Jan 31, 2014
Featured Event: Snowsports Association of Ireland (SAI)- XXII Olympic Winter Games-Sochi 2014
Location:
Sochi
Date:
7-23 February 2014
Participating Athletes:
2,500+(estimated)
Host Nation:
Russia
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About Snowsports Association of Ireland (SAI):
The Snowsports Association of Ireland (formerly known as the Ski Association of Ireland) was formed in 1971 to promote the development of the growing sport of Skiing in Ireland and affiliated to the International Governing Body of the sport, namely Federation Internationale De Ski (FIS) and subsequently the Olympic movement through the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI).The Snowsports Association of Ireland has been affiliated to the Federation Internationale De Ski for more than twenty years and the Olympic Council of Ireland since 1997. ( http://www.snowsports.ie/about-us.8.html)
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Irish Athletes:
Five young snowsport athletes will represent Ireland at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games which commence in nine days time in Russia (Feb 7th).
Team Ireland is:
Florence Bell (women’s downhill slalom & giant slalom)
Conor Lyne (men’s downhill slalom & giant slalom)
Sean Greenwood (skeleton)
Jan Rossiter (skiing cross country)
Seamus O’Connor (snowboarding – half pipe & slopestyle)
The team is being led by Chef de Mission Stephen Martin.
Making the official team announcement, Pat Hickey, President of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) said that the growing popularity of winter sports in Ireland and with the Irish diaspora abroad was now being reflected in Ireland’s participation in the Winter Olympics.
“We now have many excellent Irish athletes achieving the very tough Winter Olympic qualification standards all over the world and Team Ireland for Sochi is a good example of the Irish talent that is out there. We wish the 2014 Irish team every success in Sochi.”
“The OCI also congratulates Snowsports Ireland and the Irish Bobsleigh Association for their ongoing support for these fine young Olympians”, he added.
Stephen Martin, Team Ireland’s Chef de Mission said that Team Ireland would be one of over 80 countries competing in Sochi. “We expect the Games to be an important milestone in the development of Irish winter Olympic talent and are confident of excellent individual performances in the face of severe competition from the Alpine nations”.
The OCI through its Olympic Solidarity programme has supported preparations for the Sochi Games over the past three years to help athletes to qualify for the Games.
Team Ireland will be wearing a range of competition wear provided to the OCI by key sponsor New Balance plus a range of technical gear.
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Event:
There will be 16 days of Olympic events in 10 competition centres in Sochi, featuring almost 2,800 competitors. In total, there will be 98 medal events – the most ever at a Winter Olympics, including 12 new events.
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TEAM IRELAND BIOS
FLORENCE BELL – DOWNHILL SLALOM & GIANT SLALOM
Florence (Flo) is almost 18 and was born in Birmingham. She comes from a Northern Ireland family and took up ski racing at age 12. Within six months she became Yorkshire, Scottish and British Indoor Champion and was then crowned European Indoor Champion. At 13 she commenced outdoor training and joined the British Ski Academy based in France. In 2009 she was selected for the British Children’s Ski Team and represented Great Britain in races in Europe and New Zealand. Florence then joined her sister Victoria in declaring for Ireland and has continued to race for Ireland in premier events in Europe, New Zealand, Australia and Japan in the build-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics. She represented Ireland at the first ever World Youth Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria in 2012 and at the 2013 European Youth Winter Olympics in Romania.
CONOR LYNE – DOWNHILL SLALOM & GIANT SLALOM
Conor makes his Winter Olympic debut in Sochi at age 21. When not competing around the world – from Europe to New Zealand – he lives in Logan, Utah, near the famous Beaver Mountain ski resort. His father is John Lyne from Brandon, Tralee, Co. Kerry and his mother Anna hails from Hospital, Co. Limerick. Conor maintains strong links with Co. Kerry and is a regular visitor to Brandon. He has also worked in Dublin restaurants as a waiter/server during his student breaks. Conor has competed for Ireland at the last two Skiing World Championships (Germany 2011 and Austria 2013). All his family are involved in skiing and his younger brother Sean competed for Ireland at the European Youth Olympics in Brasov, Romania in 2013. Conor is also an avid golf, GAA and soccer fan.
SEAMUS O’CONNOR – SNOWBOARD HALF PIPE & SLOPESTYLE
Seamus, at age 16, is creating quite a stir in the snowboarding world since he declared for Ireland and set his eyes on the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. Seamus’s grandparents came from Drogheda and Dublin. His father Kevin grew up in England, and has spent the last 30 years in the US. Seamus was born there. His mother Elena comes from Siberia, not too far from Sochi, so he will have some strong family support at the Games. Seamus was raised in San Diego, California and the O’Connor family moved to Park City, Utah to avail of the snowboarding facilities in the region. He was twice European Junior Half-Pipe champion at age 12 and is one of the hottest prospects in the stunning world of snowboarding. Seamus already has some major sponsors behind him and is a full-time professional, training in Colorado.
SEAN GREENWOOD – SKELETON
Born in Vancouver, Sean, age 26, grew up in Western Canada and partly on the west coast of Ireland. His mother, Sibéal Foyle (Ní Fhoighíl) emigrated to Canada from Galway in the early 1980′s and maintains deep family connections in Ireland. His father is Canadian, a chartered business valuator. Sean started skeleton racing in 2008 following a sporting career in competitive rugby. After gaining a BA in Economics from the University of Calgary, he decided to take the opportunity to slide at the site of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Whistler BC, on the world’s fastest skeleton track. A commercial helicopter pilot, Sean is based in Whistler, Canada working on fitness, sled preparation and general racing experience in order to compete for Team Ireland for four runs against the best in the world. To date, Sean has performed impressively, winning gold, silver and bronze medals in the North America’s Cup in Whistler and New York’s Lake Placid, and at the Elektro Melcher competitions in San Moritz. Switzerland. He recently gained a World Cup spot as a result of his 2012-13 season and is currently ranked 25th in the world.
JAN ROSSITER – CROSS COUNTRY SKIING
Jan, age 26, was born in Cork to an Irish father and Czech mother. He grew up in Kingston, Ontario -a town with no ski club. While completing a degree in Physiology at McGill University, Montreal he was introduced to cross country ski racing. He then moved to Ottawa to complete a programme in respiratory therapy at Algonquin College. His skiing accomplishments include being named MVP of the McGill University’s Nordic Ski team, coaching this team in 2009/2010, and completing the Canadian Ski Marathon – Coureur des Bois Gold – three times. He has worked in the past as a cross country ski, canoe, kayak and backpacking instructor and holds numerous certifications in these disciplines. Jan lives in Kingston, Ontario and speaks English, Czech and French.
From left to right: Conor Lyne, Pat Hickey, Florence Bell, Seamus O’Connor
Jan 31, 2014
Richard has a BSc degree in Sports Studies from the University of Gloucestershire (1992). In 2011 he was appointed Performance Director of Cricket Ireland. He currently sits on the ICC Global Development Committee, the European Cricket Advisory Committee, and is the Youth Rep of the European Cricket Committee.
FIS: It has been a really busy and successful year for Cricket Ireland, what have been the highlights for you?
RH: Our main objectives for the year were to win three senior trophies and qualify for three world cups – and we did just that. The Women’s and Men’s senior teams qualified for the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh in March this year, and the men have qualified for the ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2015. The men also won the 4-day competition – the ICC Intercontinental Cup for the third time in four competitions. We hosted Pakistan and England in one day international at home, the latter in front of 10,000 supporters in Malahide on a school day in September, which was a great achievement. We expected to compete well in these, and ties one match and lost narrowly against Pakistan whilst for much of the match versus England we competed strongly and were in a great winning position until the England captain (former Irish player Eoin Morgan), took the game away from us. In all we were very pleased with the way we performed.
FIS: What changes did you make or systems did you put in place when you first took up your role with Cricket Ireland?
RH: Once understanding the current systems and processes, it was a case of implementing a number of strategic aims in high performance which management, the CI Board and other stakeholders had identified. These included review and restructuring our player contracts; producing a 4-year high performance plan submitted to both sports councils and institutes of sport (which helped gain high performance status); finding funding for and establishing a new Inter-Provincial structure of three formats; establishing a new National Cricket Academy; and recruiting and training staff for these new initiatives. A pretty hectic first year, but it has set Cricket Ireland on a path to success, plugged some key gaps in our player pathway and will help ensure we do not lose more players to England.
FIS: The Vision of 2020 is to have reached 8th in the world ODI rankings by 2015. We are now the start of 2014, do you think this goal is possible? How long does it take to reach the top of the ranks?
RH: With Ireland not involved in the ICC Future Tours Programme (FTP) at present we are not assured of any internationals with the full members (top 10), so it is a case of encouraging them to play us and working hard with relationships. The best opportunities come at the World Cup (which Ireland has qualified for the last three events), and in 2015 we are assured six matches in the first phase of which five are against full members; we also play the West Indies and Sri Lanka in the next four months. A few wins from these matches would make a huge impact on our position in the global rankings, and we go into these games expecting to win these days not just turning up and being competitive.
FIS: What advice would you give to any young athlete hoping to make a career in high performance cricket?
RH: Like any sport at an elite level – hard work, commitment, a winning mind-set, patience, motivation, and a passion for the game are crucial. There are now many more opportunities in Ireland to become an elite cricketer and make a career in the game. Clubs and Provincial Unions have good coaching these days and there are representative youth teams from under 11 upwards. The new senior Inter- Provincial structure allows players to play semi-professionally and train and play at a high level. With 24 player contracts at senior level and 21 players with Academy contracts, there is no a pathway in this country or any young player to benefit from world class coaching and player support services to help them develop.
FIS: Many thanks for taking the time to talk to us, finally what are Cricket Ireland’s goals for the High Performance cricket system over the coming years?
RH: Our women’s senior team are hoping to gain a win against the full members (who are fully professional) in the ICC World Twenty20 in March in Bangladesh, and the men hope to win their group and progress to the 2nd stage and defeat two full members at least and a chance of a semi-final spot in the same event. We have Sri Lanka coming to Dublin in early May and we expect to win at least one of those one-day internationals. Then our preparations for the 2015 World Cup will be in full swing in October when we have a tour to New Zealand and Australia, after which we are targeting a top 3 finish in our group of 7 in the World Cup. A big 12 months!
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Jan 31, 2014
This week the Federation spoke to Irish Hockey prize winners of the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund 2013 about their project ‘Healthy Heart Hockey’ …
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1. Hockey has a rich heritage, dating back to the late 19th Century. How has hockey continued to grow in Ireland today?
Since 2007, the IHA have had a development team in place to ensure continued growth of the sport across the country. Our 
national development officer and regional development officers put together a number of programmes and support structures to ensure that there is sustained growth in our clubs and schools.
An example of one of these programmes would be Tricks4Sticks, which is mainly a primary school programme where we introduce hockey to schools that have a club in their local area that is looking to increase its numbers. The programme runs for 4-6 weeks and the school receives a number of sessions. The club then hosts an open day and the school children are invited down. The programme has proved hugely successful in increasing underage numbers and has led to a number of new clubs, new junior sections in existing clubs and new schools playing the sport. This programme falls under the ISC’s Women In Sport initiative.
Our underage numbers have grown year on year as the popularity of the sport increases and last year we achieved growth of 12% in the girls’ game and 10% in the boys’.
On top of this, we also look to recruit at the adult end, and run and support a number of veterans and social hockey events throughout the year for adults.
2.What is your advice to someone who has never played hockey but would like to sign up for the ‘Healthy Heart Hockey (H3)’.
H3 is a programme designed for everyone, whether you’ve ever held a hockey stick or not. The first port of call will be to find your local centre, whether that is within a hockey club, a community centre or a leisure centre. We will have details on www.hockey.ie, or you can contact one of our development officers or the IHA’s office itself. From there it is a case of simply turnign up to the sessions and making the most of it. Everyone is welcome!
3.What can people expect from the 5 week physical well-being programme offered?
Our primary aims for H3 are to educate people about physical wellbeing and to increase the number of people undertaking regular exercise. Participants will be offered the opportunity to try hockey as part of the exercise programme and will receive information about nutrition and leading a balanced lifestyle from our sports’ leaders. It will also allow people to enjoy exercise whilst having fun in a non-competitive, social environment.
4.The group targeted for ‘H3’ are teenagers and young adults. Can the whole family take part in the ‘H3’ programme?
There is no reason that younger or older members of families can’t join in. Hockey can be played from the age of 5 and there is no limit to playing the sport as you get older. Ireland competes at masters level internationally, with team up to over 50s. We hope to have an over 60s team in the future. The programme, whilst targeted at a certain group, is open to everyone.
5.What balanced lifestyle skills do you hope participants retain from the ‘H3’ project?
We want to show people that effective exercise doesn’t have to be boring or hugely demanding and that using sport in a social environment along with eating well and looking after yourself can have huge beneficial effects on your life. We hope to change people’s attitude towards exercise and give them the know how to make the right choices when it comes to nutrition and living well.
6.Where and when will the ‘H3’ events be taking place?
We are currently in the process of drawing up exactly how the programme will be delivered on the ground. The programme will run in the second half of 2014 and will be centered primarily in hockey clubs, where the local community will be invited in to take part. Where we do not have an existing club, community and leisure centers will be used as part of the programme.
7.Describe what people can expect at the active lifestyle session with a ‘Hockey Champion’?
The hockey champions will deliver the active lifestyle sessions in each of the centers. Part of the sessions will be based on general exercise such as warming up, the importance of flexibility, increasing heart rate etc. There will then be an introduction to hockey and a chance to play Quick Hockey, which is a small sided modified version of the sport for beginners of all ages. The participants will also be given a talk on nutrition and leading a balanced lifestyle.
8.How will people be able to sign up to take part?
The programme will be promoted using our network of clubs, social media (Twitter @irishhockey; website www.hockey.ie; Facebook, Instagram) and our newsletters which you can sign up to here http://mad.ly/signups/90797/join . People will be able to sign up through their local centre or through the IHA itself.
9.Can you participate in the regional and national hockey festival if you are not a participant of ‘H3’ programme?
The festivals, while being primarily aimed at the H3 participants, will be open to everyone, provided we can accommodate the numbers. The festivals will offer more opportunities to participate in social exercise, so all will be welcome!
10.Thanks again for your time and perhaps you have some more information on other projects and programmes that Irish Hockey are running?
A focus for Irish Hockey in 2014 is the development and promotion of Quick Hockey, our small-sided version of the game that can be played on any surface. This will be launched in the summer and hopes to make hockey more accessible to the community. We are also excited to be developing a ‘Club Accreditation Scheme’ to enable our clubs to develop and become more sustainable. We also run Primary and Secondary School programmes, details of which can be found on our website www.hockey.ie.
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Jan 30, 2014
Background:
Donegal Sports Partnership (DSP)/Active Donegal was established in 2001 as part of the Irish Sports Council’s national 
network of Local Sports Partnerships. With the aim of promoting local participation in sport. Over the past 12 years, Active Donegal has coordinated and supported the development of sport and physical activity in County Donegal, through its four pillars, Active Sports, Active Schools, Active Communities and Active Partnerships.
The Donegal Sports Partnership is an inter-agency and multi-sector organisation established as a limited company with representative from all the main statutory, community and voluntary represented on a dedicated Board of Directors.
What we do:
Active Donegal helps clubs, schools and communities to increase and sustain levels of participation in sport and physical activity in County Donegal. We remain committed to further strengthening and developing ‘Active Donegal’ and to make its impact real through its four pillars: Active Sports, Active Schools, Active Communities and Active Partnerships.
Information:
Information is disseminated through our staff, directors, tutors, local sports clubs and NGB contacts. We utilize fully our websites and social media networks to provide a wide range of information resources and sign posting opportunities. We active encourage information sharing to and from our sporting communities.
Education:
Active Donegal provides a range of education and training programmes, which are designed to promote and support the 
delivery of sport, recreation and physical activities in the County and to build the sporting capacity of Clubs, Community Groups, Schools and the sporting volunteers.
Examples include: Child Protection and Children’s Officer Training, First Aid in Sport, Sports Leadership, Walking related training and Disability Sport Workshops.
Further details of these programmes are currently available checkout our website www.activedonegal.com or Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/DonegalSportsPartnership Or contact our office – Tel: 07491-16078/9 or email: info@activedonegal.com
Implementation:
Donegal Sports Partnership’s third Strategic Plan ‘Active Donegal’ 2011-2014 aimed to thread the ethos of ‘Active Donegal’ 
through all fours pillars by linking programmes across each to maximize impact, expertise and participation. The plan’s flexibility and in particular the additional projects which were developed as result of funding opportunities, doubling of effort, opportunity, interest and implementation is a genuine testament of its flexibility, as well as the commitment of the DSP’s Board and staff.
Jan 30, 2014
Energy Efficiency Scores a Slam Dunk in National Basketball Arena
~Electricity costs cut by a third ~
Dublin’s National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, which hosted the National Cup Final last weekend, has reduced its electricity costs by a third. Having received a grant of €45,000 through www.FutureFit.ie and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Basketball Ireland invested in new LED floodlights and a new energy efficiency boiler.
The retrofit has resulted in almost 35% saving on total electricity consumption for the building and 50% on the arena lights alone. LED lighting is not only more energy efficient, it also produces 25% higher quality light with better uniformity across the court, which for the players, is like playing in daylight.
Last year FutureFit worked directly with over 50 clubs, generating combined savings of over €200,000. In addition, FutureFit secured a total of €100,000 in funding for six sports facilities including the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght; Neptune Stadium in Cork; Naomh Columba and Chonaill GAA Clubs in Co. Donegal; Emmets GAA club in Carrickmacross and Edmondstown Golf Club in Rathfarnham in Dublin. FutureFit aims to secure further funding for up to 100 clubs this year. Funding is available through SEAI’s Better Energy Communities Scheme which has a total fund of €13.5 million available this year.
For more information please check out www.futurefit.ie or call Paul O’Connor on 086-343-3368
Dr. Brian Motherway, CEO, SEAI said: “Sports plays a crucial role in Ireland’s culture and it has an influence in all communities throughout the country. The investment Basketball Ireland made to its lighting and heating systems is resulting in significant savings annually. But it also tells a wider story of the potential in energy savings for many of our sports clubs around the country, most of whom have the potential to knock 20% of their energy costs and become a model for energy efficiency within local communities.”
Bernard O’ Byrne, chief executive of Basketball Ireland said: “Receiving the grant from FutureFit and SEAI was a transformational investment for a sport like basketball. The new LED floodlights will see us save €11,000 on our electricity costs annually, which is huge for a facility of this nature. The savings that we will make annually will benefit all our 16,500 members by allowing us to continue to invest in the Arena and ensure that we remain a world-class facility.”
John Harrington, Director, FutureFit said: “1.7 million people are members of over 12,000 sports clubs. It’s difficult to think of a single community with so much influence and penetration into every city, town and almost every household in the country. We propose to use this sport network to promote energy efficiency and help sports clubs reduce their energy costs.”
Jan 18, 2014
Students from St. Joseph’s College in Lucan have been revealed as the winners of this year’s Pumped Schools’ Video Awards, with their production titled “Active Teens, Healthy Hearts”. The Awards aim to encourage young people to get creative about science and health by producing mini-movies on a heart health topic. The Awards are organised by Bayer in partnership with the Irish Heart Foundation and the Federation of Irish Sport, with the winning students each receiving a tablet computer and St. Joseph’s College’s science budget receiving a much welcome cash boost of €5,000. The Awards were presented by pumped.ie Ambassadors, Olympic silver medallist, Kenneth Egan, and Olympic pentathlete, Natalya Coyle. The winning videos can be seen at www.pumped.ie.
Coláiste Éinde in Galway scooped second place in the competition with each team member receiving an iPod Touch, and a team from St Gerard’s School in Bray came third with students being awarded an iPod Nano. The Awards come in the light of research by Behaviour and Attitudes* of 500 teenagers last August that found that three in ten (31%) teens say that they eat a lot of junk food, and 34% that they have soft drinks at least daily.
The winning St. Joseph’s students – Gabrielle Fullam, Tina Ehiguese and Lisa Browne – produced an original rap to a catchy beat to encourage their peers to get active and take up a hobby. The video highlights why exercise is good for the mind, helps people feel happy, unwind, sleep better, and perhaps even get better grades!
Pumped.ie Ambassador and Ireland Olympic Silver Medallist, Kenneth Egan, was delighted to present the winning students with their prizes: “I really believe that it’s important that young people invest time and effort in themselves to gain what I would call ‘life fitness’. The Pumped Schools’ Video Awards point to the importance of getting active and eating a healthy diet if young people are to avoid cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in the future. The videos do this in a way that other young people ‘get’ and the students are to be commended for taking this serious issue and presenting it in a way that gets the audience thinking and talking.”
Dr Angie Brown, Medical Director with the Irish Heart Foundation and Chairperson of the Judging Panel, commented: “Students used every creative means at their disposal – from drama and animation, to music and song – to engage, motivate and stir the audience and shine a spotlight on what is a key issue facing the health of our nation. The judging panel was very impressed by entrants’ creativity and ingenuity, and their depth of knowledge and information on the topic of heart health and that what we eat, being physically active, smoking and our body weight impact on our health. We know that one in five teenagers in Ireland is overweight or obese and that we have the second highest levels of overweight or obesity among children in Europe. So these videos by the young people themselves demonstrate to their peers why it’s vital that they take control of their heart health for a better future and quality of life.”
Conn McCluskey, Support Services Officer, Federation of Irish Sport, added: “The entries for these Awards were of a really high standard and were both entertaining and sobering at the same time. However each video had one common thread and that was the importance of young people eating well, getting out and being active. The research conducted in August of last year among teenagers found that just one in three were able to recall that the national guideline for physical activity is 60 minutes a day for children. We hope that this initiative, and others being adopted, such as the National Physical Activity Plan, will help to start to turn the tide of physical inactivity and obesity and cause young people to take the important messages being communicated, quite literally, to heart.”
Sinéad Duffy, Head of Communications at Bayer, concluded: “For over 150 years, Bayer has been a world leader in developing science for better health and life. Rather than having educational videos to ‘tell’ young people how to live their lives, the Awards give young people a fun opportunity to look into their own hearts and research the science behind heart health for themselves. We know that these years are formative in determining how they live their future lives and how the lifestyle habits that they learn now will stay with them for a long time to come, so it’s really important that they know the hard facts around obesity and heart health.”
About the Irish Heart Foundation
The Irish Heart Foundation is the national charity dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke and it relies on charitable donations for more than 90 per cent of its income. Today in Ireland more people die from heart and stroke-related illnesses than from any other cause of death. Against this background we work to bring hope, relief and a better future to families all over Ireland. We give vital patient support through our Heart & Stroke helpline and we provide high quality public information for all.
We support pioneering medical research, campaign for improved patient care, and promote positive public health strategies. We work in hospitals, schools and workplaces to support, educate and train people to save lives. As a charity, we are dependent on the generosity of the public to continue our vital good work. You can support our work by making a donation, giving of your time to volunteer or by learning the skills needed to save a life through our courses. For more information, visit:
www.irishheart.ie
www.stroke.ie
www.facebook.com/irishheartfoundation
www.twitter.com/irishheart_ie
About Bayer
Innovation for better health. Our commitment is to bring to patients around the world quality medicines for use in diagnosing, combating and preventing disease. Every day we work against time, researching new pathways, new molecules, new technologies – complementing our own capabilities with expertise of innovative partners from science and industry. The success of this work is evidenced in new medicines for areas with significant unmet medical need such as oncology, cardiovascular and blood diseases, as well as gynaecology and ophthalmology. Our aim is a better quality of life for all.
