Commission Adopts Report on the First EU Work Plan for Sport

Mar 10, 2014

Member Profile: Irish Ten Pin Bowling Association

Feb 28, 2014

The Irish Tenpin Bowling Association (ITBA) was founded in 1964 and is the governing body for the sport in Ireland. Affiliated to the Federation Internationale des Quillers (FIQ), it is the responsibility of the ITBA to provide and enforce the rules and regulations set out by the FIQ, as well as other international governing bodies such as the World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA).

The ITBA works to ensure that the sport of bowling is developed in such a way that it can be enjoyed at a non-competitive level for those looking for a fun leisure activity and also, as well as allowing for those at a competitive level to progress and compete at as high a level as possible, both domestically and internationally.

Not only is tenpin bowling a fun activity for people of all ages, it is also a terrific way to exercise. As an anaerobic exercise, similar to walking with free weights, it depends more on muscular work than the ability of the person to put up with the exercise for long periods of time. This allows the participant to get the exercise your muscles need while still appeasing your mind’s need for fun. Just half an hour can burn up to 150 calories-the equivalent of going on a moderate bike ride or even spending the same amount of time rowing.

The ITBA is a full member of the Federation of Irish sport and receives excellent backing from the Irish Sports Council, in terms of finance as well as supporting development through various courses. The association works closely with all individual clubs and bowling centres in its attempt to develop the sport of tenpin bowling in Ireland.

Membership:

There are currently over 1,800 people competing in annual leagues on ITBA-sanctioned lanes throughout the country.

Fact File:

• Primitive bowling balls and pins have been discovered dating as far back as 3200 B.C., while there is also evidence of more modern versions of the game in Germany as far back as 300 A.D.
• A standard bowling pin weighs between 3 pounds 6 ounces and 3 pounds 10 ounces.
• The first perfect ‘300’ game on record was bowled by Earnest Fosberg in Illinois in 1902, although the first perfect game recognised by a governing body was sanctioned by the American Bowling Congress in 1908, bowled by A.C. Jellison.
• The youngest person to bowl a perfect game on record is Hannah Diem of Florida, who rolled the game at the age of 9 years, 6 months and 19 days.

2013 Highlights:

• 19 year-old Christopher Sloan bowled two perfect games on the way to an 11^th place finish at the AMF Bowling World Cup in Russia.
• Christopher also finished 11^th in the Vienna Open, a European Bowling Tour event which hosted some of the world’s best players.
• Barry Foley became the first male Irish winner of the Irish Open in its twenty-five year history.
• Alan Bride and Hannah Cullen became National Champions.
• Ireland’s Juniors excelled at the Junior Triple Crown in Dunfermline, with under-19 bowlers Kevin Wattimena and Rachel Mulligan winning their respective Masters finals.
• The ITBA and the bowling community celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of tenpin bowling in Ireland with a gala dinner and a new commemorative tournament.

Key Programmes

The ITBA has enlisted the help of United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Gold Level Coach Joe Slowinski to develop and implement a new coaching programme aimed at the development of junior bowling. The objective of the programme is to ensure the development of coaching with the aim of enhancing the level of our junior bowlers moving forward.

The programme design, which is based on biomechanics and scientific research and practice, is cutting edge, with a skill-level coaching curriculum fully supported by coaches’ manuals, interactive social media support, mentoring and monitoring by Slowinski throughout.

Joe Slowinski kicked of the 24-week development programme by spending four days in July 2013 with the coaches in classroom and practical sessions, followed by two tough days of group sessions with bantams, junior and under-24 bowlers.

Slowinski returned in October to oversee the progress of the programme implementation and to continue his work educating the participating coaches in another group of sessions which brought about very positive results. He is quoted on his Facebook page as saying: “Thank you for the weekend. We can collectively make history. Everyone has to be active, and I will be an active participant.”

The sessions and programme have been taken on enthusiastically by all involved, with five clubs participating. This totals 119 junior bowlers (67 boys and 52 girls) and 22 coaches, and all five clubs come together once a month to ensure ongoing parallel development.

Key Events in 2014

• National Championships
• World Cup Qualifiers
• Rocks Bowling Tour
• Senior Championships

Contact Info

All contact information can be found at the official ITBA website:

www.tenpinbowling.ie

Featured Event: Deaf Sport Ireland, EDSO European Deaf Futsal Mini-Tournament, Tallaght Arena

Feb 27, 2014

DSI is hosting the EDSO European Deaf Futsal Mini-Tournament in the Arena, Tallaght on Friday 28th and Sat 1st March.

There will be live streaming starting on Friday 28th of February at 19:00 and on Saturday 1st of March 2014 at 11:00 and 18:00.

“This is DSI’s first time ever to broadcast these games and is a really exciting time for everyone from outside of Ireland to be able to  join us to watch the matches!” said Lorelei Fox-Roberts, DSI.

The men’s futsal teams competing represent Ireland, Cyprus and Poland.

The match schedule is as follows:

Friday 28th February:

7pm: Ireland V Cyprus

Saturday 1st March:

11am: Cyprus V Poland;

6pm: Poland V Ireland

The Irish Men’s Futsal Team consists of 14 players, as can be seen below:

Daniel Landers;

Brian Daly;

John O’Sullivan;

Darren Dunne;

Patrick Maher;

Sean Young;

Kevin Dudley;

Christopher Corcoran;

Jason Maguire;

Keenan Byrne;

Mark Sinclair;

Michael Walsh;

Justin Smyth; and

Joey Watson.

From 1-4pm on Saturday, there will be a number of Women’s Futsal friendly matches, with 4 teams competing.

Entry to the tournament as a supporter is free and it is a great chance to get out and cheer on the Irish players.

For more information, email: admin@deafsportsireland.com

Please do check our website for the latest update on our live streaming – go to www.deafsportsireland.com for further information.

Programmes in Sport: Basketball 3on3

Feb 26, 2014

Following on from the success of the National 3on3 Championships for U14 and U18 boys and girls last year, Basketball Ireland are expanding their programme this year to include a senior championships with the winners being sent to Europe to represent Ireland.
3on3 is both a new and an old form of the game. It does pretty much what it says on the tin so to speak and pits teams of three players against each other as opposed to the five versus five of traditional basketball.
Played for generations as part of training sessions and in courts across the world as an informal pick-up version of the game, it has been given a new lease of life in recent years with official backing from FIBA, the governing body for international basketball.
While the basic rules of the game are the same, there are a number of noticeable differences. For starters, only one basket is used, restricting the game to half of a traditional basketball court. When a team scores, the opposing team restarts the game from the top of the three point line, attacking the same basket.
In official games and tournaments, games last 10 minutes, or until the first teams reaches 21 points, and once a team gains possession of the ball it has 12 seconds to attempt a shot. The clock is stopped for all dead-ball situations and restarts as soon as it is in the offensive team’s hands. In case scores are equal after regular time, overtime will be played until the first team scores two points.
The rules are suited for elite international competition, but can be easily adapted to games played with little or no equipment other than a basketball and a hoop.
The fun and fast paced nature of the game was on full view last summer in Gormanston College where the U14 and U18 National Championships were held as 240 players took to the courts.
“It was great to see so many kids playing and enjoying 3on3 in a structured national tournament,” said Matt Hall, competition manager.
“A lot of them would be very used to playing a form of 3on3 amongst themselves but that was the first time they had played for an official title. It was a great start and a lot of fun and something that is really going to grow over the next few years, particularly as FIBA Europe have really gotten behind the initiative.”
This year’s championships will likely be a much larger event again as a national initiative, funded by the €10,000 received from the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund, will be rolled out on a national basis throughout local area boards. Games will be tournament based and aimed at young men and women, introducing more people to the game.
Indeed, FIBA Europe will this summer be running a Senior European Championships for which 29 countries have entered Men’s teams and a further 23 have entered Women’s teams.
Basketball Ireland is one of the federations to have entered a team in both, all that remains is to select the players that will represent them!

“Discussion are ongoing about the format of 3×3 National competitions for Senior Men and Senior Women but they will carry with them a prize of entry into an official FIBA Europe tournament during the summer in mainland Europe,” said Matt Hall.

Initial ideas are that all Men’s and Women’s Basketball Ireland Premier and Division One teams will be invited to enter at least one squad of 5 players and the winners will be on a plane heading to represent Ireland on a European stage.
The competition will also be open to all clubs outside of the major national leagues in Ireland.

Any player looking to register their interest in this (does not matter if you are a player, a coach or club secretary) then send an email to mhall@basketballireland.ie

Fáilte Ireland Major Events Unit- CEO Forum Event, 24th March, 12.30pm

Feb 25, 2014

Introduction to Fáilte Ireland Major Events Unit

Fáilte Ireland has launched a new Major Events Unit tasked with growing international visitation through the events sector. This will be achieved by identifying, bidding for and winning major events for Ireland in partnership with relevant stakeholders. Any event available for bidding, with a proven track record of delivering in excess of 6,000 international bed nights will be considered by the Major Events Unit for both practical and financial support. To learn more about criteria for attracting an international event, further information is available in the attached document. A full explanation of these criteria and the supports on offer will be given by Keith McCormack (Head of Business Tourism and Events Ireland), Fáilte Ireland at the CEO Forum Event on Monday March 24th, from 12.30 to 14.00 at Irish Sport HQ.

Fáilte Ireland Key Criteria for Major Events

Invitation to bring Sporting Federation contacts to Ireland for familiarisation trip in May

In order to showcase the advantages of bringing a major event to Ireland, Fáilte Ireland in conjunction with Sport Tourism Ireland/W2 Consulting is hosting a familiarisation trip for International Sporting Federations to coincide with the inaugural European Sport Tourism Summit being held in Thomond Park, Limerick from 15-16^th May 2014. Please see www.sporttourismsummit.ie for event details.  The programme offered to potential parties, will include a two day visit to Limerick, including attendance at the European Sport Tourism Summit, followed by a two day trip to Dublin with privileged access to some of Ireland’s most iconic sport tourism venues.

If you have an affiliation to an International Sporting Federation or Sport Tourism contact with the potential to bring a major event to Ireland, Fáilte Ireland is offering you the opportunity to invite them on this trip to experience first-hand our excellent infrastructure, knowledge base and tourism offering. To register your interest in nominating an International Federation or contact- please click here

Fáilte Ireland Queries can be directed to:

Miriam Kennedy

Tel: +353 86 7726640

Email: Miriam.kennedy@failteireland.ie

Or

Edel Mitchell

Tel: +353 1 8847 897

Email: edel.mitchell@failteireland.ie