Download Application Form by Clicking Here 

Forms  must be returned before 5pm on 31st March 2015.

Participants must bring their own road worthy bike and helmet, water and dress for the weather as the programme will be out doors.

Night one of the programme will involve a bike safety check, some tips on maintaining your bikes road worthiness and bike set up, along with some cycling skills and drills.

The 2015 An Post Yeats Tour of Sligo was recently launched and is now open for registration. See our event website for all details and to register on line…. An Post Yeats Tour of Sligo 2015 .

Launching the event with a photo shoot at the impressive W.B Yeats mural in Sligo

A wonderful Yeats-themed launch of the 2015 Tour took place with a series of events including Poetry at One in Hargadons and a photo shoot at the famous W.B Yeats scuplture in Stephen Street.

Code of Ethics Basic Awareness Course (3 hour) – Wed 25th March 

Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership is hosting a 3-hour Basic Awareness Course on the ‘Code of Ethics and Good Practice for Children’s Sport’ on Wed 25th March next. (POSTPONED FROM THE 4TH MARCH)

The Code is built upon a number of core principles relating to the importance of childhood, the needs of the child, integrity & fair play, relationships and safety in children’s sport. This 3 hour Basic Awareness course was devised by and is certified by the Irish Sports Council, aims to effectively educate participants on the implementation of best practice in protecting the welfare of children involved in sport.

Venue: Embassy Rooms, JFK Parade (Residents Lounge)

Date: Wed 25th March 2015  (*New date)  

Time: 6.30pm – 9.30pm

Cost: €15 per person

Limited places are available for the courses and pre-booking is essential as it is on a first come first served basis. Each individual must fill out an application form and return it with fee to the SSRP Office to secure a place. Download an application form below…

ApplicForm_COE Awareness_25/03/15

PLEASE NOTE: PARTICIPANTS MUST BE 18 YEARS OF AGE TO COMPLETE THIS COURSE.

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Code of Ethics Club Children’s Officer Course (Now 3 Hours- See below)

COURSE IS FULLY BOOKED 

The Irish Sports Council has recently changed the structure of its Child Welfare & Protection (Code of Ethics) Training Programme for Clubs. The details of the three stages of training are outlined below, however,  one of the most significant changes has been the revision of the old six hour Children’s Officer Training Course, which has now been replaced by two separate three hour courses. (see details below).

Venue: Embassy Rooms, JFK Parade (Residents Lounge)

Date: Wed 11th March 2015

Time: 6.30pm – 9.30pm

Cost: €15 per person

Participants on this course must have completed a 3 hour Basic Awareness Course first. Limited places are available for the courses and pre-booking is essential as it is on a first come first served basis. Each individual must fill out an application form and return it with fee to the SSRP Office to secure a place. Download an application form below…

COURSE IS FULLY BOOKED

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Irish Sports Council Review of Child Protection Training (Jan 2015)

Safeguarding 1 – Basic Awareness Workshop in Child Welfare & Protection – a must for anyone working with children

All Coaches, Club Children’s Officers and Designated Liaison Persons must first complete the 3 hour Child Welfare & Protection Basic Awareness Course. This course educates participants on the implementation of best practice in protecting the welfare of children involved in sport.

The old six hour Children’s Officer Training Course has been replaced by two separate three hour courses.

Safeguarding 2 – Club Children’s Officer (CCO) Workshop – a must for all Club Children’s Officers

A Club Children’s Officer should be child centered in focus and have as the primary aim the establishment of a child centered ethos within the club. S/he is the link between the children and the adults in the club. S/he also takes responsibility for monitoring and reporting to the Club Management Committee on how club policy impacts on young people and Sports Leaders.

A person appointed to the Club Children’s Officer position in a club must have completed the Child Welfare & Protection Basic Awareness workshop and should complete the NEW Club Children’s Officer 3 hour Training Course. This course will help the Club Children’s Officer to carry out the function of their role in the club and support the implementation of best practice in the club. Participants will also receive a Club Children’s Officer Action Planning document as part of the training.

Safeguarding 3 – Designated Liaison Person (DLP) Workshop

The third part of the ISC Child Welfare & Protection Training Programme is the Designated Liaison Person workshop. This workshop is currently under review and will be available to clubs in Spring/Summer 2015.

Every club/organisation should designate a person to be responsible for dealing with any concerns about the protection of children. The Designated Liaison Person is responsible for reporting allegations or suspicions of child abuse to TUSLA Child and Family Agency or Social Services (NI) and/or An Garda Siochána / PSNI. It is recommended that this person is a senior club person. However, if there is difficulty identifying a separate individual to take this role, the Club Children’s Officer can be appointed as Designated Liaison Person once the club/organisation is clear about the responsibilities of each role. The organisation’s child protection policy and procedures should include the name and contact details of the Designated Liaison Person and the responsibilities attached to the role.

A person appointed to the Designated Liaison Person position in a club must have completed the Basic Awareness Workshop in Child Welfare & Protection and should complete the NEW Designated Liaison Person 3 hour workshop. A club may appoint the same person to both the CCO and DLP positions however best practice advises that they are kept as separate roles.

Download a summary of the review Here 

Minister Ring Announces €5,162,431m Investment for Irish Sport

6th March, 2015

Minister of State for Sport, Michael Ring T.D., recently announced an investment package of over €5.1m from the Irish Sports Council to support the National Network of Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs).

€5,047,431 million will be allocated to thirty LSPs for core, general programme and disability funding. This investment also includes HSE funding of €60,240 for the Get Ireland Active programme and €14,080 for the continued roll out of the Be Active After Schools Activity Programme. The Council will also allocate €115,000 to support the Women in Sport programme.

The key aims of the LSPs are to increase levels of local participation in sport especially amongst specific target groups such as older people, girls & women, people with disabilities, unemployed people, and those who live in identified disadvantaged communities. To ensure that people with disabilities are provided with the opportunity to participate in sport and physical activity, 19 LSPs will be supported with Sports Inclusion Disability Officers.

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring TD commented “I believe it is extremely important that people are encouraged and given opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity. Participation will lead to a healthier society and an overall improved quality of life. The Government funding announced today will allow the LSP network to continue to provide sporting opportunities for people in local communities throughout Ireland.”

The LSPs are involved in delivering mass participation programmes such as the An Post Cycle Series. Since 2009 over 73,300 people have taken part and last year 16,870 people participated in the series which caters for all ages and abilities.

For the fifth year running in 2015, The Irish Sports Council, LSPs teamed up once again with RTÉ’s Operation Transformation. This year over 12,000 people participated in the nationwide walks, which took place in 48 locations all around Ireland, the highest number to date. Over 8,000 participants took part in the Operation Transformation 5k Fun Runs which took place in Blarney Castle, Cork and the Phoenix Park, Dublin in conjunction with the Irish Sports Council, Cork Local Sports Partnership, Dublin City Sports Network, and the Athletics Association of Ireland.

Kieran Mulvey, Chairperson of the Irish Sports Council commented: “As part of the Fitzpatrick Associates Review, the Local Sports Partnerships were set a target of generating at least 50% of their income from other sources. Each year that target has been met and surpassed. The Council warmly welcomes the support and contributions given to the Local Sports Partnership network by statutory, community and voluntary groups across the country”.

2015 is the 10th Anniversary of the Irish Sports Council’s Women in Sport programme. The programme, which aims to raise the overall physical activity levels among women, has been a key driver in closing the gender gap as women’s participation has grown from 39% (ISM,2011) to 42.7% (ISM,2013). Today’s investment will continue to support Women in Sport programmes including ‘The Tipperary Women’s Mini Marathon’ from North Tipperary Sports Partnership and South Tipperary Sports Partnership. The programme is designed to tap into the increasing popularity of running and walking for women in Ireland today. Last year over 1,200 women participated in the event.

Speaking at the announcement John Treacy, Chief Executive of the Irish Sports Council commented; “The Council has always placed a particular emphasis on ensuring sport is progressive and attracts participants from every corner of Ireland, from every age group and from all social backgrounds. This is a fundamental principle of the Local Sports Partnerships which aim to remove any barrier that prevents participation in sport”.

The breakdown of funding to each LSP is outlined here…

Sport Playing a part in Community life in Cranmore

The Abbeyquarter Mens Group in Cranmore was the venue this week (Tues 24th Feb) for the launch of the evaluation report on the ‘Cranmore Regeneration through Sport’ initiative. Undertaken by IT Sligo’s CRiSP for SSRP, the evaluation highlights the role sport and physical activity is playing in community life in Cranmore.

In recent years sport and physical activity is playing a greater part in community life in Cranmore. The ‘Cranmore Regeneration through Sport’ initiative facilitates opportunities to participate in active recreation with local community organisations including Cranmore Co operative Society, Abbeyquarter Community Centre, Cranmore Resource House, sports clubs and community groups supporting and encouraging the residents to participate in sport and physical activity. The initiative is co-ordinated by Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership (SSRP) and is enabled through funding primarily from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and Sligo County Council (funds administered through Cranmore Regeneration Office). Additional programme funding is received from the Health Service Executive and the Irish Sports Council.

Recently, an external evaluation of the initiative was undertaken on behalf of SSRP by Dr Carol Moran, Centre for Research in the Social Professions (CRiSP) at the Institute of Technology, Sligo and a launch of the evaluation report took place last Tuesday 24th February in the Cranmore community which was hosted by the Abbeyquarter Mens Group. A large crowd was in attendance at the launch which was primarily an occasion to acknowledge and celebrate the work of many local community groups and volunteers in providing sporting opportunities in Cranmore while also the occasion was an opportunity to hear the findings from the evaluation report presented by Dr. Moran on the impact of sport on participants. Representatives from many local community organisations were present including Cranmore Regeneration Office, Cranmore Co operative Society, Abbeyquarter Community Centre, Cranmore Resource House and sports clubs. Guests at the launch from partner organisations included Caothaoirleach Cllr Joe Queenan, Chief Executive Sligo County Council Ciaran Hayes, Professor Vincent Cunnane President IT Sligo, Maire Mc Callion Chairperson SSRP and Una May Head of Participation Irish Sports Council. Among the guest speakers was Joe Mc Donagh of the Abbeyquarter Mens Group who spoke passionately about how sport plays an important part in their weekly activities which includes regular walking, Boules and Golf activities.

In presenting the evaluation findings Dr Moran remarked on the significant increase in participation by residents in the Cranmore area in recent years. Between 2008 and 2013 a total of 1,219 youth participant places have been facilitated on 50 physical activity programmes co ordinated by SSRP involving field sports, court games, water sports and outdoor activities. Cranmore youth have benefitted from sport club outreach programmes and linked initiatives with the Cranmore community involving St. John’s GAA Club, Ballinacarrow/ Innisfree Boxing Clubs, Sligo All Stars Basketball Club, Sligo Rugby Club and Strandhill Golf Club. According to Dr Carol Moran the value and impact of targeted programmes were very evident from some direct quotes by those who were consulted, including:

“[SSRP] have done tremendous work in linking groups from the athletics clubs to tennis to all different sports into the community in Cranmore. I remember at one point thinking, for a child in Cranmore, whatever interest you had, there was an opportunity to actually develop it.”

“It’s a break, it’s affordable, it goes on on their own doorstep.”

 “It’s also a great boost for the kids… their confidence comes through.”

For adults, between 2008 and 2013 a total of 24 adult programmes involving 354 adult participant places have been facilitated in activities including Walking, Swimming, Bootcamp, Golf, Soccer, Angling and Fitness classes. Linked initiatives with the wider community outside Cranmore involved participation by adults in Couch to 5K, Annual Boules Fest, Seniors Sports Fest, Outdoor Gym programmes and Bike Week initiatives. Furthermore, 31 participants have taken part in a range of training and education programmes in areas including Active Leadership, First Aid, Code of Ethics, Walking Leader, Go for Life Games and sports specific areas of Soccer and Kick Boxing. Dr Moran stated that the impact of community capacity building was evident in a quote from a person in the community:

 “…it’s been very empowering for the community and what I see has developed is that people are taking more responsibility.”

The Summary Report is available to download at Cranmore Regeneration  Through Sport Initiative Evaluation-Summary  which includes key outcomes from the initiative as well as key themes, the model of delivery, critical success factors and recommendations.

At the conclusion of the launch SSRP Sports Co ordinator Deirdre Lavin thanked the Cranmore community groups and volunteers for their ongoing commitment to developing sporting opportunities for residents in Cranmore. The Sports Co ordinator also acknowledged the support of Sligo County Council , Cranmore Regeneration Office and the partner organisations who support the initiative. SSRP thanked the CRiSP Centre at IT Sligo for facilitating the research and in particular Dr Carol Moran who conducted the research.

The Full Report is available for download at Cranmore Regeneration Through Sport Initiative Evaluation-Report (Full). You can also contact SSRP at 071 9161511 for a hard copy of the summary report.

Some photos from the launch…. 

Download a copy of the Special Project 2015 form as follows:

Special Projects Scheme 2015 – Application Form (PDF to complete as a hard copy for posting)
Special Projects Scheme 2015 – Application Form (Word Doc softcopy to complete for emailing)

To download an application form CLICK HERE 

The Calendar of Events produced for European Town of Sport 2014 covered a wide range of sporting events with almost 200 events listed and 50 different sports represented. Sports clubs and organisations facilitated numerous events which were inclusive of people of all ages and fitness levels attracting local, regional, national and international participation.

The gallery of photos entitled ‘The Year that was Sligo European Town of Sport 2014 – A Pictorial Review’ is a selective review of the year which reflects the diversity of sporting events in Sligo throughout the year.

Hope you enjoy….