Jun 24, 2013
Job Title: Talent Identification and Development Officer
Reports To: Designated Member of Ulster Badminton Council
JobBased: National Badminton Centre, Lisburn. Northern Ireland
Salary: £12,800 per annum (20 hours per week)
Contract Duration: This job will be offered on a fixed term basis to 31st March 2017, and will be subject to continuation of funding by Sport Northern Ireland.
Reporting to the Designated Member of Ulster Badminton Council, the Talent Identification and Development Officer (TIDO) will be responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership to develop and link the “Player Pathway” from schools/clubs through to regional and up to National level
Key Responsibilities
- To maintain and improve all areas within the Ulster Badminton Talent System in cooperation with Sport NI staff and the Ulster Badminton Team.
- To manage in cooperation with the Ulster Badminton Team the “Performance Pathway” up to provincial level
- To lead and manage the processes of talent identification and talent selection from “Grassroots” to national level
- To develop and implement a “Grassroots” talent identification strategy
- To ensure that the current Club Development Programme is linked to the “PerformancePathway”
- To develop and introduce a talent identification education programme to be delivered to relevant partners including clubs, schools and regional structures
- To continue to evaluate and adapt TID and Talent Development activities to maintain the highest standards
- To continue the development and implement the use of “Profile Tools” at each stage of the “Performance Pathway”
- To develop the regional performance training network that increases the quality and quantity of training for identified talent
- To establish a strategy that links regional performance training to the national training centre
- To identify and manage coaches at each stage of the “Performance Pathway” and in conjunction with the High Performance Coach implement a population specific CPD and coach education programme
- Initiate and conduct meetings with key stakeholders, and communicate performance outcomes with key internal and external stakeholders
- To ensure that the Child Protection policy of Ulster Badminton is adhered to in delivery of this programme
- Any other duties that may from time to time be reasonably requested
This job description is not exclusive or exhaustive. It is intended as an outline indication of the areas of activity and will be amended in the light of changing needs of the organisation.
GUIDANCE NOTES ON COMPLETING THE APPLICATION FORM
Please read these notes carefully. Your application form plays an important part in our selection process. (The most important thing to remember is to tell us everything that you think is relevant to your application. We will not make assumptions).
Applicants must clearly demonstrate how they meet each criteria throughout the application form. It is not acceptable to simply restate the criteria. Applicants must give examples to demonstrate their experience under each criterion.
Completing the Application Form:
u After reading the personnel specification and job description think carefully about your application and consider to what extent you have the skills and experience necessary for the post.
u Make a rough draft first, as this will avoid mistakes
u Make sure your application form is well presented – illegible or incomplete forms WILL be disregarded.
u Use a black ballpoint pen or type, black always shows up best when copied.
u Make sure you address all of the points on the personnel specification. We will not make assumptions.
u Take a copy of your form for your own record.
u Incomplete forms will be withdrawn
u Copies of all academic qualifications relevant to the post must be enclosed with your application form. (If copies are not available, please send original certificates and Ulster Badminton will copy these and return the originals to you)
u Please separate the monitoring form and the disclosure of criminal convictions form from the application form and place them in a separate envelope marked for the attention of the Monitoring Officer.
MAKE SURE YOUR APPLICATION FORM IS POSTED OR DELIVERED TO ENSURE DELIVERY TO THE NATIONAL BADMINTON CENTRE BEFORE 4.00pm on Monday 15th July 2013. WE WILL NOT ACCEPT APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE PUBLISHED DEADLINE TIME AND DATE. IF HAND-DELIVERING THE APPLICATION FORM PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU REQUEST A RECEIPT AS PROOF OF DELIVERY.
Application Form available here: Application Form
Jun 17, 2013
On the 29th & 30th June, four of Europe’s best amateur American Football clubs will battle it out to win the title of Western European Champion in the 2013 Atlantic Cup. This is the fifth year of the Championships which this year is being hosted by the Irish American Football Association (IAFA).
IAFA is also proud to host these Championships as part of The Gathering Dublin in association with South Dublin County Council and South Dublin Tourism.
Saturday 29th June (Semi-Finals):
12:00 Amersfoort Untouchables (NL) v Belfast Trojans (IAFL).
15:30 Trinity College Dublin (IAFL) v Brussels Tigers (Bel).
Sunday 30th June:
12:00 3rd Place Play-Off
15:00 Final.
This is the 5th edition of the annual tournament, which is the official European Championship for purely amateur teams in Western Europe.
For the first time ever, the event will feature two teams from the IAFA. Northern Ireland’s Belfast Trojans secured their entry by winning the Shamrock Bowl, which is Ireland’s all-island National Championship in 2012. They are 8-0 so far in 2013. The team was unbeaten in 2012.
Amersfoort Untouchables finished last season with an impressive 8-3 record overall in the Dutch league. The team enters the tournament with the added pressure of having to defend the title on behalf of the Netherlands American football federation – Lelystad Commanders won last year.
Brussels Tigers are the dominant team in Belgium right now. They gained entry to the tournament with an impressive 46-6 victory over Antwerp Diamonds in last years Belgian Bowl. They won the Belgian Bowl again earlier this month.
Trinity College Dublin is one of the rising stars of the IAFL. The team has the best record of the six SBC teams based south of the border and is leading SBC South with a 7-2 record. The team adds some local interest to the tournament.
All the games are being played in Tallaght Stadium, a modern 8,000 capacity stadium that has hosted Champions League and Europa League soccer games. This is an all-ticket event, however, as it is part of The Gathering Dublin, tickets are free of charge to open the event up to as many people from around Ireland and Europe as possible.
Tickets for this event are available by clicking here or on the IAFA Facebook page
Jun 14, 2013
CIES is the International Centre for Sports Studies, located in Neuchatel, Switzerland. It was created in 1995 as a joint venture between the Federation Inernationale de Football Association (FIFA), the University of Neuchatel, the City and the State of Neuchatel.
The CIES Football Observatory was set up in 2005 under the name of the Professional Football Players Observatory. Since 2011, it is one of the cornerstones of the vast CIES observatory project, dedicated to the statistical analysis of sport in all of its diversity.
The CIES Football Observatory lauched the 2013 Annual Review on the 13th June, 2013 in Neuchatel-Switzerland. It presents a comparative analysis of clubs and players in the big-5 European Leagues at demographic, economic and pitch performance levels. Review notably reveals that Lionel Messi would largely break the 94 million euro transfer fee record. Estimated on the basis of an exclusive econometric model, his value is between 217 and 252 million euro. With estimated value between 102 and 118 million, Cristiano Ronaldo would probably break his own record also.
At club level, the analysis shows that Barcelona holds the greatest assests from a player economic value perspective: 658 million euro. This figure is 3x higher than that spent on signing the players used during the 2012/13 season. This reflects the extraordinary ability of the Catalan side to train, launch and add value to home-grown players.
Lionel Messi is not only the most expensive big-5 League player, but also the most decisive one for the 2012/13 season. The ranking is based on the performances for 5 key indicators: shooting, chance creation, take on, distribution and recovery. The Argentinian outranks Champions League winner Franck Ribery and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Most decisive young player was Mario Gotze. The new Bayern Munich signing is followed by two promising young Belgian players belonging to Chelsea: Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.
Performance Analysis at club level shows that Bayern Munich’s fantastic season was the result of the unmatched balance between attack, distribution and defence. The Champions League winner tops the German Bundesliga for the 3 key team performance indicators, covered by our analysis: defensive solidarity, grip on the game and attacking incisiveness. No other champion was able to do so.
The 2013 Annual Review also investigates the evolution in competitive balance within the leagues since 03/04. With the exception of Italy, point gaps between teams are on the increase. This trend is particularly marked in Spain and Germany. Over the last decade, 3 most successful clubs achieved more than 60% of podium ranks in all the leagues, up to 80% in Spain and England (24 out of 30).
In 2012/13, money spent in transfer fees to sign 1st team players was highly correlated to club results in all leagues. All the champions were among the 3 biggest spenders in their respective leagues. This confirms the strong influence of money on success.
Without new regulatory measures/mechanisms to improve income distribution, competitive balance will be further jeopardised by the transformation of top level clubs into global brands, their regular participation in the increasingly lucrative Champions League and investments made by wealthy owners.
Jun 14, 2013
Irish Representation in the 2013 Deaflympics
This July will see the 22nd Deaflympic Summer Games being held in Bulgaria, with Ireland being represented by a team of Football and Badminton players. 22 players were chosen for the Men’s Football panel earlier in the year, and last week, 20 of these players were selected to take a place on the Irish Team. These players hail from a multitude of counties nationwide and from Northern and Southern Ireland. 3 male Badminton players will join the footballers in Bulgaria in the endeavor to bring medals home: Shane Keogh, Johnny Corcoran and Aidan Connor.
On Wed the 24th of April a live international draw was held to group the Football Teams. Ireland has been placed in Group C against: Nigeria, Japan and European favorites Russia, with matches beginning in Pravets on the 25th of July.
The Badminton players on the Irish Team were selected following the 24th National Deaf Badminton Championships on the 24th of March this year. The Deaflympic Badminton tournaments will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria from the 27th of July the 2nd of August.
When asked about the Draw, Manager of the Irish Deaf Men’s Football Team Thomas Coyle Stated: ”It’s a tough draw but a challenge Ireland is looking forward to. It’s a privilege to qualify for the Deaflympics and we are working as hard as possible to give it our best shot.”
The Deaflympics is the second longest running multi-sport event in the world, dating back to Paris in 1924. This competition is aimed towards Deaf and Hard of Hearing participants and gives these elite athletes an opportunity to compete at an international level in a competition free of communication barriers. All signalling throughout the Summer Games will be visual rather than audio, International Sign Language will be used by competitors, managers and supporters alike and the prohibiting of hearing aids and cochlear implants places all athletes on a level playing field.
For more information about the Irish Deaf Team, the 2013 Deaflympics or any other queries, please contact admin@deafsportsireland.com or see www.deafsportsireland.com.
Jun 14, 2013
The second Go for Life Games recently took place in DCU on Saturday 8th June. The Go For Life Games is a celebration of physical activity and approximately 200 older participants comprising of 14 teams, along with their supporters from around the country, participated in a day of various physical activities. The team’s represented older people’s groups from Carlow, Cork, Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown, South County Dublin, Fingal, Kildare, Kilkenny, Meath, South Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow.
The Go For Life Games i
s based on some of the games played by Go For Life right across Ireland. Participants turned their hand to ‘Lobbers’ (a target game adapted from petanque and boules), ‘Flisk’ (adapted from boccia and horseshoe pitching), and ‘Scidils’ (and adaption of ten pin bowling with one skittle).
A team of fourteen older people from Kilkenny became the overall winners of the 2013 Games. Further winners included: Waterford- Lobbers, Kildare- Flisk and South Dublin- Scidils. In addition to these, ten individuals received Spirit of the Games Awards.
Go For Life is the national programme for sport and physical activity for older people over 10 years. It has helped more older people to be more active, more often. 40,000 people take part in Go For Life activities annually.
Go For Life is an Age and Opportunity initiative supported by Irish Sports Council. Teams have been supported locally by their Local Sports Partnerships and the HSE. Age and Opportunity plans to build the Games into one of Ireland’s most significant amateur multi-sporting events.
The underlying philosophy of the games is to promote fair play and encourage participation by older people. Key principle of the Go For Life games is to modify competitive sports into recreational games by adapting rules, playing areas and equipment.
Read More Here (Irish Sports Council)
Read More Here (Age and Opportunity)
Jun 14, 2013
Coca-Cola Thank You Fund Roadshow
You are invited to attend one of the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund Roadshow events taking place in the months of June and July. The Roadshow will be stopping off in Cork, Dublin, Galway and Limerick to host fitness workshops and to spread the word about all the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund has to offer.
Our team will be joined by personal trainer and TV personality Karl Henry, as well as by the renowned nutritionist Paula Mee, who will share a wealth of tips about staying fit and eating healthily. The speakers will focus on explaining ways to build activity into existing routines and on motivating attendees to consume good food every day.
A total of €125,000 is available for distribution to non-profit organisations through the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund in 2013. The Fund is seeking proposals from organisations who take an innovative approach to encouraging communities to lead more balanced, healthy and active lifestyles. The overall winner will receive €25,000 and a further ten organisations will receive €10,000 each. Attendees at each Roadshow event will learn how best to go about applying for the funding.
Winners of grants from previous rounds of the Fund will share their experience at these free events and give tips on how they went about winning funding last year. They will demonstrate just how much you can accomplish when you match the Fund’s support with high levels of energy and ambition.
Experts will also be on hand to provide advice on crafting and submitting your organisation’s entry, and to answer any questions you may have.
Further details on how to apply for funding or about these free events can be found at www.coca-cola.ie/thankyou with entries accepted up until the 19th of July 2013.
How to book
We invite you to pick the nearest Coca-Cola Thank You Fund Roadshow to you from this list and to reserve your free place by emailing cillian@q4pr.ie:
- 10:30am on Thursday 27th June at University Limerick Sports Campus
- 7pm on Thursday 27th June at the Mardyke Arena in Cork
- 12pm on 28th June at Old Connaught Rugby Club, Galway
- 12pm Tuesday 2nd July at Croke Park, Dublin
Please email cillian@q4pr.ie to confirm your place at your chosen Roadshow event
