Background:
About Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership
Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership (SSRP) was established in 2001 under the Irish Sports Council (ISC) to increase levels of participation in sport and physical activity in County Sligo. We aim to achieve this by engaging with sporting bodies, community organisations and statutory bodies. Our programme of work is influenced by our current strategy ‘ Sport and Recreation: A Way of Life in Sligo 2013 – 2016’.
What We Do:
SSRP provides a leadership role for the co ordination, development and delivery of sport and physical activity opportunities in County Sligo within the framework of our strategic plan and the resources available.
Our work includes the provision of information on sport and physical activity, the facilitation of education and training opportunities and support for programmes/ events that encourage increased levels of participation. Our areas of work include club development, community sport programme support, volunteer training and encouraging sports participation pathways between school, club and community. In addition, our information role involves providing advice and guidance on sports development while also facilitating information sharing on local directories of sports bodies and facilities. We also engage in planning and sports policy work with our Partners and stakeholders at local level.
How We Do It:
We work with many people from diverse settings to achieve our goal of increased participation levels in sport and physical activity.
We are here to add value to the outstanding work of volunteers, clubs and communities. We work with the many clubs, schools, community organisations and National Governing Bodies of Sport. Also, at local level our partner agencies are fundamental to the success of SSRP to date. Our agency support includes Health Service Executive West, Sligo County Council, Mayo Sligo Leitrim ETB, Institute of Technology Sligo and Sligo Leader Partnership Company. Together with all our stakeholders we seek to optimise value for money and extract the maximum impact from the available resources.
Who Can Participate
We endeavour to involve and support all people equally at a level of their choice in sport and physical activity.
While we try to support participation in sport and physical activity in its broadest sense for the general population, our priority target groups include:
- Disadvantaged communities (including Travellers, Ethnic Minorities and Job Seekers)
- Young people
- People with a disability
- Women and teenage girls
- Older adults
Strategy 1: Active People:
Building capacity among volunteers, coaches and club/ community personnel is a key area of work and this is facilitated through the delivery of a range of education and training courses including:
- Code of Ethics
- National Governing Body courses (Introductory/ Level 1 / Level 2)
- Disability Inclusion Training
- Generic Education and Training workshops
- Active Leadership
- Go for Life workshops
- Good Relations Training
- Physical Education curriculum support
Strategy 2: Active Places
The work of SSRP involves a diverse range of settings in which a range of programmes are supported including:
- Sports Clubs: Club Development Programmes
- Active Communities: Community Sport, Cranmore Regeneration Through Sport, Sports Inclusion Disability Project, Want 2 Move, Women in Sport, Active Seniors
- Schools; Youth Sport West, Girls Active, Athletics for All, Buntus Start and Ag Sugradh le Cheile
- Sports and Recreational Facilities: Active Centres and Commercial Facility Programmes
- Outdoor Recreation: An Post Tour of Sligo, Sofa to Saddle, Couch to 5K, Community Walking, Water Sports Programmes and Outdoor Gym Programmes
Participation Programmes & Events:
2015 has been a very busy year so far with the following representing a snapshot of programmes and events facilitated.
Sligo European Town of Sport:
Sligo had the honour of being selected as the European Town of Sport for Ireland for 2014 and to mark this special year for sport in Sligo an online and hard copy gallery of photos was compiled by SSRP entitled ‘The year the was… Sligo European Town of Sport 2014’.
An Post Yeats Tour of Sligo:
In 2015, the hosting of the fifth An Post Yeats Tour of Sligo took place. The event proved to be highly successful with 2,300 cyclists from all over Ireland and oversees involved resulting in significant economic benefit to the area of over €450,000. The event is part of the An Post cycle Series which is co ordinated at a national level by the Irish Sport Council/ An Post and facilitated locally by 5 Local Sports Partnerships. Event ambassador for the Sligo for the last two years is well known cycling enthusiast and singer ‘Bressie’.
Cranmore Regeneration Through Sport:
SSRP delivers an
agreed Sport and Recreational programme for Cranmore as part of the social regeneration initiatives under the overall Cranmore Regeneration Project. Activities involve all age groups and include Soccer, Boxing, Dance, Boules, Walking and Fitness. SSRP engaged the Centre for Research in Social Professions at Institute of Technology to do an external evaluation of the project and the outcome of the evaluation indicated very positive impacts for both individuals and wider community associated with the sports project. The full report is available on SSRP website.
Youth Sport West:
Youth Sport West is an extra-curricular school sports programme delivered by SSRP Community Coaches and co ordinated by SSRP in conjunction with Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim ETB. Schools are offered a six week programme involving 1 hour extra curricular coaching per week in a sport of their choice with a pathway of participation encouraged from school to club/ community sport. In the current school academic year to date 115 quality extra-curricular sports programmes have been delivered at both secondary schools and primary school sites involving 1430 participant places.
Inclusive Sports Hall Athletics:
This annual North West Inclusive Schools Sports Hall Athletics festival took place in the Sligo Regional Sports Centre in May 2015. The programme represents a joint initiative between the Sports Inclusion Disability Officers in Sligo, Donegal, Mayo and Roscommon. All of the participating schools involved from the various counties took part in a familiarization programme prior to the sports hall event which involved over 75 athletes on the day.
Sligo Fit 4 Life Women’s 5K Series:
The promotion of women’s participation in Athletics in Sligo is supported annually by SSRP through the delivery of the Sligo Fit 4 Life Women’s 5K Series at 5 locations across the county. This programme is funded under the Irish Sports Council Women in Sport initiative and in 2015 this Spring/ Summer event series was facilitated by five local Athletic Clubs and involved over 400 women, most of whom are new to the sport of running.
SSRP – A Partnership Approach to Delivering Sport at Local Level::
Contact Details:
Phone: 071 9161511
Website: www.sligosportandrecreation.ie
Email: info@sligosportandrecreation.ie