Gameday Club Finder App Launch
Media Release
9 March, 2016
The Federation of Irish Sport and the Vodafone Ireland Foundation have launched ‘GameDay’, a new app that allows the public to locate their nearest club for over 30 sports¹ organisations including IRFU, Swim Ireland and Athletics Ireland. The app uses location-based services and GPS technologies to create a grassroots network of sports clubs across every county in Ireland. This new venture is the brainchild of four-time All Star Dublin Footballer, Sinead Goldrick, who came up with the creative idea of the GameDay app after winning an internal Vodafone competition. The aim of the competition is to encourage social innovation while ‘Connecting for Good’ in their workplace
The cutting-edge piece of technology has been developed by the Federation of Irish Sport (FIS) and the Vodafone Ireland Foundation, Vodafone Ireland’s philanthropic arm. GameDay works by allowing users to search by sport, county and local clubs. Each club involved has a profile with their contact details, website, social media links and directions to their grounds using a combination of GPS and Google Maps. The app currently holds the details of over 2,000 sports clubs and their associated National Governing Bodies nationwide. The IRFU, Swim Ireland and Athletics Ireland are among the governing bodies that are supporting this initiative, with more bodies expected to sign up. Clubs that do not have a profile on the site can create their own profile for free on the GameDay website – www.gamedayapp.ie
The app is part of a wider FIS “Game Day” initiative to encourage and facilitate participation in sport at local level throughout Ireland. Speaking at the launch Bernard Brogan, President of the Federation of Irish Sport, said: “The Federation of Irish Sport have long advocated for increasing physical activity among the general public. Not only will the GameDay app get more people involved in Ireland’s huge variety of sports clubs, it is sure to offer additional support to our existing athletes, clubs and NGBs across the country. The Game Day initiative aimed to get more people involved in sport on a regular basis, and this new app is the perfect tool to help make that happen.”
Ray Collins, Vodafone Ireland Director of Strategy and Chairman of the Vodafone Ireland Foundation said: “The GameDay app has enormous potential to get more people in Ireland involved in sport and we are delighted to have played a part in its development. Our annual social innovator competition challenges our staff to explore ways of using our technology and resources to improve the lives of others. This app is a perfect example of what we want to achieve.”
James Galvin, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, commends the work put in to develop the GameDay app, and is confident it will benefit the Irish sporting community.
He said: “The Federation of Irish Sport seeks to highlight the varied benefits of sport and physical activity in our communities and in areas such as business, health, the economy and social inclusion. The contribution of sport to Irish society cannot be understated, so we are delighted to work alongside the Vodafone Ireland Foundation in this social innovation project that is sure to benefit the Irish sporting community. We believe the app will provide a useful tool to easily connect people in communities with sport and physical activity, to promote the variety of opportunities that exist and the benefits of getting involved in a local club, which extend way beyond the playing field.”
FIS represents 75 NGBs and 26 Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) across the country. Their mission is to promote the benefit and value of sport to Irish life.
The GameDay app is now available to download in the App Store by searching ‘GameDay FIS’ and the Play Store by searching ‘Gameday’.
Visit www.gamedayapp.ie to register your club now
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For further information, please contact:
Cian Murray, Communications Executive
Federation of Irish Sport,
Irish Sport HQ,
National Sports Campus,
Blanchardstown,
Dublin 15.
T: (01) 687 1665 / 083 467 9464
Notes:
¹ NGBs’ whose clubs’ details are currently available in the app:
- IRFU
- Swim Ireland
- Golfing Union of Ireland
- Irish Ladies Golfing Union
- Gymnastics Ireland
- Cricket Ireland
- Irish Hockey Association
- Irish Squash
- Irish Athletic Boxing Association
- Irish Clay Pigeon Shooting Association
- National Target Shooting Association of Ireland
- Triathlon Ireland
- Irish Water Safety
- Tennis Ireland
- Irish Tug-of-War Association
- Athletics Ireland
- Mountaineering Ireland
- Irish Judo Association
- Motorsport Ireland
- Pitch & Putt Union of Ireland
- Irish Wheelchair Association
- Ice Skating Association of Ireland
- Horse Sport Ireland
- Irish Ten Pin Bowling Association
- Irish Martial Arts Commission
- Archery Ireland
- Irish Canoe Union
- Volleyball Association of Ireland
- Bowling League of Ireland
- Pentathlon Ireland
- Rowing Ireland
- Vision Sports Ireland
- Local Sports Partnerships
² The Vodafone Ireland Foundation annual Social Innovator competition aims to create a culture of social innovation in the workplace in keeping with its mission of ‘Connecting for Good’. Entrants are asked to identify ways to improve the lives of others using social innovation; making use of the technology and resources available to them at Vodafone.