Jan 29, 2020
The IIBA has just completed the junior inter zone rinks competition. Some 120 juniors were involved. There were 2 sections – one for 14 – 18 years and one for under 14. In the over 14 competition, Monaghan just came out on top against North West while in the under 14 section it was Western who defeated North West.
Boomer Cup
The semi-finals stage of the men’s inter zone has been reached and will be played this Saturday. In the quarter finals Mid Ulster defeated South Tyrone and will now meet Donegal who accounted for Monaghan. In the other semi-final Armagh who defeated North West will play North Down who defeated Mid Down.
In the Plate competition Oriel will play North Eastern while North West play Mid Tyrone
McElroy Cup
The final of this year’s ladies Inter zone competition will feature Armagh who just eliminated North West in the semi-final and Donegal who had an away win at Northern. This will be played on Saturday 29 February.
In the plate competition Mid Ulster who defeated Mid Antrim in the semi-final will play Monaghan who defeated Lisburn. This game will be on Saturday 15 February.
Jan 29, 2020
Emily Kay has claimed a bronze medal in the Women’s Omnium event at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Milton, Canada. Emily impressed throughout the four rounds finishing 5th in the Scratch race, 1st in the Tempo, 8th in the Elimination and 9th in the Points race for a total of 102 points. The Women’s Omnium was won by Jennifer Valente of the USA on 134 points with Letizia Paternoster of Italy claiming Silver on 114 points.
The result topped off a strong showing for Ireland’s Track Cycling squad at the World Cup event. Mark Downey and Fintan Ryan finished 7th in the Men’s Madison to equal the team’s best result of the 2019/20 World Cup season and boost hopes of securing an Olympic qualification slot. On Sunday evening the Women’s Madison pairing of Shannon McCurley and Emily Kay further enhanced Ireland’s chances of securing a place on the start line in Tokyo, their 7th place ensuring they remain inside the Olympic qualification zone.
The squad will now turn their attention to the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Berlin from February 26th to March 1st.
Results – UCI Track World Cup, Milton, Canada
Women’s Team Pursuit (Alice Sharpe, Kelly Murphy, Lara Gillespie, Emily Kay) – 5th 4:26.389
Women’s Madison (Shannon McCurley, Emily Kay) – 7th
Men’s Madison (Mark Downey, Fintan Ryan) – 7th
Women’s Sprint (Robyn Stewart) – 17th
Women’s Keirin (Robyn Stewart) – 10th
Women’s Omnium (Emily Kay) – 3rd
Jan 29, 2020
The prestigious FIVB World Tour 1* event will be staged in Bettystown, County Meath over the weekend of July 17-19th. The successful bid comes on the back of the hosting of Pool C of the CEV Continental Cup at the same venue last June. The execution of that Olympic qualifying event means Ireland will make its World Tour hosting debut this year, joining the likes of Moscow, Cancun and Rome on the 2020 Tour programme.
The tournament will be Men’s only, featuring some of the best players in the World ahead of the Summer Olympics, it will also re-unite the top Irish pairing of Oisin McArdle and Alex Gibbons (pictured 1=OM, 2=AG) who are very much looking forward to the support of the Irish crowds, Gibbons said, “I’m delighted that Ireland will host the 1* event, it’s the best buzz to play in front of a home crowd I cant wait to get back on Irish Sand in July. I’ve been training hard in Australia over the winter with some top players and hopefully I can bring this form into the Irish Summer.”
The tournament will include a qualification section on Day 1 (Friday 17 July), before the main draw kicks off on the Saturday.
Volleyball Ireland president Grainne Culliton added, “These events are a key part of our strategy to raise the profile of the sport, and to inspire the next generation of players. Our volunteers really put on a great show at last years Olympic Qualifier and this success is down to them. We are grateful for the trust that the CEV and FIVB are putting in us, and we cant wait to go again. Events like this really show we are serious about developing the sport, and they allow us to build great relationships with our partners like Meath County Council and we are appreciative of their continued support.”
Volleyball Ireland will be working with Meath County Council to develop a range of development activities around the competition, including the launch of a new Social Volley programme for beginner players and a Beach Volleyball camp for juniors. Commenting on the news, Meath Cllr Sharon Tolan added, “I am delighted that Bettystown Beach will host its second International Beach Volleyball Tournament. Events like this really bring alive the area and we hope that all of our local residents, businesses and visitors can get involved in a wonderful weekend showing off a beautiful stretch of our coastline.”
Last years event drew excellent crowds to the 500seater pop up stadium and surrounding dunes, gaining widespread media interest both locally and nationally.
Securing an event of such magnitude is testament to the hard work, vision and ambition of Volleyball Ireland.
Ends
For more info contact Volleyball Ireland General Manager Gary Stewart, 0857650867, gm@volleyballireland.com
Notes:
FIVB – Federation of International Volleyball
http://worldtour.2020.fivb.com/en/news/ireland-to-make-world-tour-hosting-debut?id=90449
For context, the event will be similar in production to the CEV Continental Cup event held at Bettystown in June > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOJzz8x3BZg
Tournament format and entries to be confirmed
Jan 28, 2020
Jan 24, 2020
Today marks the launch of the Federation of Irish Sport General Election 2020 – Manifesto. Our manifesto follows on from our consultation survey with our members in which they highlighted their key concerns and priorities for an incoming government.
Chief among those priorities were:
1. Resource the National Sports Policy properly and effectively
2. Ensure multi annual core funding for NGB’s and LSP’s
3. Provide support for organisations working to be sports governance compliant by January 2021
4. Provide annual sports capital grants
5. Implement meaningful insurance reform
6. Provide a budget for volunteer recruitment and training
Our manifesto has been issued to all political parties, and following on from General Election 2020 we can assure all interested parties that we will continue to work diligently for Sport and Physical Activity with the new government whoever they may be because, as always Sport Matters!
Read the manifesto in full here https://www.irishsport.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Federation-of-Irish-Sport-General-Election-2020-Manifesto-Sport-Matters.pdf
Jan 23, 2020
Alliance welcomes analysis of general damages
Warns that minor reductions will only compound the current crisis
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the publication by ISME of a ‘Fair Book of Quantum‘ which explores what general damages might look like following the review currently being carried out by the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee (PIGC) of the Judicial Council.
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “We welcome this publication by ISME as a way of prompting reasoned debate on this critical issue. Insurance premiums in Ireland are too high. They are costing jobs, closing SMEs, damaging charities, sport and cultural organisations and community groups; they are shrinking Irish society.
“According to the Central Bank, the cost of claims accounted for 75% of motor insurance premiums over the last 10 years. So clearly any initiative to reduce insurance premiums must address the cost of claims among other things. The primary element of claims is compensation payments and according to the landmark reports of the Personal Injuries Commission, these are 4.4 times higher than in England and Wales for the minor soft-tissue injuries that account for over 80% of personal injury claims in Ireland.
“As it stands, not only do general damages for minor injuries act as a punishment for defendants in negligence cases but they reward being injured. As they currently stand, they bring the entire system of compensation for negligence cases into disrepute and need to be re-balanced in a way that is fair, just, reasonable and proportionate as outlined by Court of Appeal judgements and the principles established by the higher courts in recent years.
“We have a serious concern that the current review process will merely implement small-scale reductions and give the impression that the issue has been addressed whereas nothing short of a very substantial reductions in the rewards for minor injuries is necessary in order to address this issue.
“Finally, it should be noted that the Alliance’s issue is with general damages for minor injuries. We have no issue whatsoever with special damages that compensate for loss of earnings or medical costs. The specific reform we have asked political parties to endorse in the general election campaign is:
- Reduce unfair general damages to reflect international norms and the principles already established by the higher courts – including that ‘minor injuries attract modest damages’
The other three reforms we urgently need are:
- Review and re-balance the ‘common duty of care’ to require occupiers to take a duty of care that is reasonable, practical and proportionate
- Support a fully-resourced Garda Insurance Fraud Unit
- Insist on insurers committing to a schedule of forecast reductions for planned reforms”
ENDS
CONTACT: contact@insurancereform.ie
