Oct 11, 2018
JLT Ireland has signed up for a second year as the headline sponsor for the 2018 National Gymnastics Awards evening on Saturday 17th November.
“We are very proud to be back to support the 2018 JLT Gymnastics Ireland National Awards,” said Amanda Harton a Partner at JLT Ireland.
“The sport continues to grow in numbers year on year and there have been some amazing results such as with Rhys McClenaghan’s historic European championship win.”
“JLT Ireland is glad to be able to support an event that recognises the key achievements of the Gymnastics Ireland community from club to national level.”
McClenaghan’s Gold was a major highlight not only for Gymnastics but for the whole of Irish sport over the summer and was shown live on RTÉ Television despite being one of the busiest Sunday’s of the year with action from those Championships, the GAA Championship season and the Dublin Horse Show vying for attention.
Gymnastics Ireland also signed a new multi-year sponsorship deal with Nestle Cereals and was awarded as Sports Governing Body of the Year at the Federation Sports Industry Awards.
Membership has grown by ten per cent and is now over 30,000 making the sport one of the largest in the country in terms of registered participants.
“2018 has again been a huge year,” said Gymnastics Ireland CEO Ciaran Gallagher.
“This event has established itself as a real celebration of all things gymnastics and serves as a great social occasion for our members and community to get together outside of the gym or competition arena. It is great to have JLT Ireland back on board as sponsors once more.
Oct 11, 2018
Ministers for Transport, Tourism & Sport Shane Ross and Brendan Griffin have confirmed that the 13% increase in investment in sport outlined in Budget 2019 includes €6.5 million in additional funding for Sport Ireland, €8.8 million for the new Large Scale Sports Infrastructure as well as €16 million to complete Phase 2 of the National Indoor Arena.
Included in the additional funds being made available to Sport Ireland, €2.3 million has been allocated for National Governing Bodies. €1 million in additional funding has been provided towards its Women in Sport programme, with €1 million also being provided to create a dedicated programme for disability sport through the deployment of a Sport Inclusion Disability Officer in all 26 Local Sports Partnerships Nationwide. The Minister confirmed the allocation of €1.5 million to high performance in preparation for Tokyo 2020.
A further €40 million is also to be made available in 2019 to enable a further round of the Sports Capital Programme that allows clubs and organisations right around the country apply for funds to develop and maintain sports and equipment.
The Federation also welcomes the Ministers statements that the significant increase in funding for Sport Ireland is proof of the Government’s ambition to increase sporting participation at all levels from grassroots to high performance.
Speaking after the briefing from Ministers Ross and Griffin at Government Buildings, CEO, Federation of Irish Sport, Mary O’Connor said: “This is a good day for Irish Sport. The Federation and our members have for a long time being advocating for a significant increase in funding to Sport Ireland. It is these monies that translate into the investment in people and programmes from grassroots to high performance that ultimately allow sport positively impact on people’s lives and ultimately on public health, tourism, community and even the economy. An additional €6.5 million represents real confidence in our ability as a sector to deliver on a wide range of Government policy objectives as outlined in the National Sports Policy published in July. We look forward to working with Government and our members to ensure that we deliver and maximise the potential of the much needed additional investment. We also welcome the significant investment in capital programmes that will enable the development and improvement of facilities at local, regional and national level. ”
Oct 11, 2018
Dublin’s Niamh Coyne has taken the silver medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games with a time of 1:08.90.
Sligo’s Mona McSharry finished just out of the medals in fourth place with a time of 1:08.97. Mona was first to turn at halfway, just missing out on a medal in the closing meters.
To have two swimmers in an Olympic Final is an incredible achievement and a measure of the pipeline of talent coming through in the sport.
Team Ireland in Buenos Aires comprises a squad of 16 athletes from 9 sports. The team of 5 male athletes and 11 female athletes includes Nhat Nguyen (Badminton) and Mona McSharry (Swimming), recipients of Olympic Solidarity Scholarships which were awarded to assist with qualification and preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
This is the third edition of the Youth Olympic Games which are hosted every four years. The Games, running from October 6 to October 18 will feature more than 4,000 talented junior athletes aged 15 to 18 from 200 countries in over 32 sports.
Oct 9, 2018
Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohue has announced a commitment of €126 million to support a range of sporting initiatives in 2019.
This represents an increase of just over €14.69 million on the total investment in sport this year.
The increased investment marks a first significant step towards realising the commitment contained in Ireland’s first National Sports Policy, published in July, to double the investment in sport.
The breakdown of the overall investment will be confirmed by the Minister for Sport, Shane Ross at a briefing on Wednesday. It has been confirmed however that €41million will be invested in sports projects to benefit clubs and organisations in every county in Ireland.
Minister Donohoe also confirmed that the 9% VAT rate for sporting facilities is to be retained.
Speaking after the announcement of today’s Budget 2018, CEO, Federation of Irish Sport, Mary O’Connor said:
“Budget 2019 certainly seems like it is a positive one for sport. While we look forward to hearing the detail regarding the breakdown of the increased investment across people and programmes and capital projects, our initial reaction and that of our members is positive. The publication of Ireland’s National Sports Policy in July this year was a significant first step in recognition of the important contribution sport can and should make to Ireland.”
“It is great to see Government begin to commit the necessary funds to allow for the implementation of that plan in the first budget following the publication of that landmark Policy for Irish sport.”
Oct 1, 2018
The Federation of Irish Sport is made up of National Governing Bodies of sport as well as the 26 Local Sports Partnerships that operate around the country working with Local authorities to implement a wide variety of sporting programmes.
Each month we carry a round-up featuring some of the many activities that are taking place around the country so that you can see just how effective they are.
EUROPEAN WEEK OF SPORT
All of the Local Sports Partnerships got really stuck into the European Week of Sport with activities and events that were bot imaginative and successful in getting people active.
Laois and Cavan had family-friendly fun evenings at the weekend with climbing walls, yoga, boot camps, music, games and so much more.
DUBLIN CITY SPORT AND WELLBEING PARTNERSHIP
The inaugural Dublin Sportsfest proved to a real winner through the last week of September.
With activities covering every age and level of ability, it proved to be a very visible reminder of the many opportunities there are to engage in sport.
The week got rolling with the Great Dublin Bike Ride on Sunday, 23rd before taking in a Sports Stadium event at Dalymount Park on Monday, an Olympic and Elite Sports experience for Transition Year schoolkids on Tuesday, the Older Adult Sports Day on Wednesday, Docklands Fitfest with Ireland Active on Thursday and a host of club and venue based activities through the week.
These included glow football and glow fitness events, Yoga classes in City Hall, Taster sessions, runs, the Lord Mayor Liffey Paddle down the river and a host of other activities.
MEATH SPORTS PARTNERSHIP
Meath Sports Partnership got seven new community walking groups up and moving during September.
They will be hosting a special training day for Walk leaders, in partnership with the Irish Heart Foundation on November 17th.
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY SPORTS PARTNERSHIP
They teamed up with former Irish international race walker Colin Griffin to deliver a series of sports science seminars through the Autumn. The first of these took place in September and there are two more scheduled for October and November.
If you would like to feature in next month’s Round Up please send your information by email to reach us no later than Friday 19th October.
Oct 1, 2018
Congratulations to everyone who took part in activities surrounding the European Week of Sport over the past seven days and more.
The week-long celebration of sport and physical activity culminated in the second Family SportsFest at the Sport Ireland National Indoor Arena on Sunday.
The crowds started to flood in from before the doors opened at 10 AM and by the time all the sporting organisations present began to fold their tents, well over 3,000 adults and children had been able to enjoy a sample of what was on offer.
Pretty much every sport had some visibility with the IRFU, FAI and GAA all having stars, trophies and immersive activities on display in the main hall.
Eoin McDevitt from Second Captains was MC for the day and brought the venue to life interviewing stars from all the sports and plenty of kids as well.
The Volleyball court in the second hall was busy throughout and there was plenty of interest too in the Baton Twirling exhibitions that were taking place.
Archery took over the corner adjoining the Gymnastics area and children were trying out so many other sports, many for the first time from high jump and long jump in athletics to cricket, wrestling and a very lively boxing ring.
The Gymnastics tasters were popular as were the ability to hit so many balls from hurling to hockey.
There was still a big crowd around for the Mascot race which took place on the track where we also got to see Double European Youth Athletics Gold Medallist Sarah Healy, having a gentle run out and meeting lots of families.
A great day all round and we are looking forward already to doing it all again in 2019. After a short break to recharge of course!
