The Irish Sports Council

€1.375 million in Women in Sport grants to governing bodies

27 sports were allocated grants totalling €1.375 million under the 2010 Women in Sport Programme. Allocations to the FAI and IRFU have to be finalised and their grants will bring the final annual budget to €1.775 million. Women in Sport is an initiative aimed at increasing sports participation by women. It commenced in 2005 and has proved very popular with the sports and extremely successful in bringing women of all ages into sport.

Irish Sports Council Announces 2010 Governing Body Grants

€1.375 million in Women in Sport grants to governing bodies   

The board of the Irish Sports Council met today (February 9, 2010) and confirmed the grant allocations to the National Governing Bodies of sport (NGBs). Overall €11.85 million will be invested in the core activities of 59 governing bodies including administration, participation programmes, coach development, hosting events, implementing strategic plans and the employment of professional staff.  

In addition, 27 sports were allocated grants totalling €1.375 million under the 2010 Women in Sport Programme. Allocations to the FAI and IRFU have to be finalised and their grants will bring the final annual budget to €1.775 million. Women in Sport is an initiative aimed at increasing sports participation by women.  It commenced in 2005 and has proved very popular with the sports and extremely successful in bringing women of all ages into sport.  

The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Martin Cullen TDwelcomed today’s allocations as; “a further commitment to, and acknowledgement of, the key role of the sports’ governing bodies."  

 Minister Cullen said: "By minimizing the cut in the Irish Sports Council’s budget for 2010, supported by my Government colleagues, I sought to protect the funding of the Council's existing initiatives including today's announcement of grants to the National Governing Bodies of Sport and to the Women in Sport programme. I believe we must maintain this investment to enable the Sports Council to carry out its important programmes, in particular the essential work of the National Governing Bodies of Sport.”

Ossie Kilkenny, Chairman of the Irish Sports Council commented; “The Council is delighted to be in a position to announce substantial grants in the governing bodies in 2010. The sports bodies have benefitted from consistent investment in recent year, reflected in stronger organisations delivering essential sports programmes to the community. It is important that the investment is maintained and progress in sports development sustained into the long term”.   
 
John Treacy, Chief Executive of the Council commented: “We are committed to supporting the governing bodies of sport. They operate to a very high standard and provide outstanding service to the entire community. We are fortunate to have so many excellent sports organisation with talented and committed individuals working in both professional and voluntary capacity”. 

 Some highlights for 2010

• Cumann Camogaiochta na nGael will launch a new strategy with a strong focus on increasing participation for women and girls. The sport has identified fair play and sportsmanship as a key goal of in their games. They have launched a new Ezine for their members.
• Cumann Peil Gael na mBan will also launch a new strategy focusing on increasing participation. It will also pilot their Ladies GAGA 3 rd level recreational initiative in conjunction with the Council of Universities Sports Association of Ireland.
• Cycling Ireland is in the process of recruiting a Coach Education Officer. This post was sanctioned in 2009 and will be instrumental in developing Cycling Ireland Education Programmes as well as the new Coaching Ireland Adventure Framework for Mountain Biking.
• Tennis Ireland will receive funding to continue its support of the Parks Tennis programme. This programme in association with local authorities and FAS provides participation opportunities and tennis coaching for 26,000 children in 160 venues across the country.
• Triathlon Ireland has a new CEO supported by the Irish Sports Council and Sport Northern Ireland. This is the first time the organisation has had a CEO in place. The organisation has experienced significant growth each year for the past few years.
• Irish Squash Federation recruited an Operations Manager in 2009 and this position will be instrumental in broadening the membership base of the sport as well as delivering their new strategy. Squash will be collaborating with the Irish Table Tennis Association and Badminton Ireland to launch a new racket based participation programme.
• National Community Games continue to work with the Council and the HSE to promote the Active Healthy Lives message to thousands of children every year and 2010 will be the second year of the Finals at their new Venue in Athlone.
• Swim Ireland continue to roll out its new Coach Education programme to all its aquatic disciplines and is currently signing up clubs to its Swim Mark, the new club accreditation. Club development and continuing professional development are key priorities for the organisaiton for 2010.
• Volleyball  Association of Ireland continue to deliver on their very successful Women in Sport Programme which is called Spikeball to aid school teachers in introducing junior volleyball to their students in schools throughout the country.
• The Irish Hockey Association has been funded through Women in Sport to continue with their successful national festivals that will cater to over 2,500 participants this year.