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Do you want your organisation to feature here?
Contact the Federation of Irish Sport on 01-6251155 of email david.gash@irishsport.ie
Minister Ring, speaking at the European Parliament on January 23rd, confirmed that the sustainable financing of sport and dual careers for sportspeople would be the key issues from the EU Work Plan on Sport that Ireland would seek to progress during its European Presidency.
Speaking in Brussells, Minister Ring was keen to highlight the positive impact of sport:
“There are huge economic and social benefits to be gained from sport. In the current climate it is important to recognise the importance of sport for economic and social development, both at national and European level. Sport plays a vital role in improving the health and well being of our citizens and instills a sense of place and belonging among those who play and those who follow sport.”
On Ireland’s Presidency, Minsister Ring continued:
“The Irish Presidency aims to ensure the implementation of the first EU workplan of sport in cooperation with the Commission and the Member States; and indeed with the support of our colleagues in the European Parliment, our priorities include dual careers, the sustainable financing of sport and issues around protecting the integrity of sport.”
Minister Ring said it was important that situations where sports people were forced to choose between either education and/or work and sport needs to be avoided. The Irish Presidency, in light of the increasing demands on professional sports players, will prepare a set of conclusions on dual careers with a view to them being adopted at the meeting of the Education, Culture, Youth & Sport Council in May
The sustainable financing of sport is another focus of the Irish presidency with Minister Ring indicating that the issue of economic contribution of sport and the financing of sport will be a common theme throughout the current trio of presidency.
On the econominc contribution of sport, Minister Ring said:
“The contribution of sport to economic growth and employment has been recorded by a series of recent studies. The gross value added by in the EU in €173bn or 1.76% of the EU total value; 3.1 million people are employed in sport in the EU and this amounts to 2.12% of total EU employment.”
Other areas of focus for the Irish Presidency include the areas of matching fixing and doping. Speaking about priorities for sport during Ireland’s presidency, the Federation of Irish Sport Chief Executive, Sarah O’Connor said:
“The Presidency gives Ireland an opportunity to contribute to the on-going development of European sports policy. Our track record of involvement in Europe in relation to sport was limited up until recently. However, this has approved over the last two years with the appointment of Irish representatives to each of the six EU Expert Groups on Sport. It is good to see that the focus of our Presidency will be on some of the outcomes of 3 of those Expert Groups.
“The Federation also welcomes Minister Ring’s acknowledgement of the contribution of sport to economic growth and employment. The Federation has sought to heighten awareness of this in Ireland with recent European research indicating that up to 40,000 jobs are supported by sport in Ireland alone with sport contributing €2.4 billion to GDP.”
Ireland will host will host two sport related events over the course of the Presidency with a conference on the Sustainable Financing of Sport on the 7th March with an informal meeting of the Sport Directors from across the EU taking place the following day. Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar, will also represent Europe on the World Anti Doping Authority (WADA) council for the next 18 months.
The role of sport in promoting business opportunities was one of the topics for conversation at the recent inaugral British Irish Chamber of Commerce Conference held at the Aviva Stadium on 24th & 25th January.
The discussion on culture, tourism and sport was designed to develop two or three initiatives to be brought to government to assist collaboration between those sectors and business. The speakers included former Irish rugby international and Chair of the Ireland Funds, Hugo MacNeill, CEO of Business2Arts, Stuart McLaughlin and musician, film-maker and broadcaster Philip King.
There was general agreement that culture and sport had a key role to play in forging relations between Britian and Ireland. It was recognised that there was a need for more data or information on the role of culture and sport in particular. Research however should focus not just on quantitative information but also qualitative.
The need for a joining of the dots was also highlighted. The positive impact on business of the Navy v Notre Dame rugby match was mentioned but it was felt that there could be more communication around such events so that business was better place to take advantage of the influx of people and sense of occasion created by such events.
The role culture and sport could play in contributing to the development of a shared future between he communities in Northern Ireland was also emphasised. Hugo MacNeil stated that a best in class economy was simply not possible whilst sectarianism was in existence. He felt there was a role for sport and culture in bringing sectarianism to an end mentioning that the highlight of his rugby career was the involvement in the Peace International in Landsdowne Road in 1996.
The British Irish Chamber of Commerce was established in August 2011 with a view to assisting and improving the longstanding commercial and economic relationship between the Islands. The Chamber has a Culture, Tourism & Sport Committee of which Ulster Bank’s Head of Product and Service Sales is Chair. Further information on the British Irish Chamber of Commerce can be found on their website www.britishirishchamber.com
One of the biggest challenges for sports clubs during the winter and spring can be simply getting members to maintain their fitness and
training schedule. Even the most dedicated athletes can find it hard to leave the couch on cold, dark, wet, evenings but poor weather is no excuse not to keep active, as the old Irish saying goes, ‘You’re not a Disprin, you won’t dissolve!’ However, it’s not just waning levels of motivation you have to contend with, participating in sport during bad weather brings its own unique risks.
Cold conditions cause heat loss which places additional strain on the body. When your core body temperature drops, you use up more energy and ultimately impair your sporting performance. Sprains and strains are more likely in colder weather because cold muscles and connective tissue have less elasticity and are therefore more prone to injury. The most commonly reported accidents from athletes are falls and trips which become much more likely when performance and agility are compromised by the cold and fatigue. Darkness, wet blustery weather, poor visibility and slippery terrain all make training more dangerous.
Injuries and accidents can often be prevented with a little planning, preparation and the correct clothing, footwear and equipment. Unfortunately, despite taking precautions, your members could still sustain an injury. Seemingly minor accidents can result in lower and upper body fractures, dislocation of joints, tearing of ligaments and sprains which may require attendance at an emergency department, physiotherapy, hospitalisation and even surgery. Injuries can take weeks to heal and be very costly. Even a small accident could prevent your members from working and lead to loss of income for weeks or months.
One crucial part of your preparations as an NGB should be to ensure that you and your members are fully protected from potential accidents by having the right personal accident insurance. Personal accident insurance provides members with an income if they are unable to work because of an accident. National Governing Bodies and sport clubs can purchase this insurance on behalf of their members and include it as part of their standard annual subscription with significant potential savings being achieved by purchasing as a group. Alternatively, individual sports participants can take out this insurance themselves.
The Federation of Irish Sport offers a new group insurance scheme specifically designed for National Governing Bodies, sports clubs and individuals. All members can benefit from improved levels of cover and reduced insurance rates. So to make sure that you and your members are fully protected throughout the year contact Conn Mc Cluskey, Federation of Irish Sport on 01-6251155, conn.mccluskey@irishsport.ie or click here for more information: http://irishsport.ie/wpress/index.php/sport-insurance-scheme/
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