Feb 17, 2012
Cape Town ITU African Cup
Fresh from a 5th place finish last weekend, Gavin Noble is off to the Cape Town ITU African Cup for a sprint distance showdown this Sunday.
Germany’s 2007 World Champion Daniel Unger will be looking to repeat last weekend’s success when he took victory in a close fought Bridgetown ITU Pan American Cup. Competition will be tough however as the likes of 2006 World Champion Tim Don and some other top names look to start their seasons off with a bang.
Noble had set a mission of coming away with a top 10 placing in last weekend’s Bridgetown ITU Pan American Cup in Barbados and that goal is much the same this weekend. Triathlon Ireland High Performance Director, Chris Jones commented “Gavin has had a solid winters training and a good result in his first race of the season which provided some valuable Olympic ranking points.” “Consistency is the key and we’re just looking for another top 8 or top 10 performance which will continue to build ranking points.”
Meanwhile Aileen Morrison, ranked 11th in the world at the end of last season is preparing for the start of the 2012 race season at her base in Lisburn. Morrison recently signed for top professional French triathlon team, Poissy, and hopes to start her season off with a top level duathlon in early March. Next on Morrison’s agenda will be the Quarteira ITU European Cup followed by a step up to the Ishigaki ITU World Cup in Japan where Morrison had a stunning 2nd place finish last year.
Image Credit ITU Media – Gavin Noble leads the pack on the 20km bike course.
Feb 17, 2012
Golf Coach Education Manager for Ireland 3 yr fixed term position.
The PGA in Ireland, on behalf of a partnership with the GUI and ILGU, and supported by the Irish Sports Council, is recruiting a Golf Coach Education Manager for Ireland. The PGA is responsible for the overall development of the ‘Right Coach; Right Place; Right Time’ 21st Century Vision for Golf Coaching across Great Britain and Ireland, and the partnership in Ireland now seeks an innovative individual to co-ordinate the implementation of this vision within Ireland.
The overall purpose of this position is to ultimately increase the quality of golf coaches and golf coaching delivered within Ireland by both volunteer coaches and PGA Professionals to meet the demands of the game and needs of golfers across the whole spectrum of the Irish Golfer Pathway, by:
1. Establishing and managing the development, implementation and ongoing evaluation of an Irish Golf Coaching Action Plan in line with the agreed action plans for Junior Golf Ireland, and other participation and performance plans, that reflect the principles of the ‘Right Coach Right Place Right Time’ vision.
2. Driving the development and implementation of a coach education and development programme within Ireland to support the effective recruitment, training, support and retention of the right coach in the right place at the right time.
3. Working in partnership with the governing bodies of amateur golf (GUI and ILGU) in Ireland to deliver effective coach education and development programmes that reflect local, regional or national workforce development plans and/or identified needs, in addition to volunteer coaches.
4. Providing a clear link and lines of communication between the PGA in Ireland and partner organisations/individuals in Ireland at operational level.
To fulfil the requirements of this role it is essential that you can demonstrate a successful background in sports development, coach development and/or coach education. You should be able to evidence experience of providing development support to organisations (e.g. Local Authority, schools, County Sports Partnership, National Governing Body) as well as the ability to effectively communicate with a range of organisations, partners and people. It is vital that you have experience of working independently and evidence of the ability to self-manage workload.
Please note that this is not a practical coaching position and requires the ability to build relationships and ‘make things happen’ at a local, regional and national level. The targets for the successful candidate will be clearly defined and monitored by a Coaching Group; this post does not have any line management responsibility.
The position, which is wholly Irish based, is largely operational and will report to the Head of Coaching Systems linked to the PGA National Training Academy at The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield. The nature of the job will involve considerable travel throughout Ireland with the successful candidate based from home but expected to work from the PGA Irish Office at least one day per week. There will also be the opportunity to work from the offices of the other organisations involved in this partnership.
This is a fixed term position for 3 years and in addition to an attractive salary, we are offering a fully expensed company car and after a qualifying period, private healthcare and non-contributory pension.
To request further details on how to apply for this position please contact Kathy Hughes, HR Manager via e-mail (kathy.hughes@pga.org.uk). The closing date is 5pm on Wednesday 29th February 2012 with interviews scheduled to take place on 13th March at the GUI offices in Ireland.
Position funded through a partnership between:
Irish Ladies Golf Union
Golfing Union of Ireland
Professional Golfers Associate
The Irish Sports Coucil
Coaching Ireland
Feb 17, 2012
European Women’s Team Championships Ireland Vs Slovakia
Irish number one World number 46 stepped up on court to face Jana Ciznarova Of Slovakia. Magee looked in great form and showed a master class of badminton as she eased through the Slovakian 21-10 21-6. Next up for the Irish was Jennie King against Zuzana Orlovska. Jennie took time to get into the game and lost the first set 21-9. In the second set Orlovska continued to run down Kings shots as the Irish lady continued to try to breakdown the Slovakians defence. The Slovakian was able to keep the tempo high and won the game 21-13.
Alannah Stephenson was Next up to try and sway the Match in favour of the Irish. Alannah faced Martina Repiska in a marathon match where both ladies were not willing to give up! In the final set the Slovakian eventually edged out the victory 21-16 in a battle of a match lasting 50 minutes. Into the ladies Doubles with Ireland needing both rubbers for victory an exciting end was on the cards! The match followed the script when Irish number one ladies Sinead Chambers and Jennie King won an exciting three set epic 21-14 against Jana Ciznarova and Matina Repiska. So it all came down to The Inform Chloe Magee and the talented youth Alannah Stephenson who was looking to settle the score after the singles.
Barbora Bobrovska and Zuzana Orlovska were all that stood in the way of an Irish victory. Magee and Stephenson were up for this match showing the Irish fighting spirit throughout the Match!! With some amazing support from the Irish lads the girls dominated their opponents taking the tie with a 21-7 21-10 triumph!!
In the Men’s group, Irish number one world number 67 Scott Evans was first oncourt to face the number 2 seeded German line up. Scott was up against world number 14 Marc Zwiebler in what was going to be a tough match for Ireland. Scott started well and was leading the match at the 11 Interval. From this point the German upped his pace and Evans struggled to compete losing the first 21-15. In the second Scott competed well in the rallies but Zwiebler continued to control the game with a 21-11 second game scoreline.
In the next of the singles Sam Magee Came up against Lukas Scdmit world ranked 97. Once again this was going to be a tough challenge for Sam. In the opening set Sam exchanged some attacking play with the German but failed to get a lead on his opponent losing the opening set 21-11. Int the next set Sam was tactically very good and led the match up until the mid game interval. From here the German showed some great power as he took the game to Magee. The German regained the lead and never looked back taking the game and match with a 21-14 scoreline. Into the Doubles and the Irish represented by Evans and Magee came up against the World number 16 Pairing of Ingo Kindervater and Johannes Schoettler. Evans and Magee were unable to keep up with the speed of the very physical German duo losing the first Set 21-6. In the second set the Irish pair adapted well and tested the German pairing on occassion. However the Germans remained strong all the way to the end and saw of the Irish Challenge winning the second game 21-13. The Germans showed their class moving through to the quarters and showed why they are much fancied for the final at this event.
The Irish team showed some great performances from all involved this week. For Irish Olympic Hopefulls Scott Evans and Chloe Magee some well earned Olympic Qualyfying points were hard earned! Great experience for Alannah Stephenson winning her first senior International matches! Ireland showed good Team spirit throughout the tournament and will take alot away from this event to build on for the future. Well done to all involved!!
To find out more about Badminton in Ireland see: www.badmintonireland.com
Feb 10, 2012
Based at the Badminton Ireland Head Office in Dublin, the successful candidate will provide high quality administrative services to the Coaching department.
A keen interest in Badminton/sport is desirable and you will ideally have experience of working in an office environment.
In addition, you will possess a sound working knowledge of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher and Outlook and be motivated to work on your own and as part of a team. You will be detail conscious, accurate and be able to meet deadlines. You will also have excellent communication and presentation skills.
This is an opportunity to work in a highly motivated and supportive team during an inspirational year for sport with the London 2012 Olympic Games just around the corner.
KEY TASKS
- To implement, monitor and update the Coaching section of our operational Plan.
- Take the lead on our work with Coaching Ireland.
- To co-ordinate, manage and implement an annual programme of coaching events.
- To ensure that effective and appropriate liaison/communication is maintained with all relevant organisations and partners
- To ensure that appropriate Policies and Procedures are in place and records maintained
- To ensure systems are in place which will enable coaches and volunteers to be trained, developed and motivated effectively
- To ensure the Chief Executive is regularly updated on all aspects of work This job description is not to be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive. It is intended as an outline indicating of the areas of activity and may be amended from time to time in the light of the changing needs of the organisation.
Full details can be found here
Jan 19, 2012
Under the government’s JobBridge national internship scheme, we are seeking a 9-month intern to coordinate our online communications in the build-up to the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Paralympics Ireland – Online communications role
Reporting to the CEO, the successful applicant will be responsible for Paralympics Ireland’s website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels. Subject to performance, he/she may be offered the opportunity to work as part of our Media and Communications Team at the Games themselves.
Internship specification/application
For further details, you can download the internship specification by clicking
here. If you wish to apply for the role, please email us a cover letter outlining your suitability for the role along with a current CV (including 2 referees) to
info@paralympics.ie by 5pm, Friday 6 February 2012. Alternatively, you can send this by post to our registered office address (see
Contact Us).
Please note that this internship is only open to applicants who meet the eligibility requirements of JobBridge.
Jan 12, 2012
The Irish Olympic Handball Association is currently recruiting for two key positions in relation to national teams. These are High Performance Director and National Team Coach. Full 
Job Descriptions and Application details are below.
High Performance Director (HPD):
The role of the HPD is vital in implementing systems and strucutures to allow the national team to realise their potential on the court. Working closely with the High Performance Program Committee, you will be responsible for developing, producing and implementing a high performance plan alligned to the Strategic Plan of the IOHA using the Irish Institute of Sport template. This is a consultancy based role which will require quarterly reports to the board of the IOHA.
This role will ideally suit someone already in fulltime employment, with a proven track record in the area of high performance in sport. Handball experience and knowledge is desirable, but not essential as this is a compotencies based role.
Full details can be found here
National Team Coach:
Do you enjoy a challenge? The Irish team needs an experienced professional coach to lead them up to the next tier of handball in Europe. Beginning with European Championship pre-qualification tournaments in summer 2012, this role will culminate in Ireland taking the court in World Championship Qualifiers in 2014.
The squad is a mixture of experienced and young players who are ambitious as a group and hungry to learn. The National Team Coach will be supported with a National Team Coordinator, Fitness Coach, Medical Team, Sports Psychologist and Administration support from the IOHA.
Full details can be found here
