Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership in association with the HSE and Sligo County Council/Sligo Age Friendly are delighted to bring you this Age Friendly exercise leaflet which has been approved by the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists.  The leaflet, which primarily targets older people but can be used by people of all ages and abilities, outlines eight simple exercises to support strength and mobility and to help you achieve your daily physical activity needs. Download PDF HERE

We are teaming up with the Francie Boylan Show on Ocean FM to bring the exercises into your home during the month of May. So please tune in to the Francie Boylan show every Tuesday and Thursday at 11.30am for fun, easy and enjoyable exercise. Keep healthy, safe and active!

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Launching the ‘Sligo Ageing Well Home Exercise Guide’ at County Hall was Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council Cllr Tom Mc Sharry  who was joined by Ciaran Hayes Chief Executive SCC and representatives from Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership, Sligo Age Friendly and the HSE.

The leaflets will be circulated to as many homes throughout County Sligo as possible over the coming days and are also available by contacting:
Sligo County Council Covid-19 support line on 1800 292 765 or text SLIGO to 50100 or emailing covidsupport@sligococo.ie

Download the PDF of the leaflet HERE

 The annual Girls Active Activity Festival took place in early March with over 200 teenage girls  from across County Sligo in attendance. This event was a celebration of their participation in the extracurricular ‘Girls Active’ programme in their schools. There was an energetic atmosphere in the IT Sligo Knocknarea Arena as the young women participated in a fun dance–based group warm up led by the IT Sligo 3rd year Health Science students. Following the warm up, the participants split into smaller groups to take part in taster sessions in a variety of activities, including; Pilates, Dance, Gym, Spinning, Boxing, Rugby, Indoor Rowing, HIIT Class, Archery, Kettlebells, Boccia and Skittles. This jam–packed day concluded with a yoga style relaxation cool down session again led by the Health Science students.  

Click HERE to browse the 2020 Girls Active Photo Album

Girls Active, a joint programme between the Health Service Executive and Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership, is currently running in 13 secondary schools and training centres throughout County Sligo including Mercy College, Ursuline College, Ballinode Community College, Sligo Grammar School, Grange Post Primary, Coola Post Primary, Colaiste Iascaigh, Jesus and Mary Secondary Enniscrone, St. Mary‘s College Balisodare, Youth Reach, Sligo Community Training Centre, Corran College and Colaiste Muire, Ballymote. It aims to increase the number of teenage girls involved in long-term regular physical activity through the provision of non-competitive extra-curricular activities in schools, while developing more supportive environments. The programme takes the emphasis off competition in sport, which can sometimes be off–putting for girls, and places a greater emphasis on the social and health benefits of being physically active, while offering opportunities to try out different ways to get active for example, Yoga, Dance, Boxercise. In the 2019/2020 school year over 300 teenage girls were involved in the programme. This programme would not have been successful without the support of the Girls Active Co-ordinating teacher based in each school, who volunteer their time to organise after–school and lunch time programmes and encourage the girls to participate each week. 

Kate Frahill, SSRP Support Co-ordinator for the Girls Active Programme said “Girls Active has been very successful this year, there has been an increase in participants and the festival is a great way for everyone to come together and celebrate their programme achievements. It is important to recognise the effort the participants have put in all year.” 

Hopefully in the future we can again come together to celebrate sport and physical activity, but for now practicing ‘Social Distancing’ in all our activities is extremely important. Follow the guidelines from the HSE and why not look at Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership’s social media sites, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook where links will be posted for home works outs and ideas on how to stay active in your homes.  

If you would like any information on the Girls Active programme please contact Theresa Kilgannon at Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership at 0719161511 Email: theresa@sligosportandrecreation.ie or check out www.sligosportandrecreation.ie. 

Findings from the Irish Sports Monitor (ISM) 2019 Mid-Year Report published by Sport Ireland show good progress in meeting National Sports Policy targets.

The ISM measures adult participation in sport and physical activity since 2007. The current mid-year report provides an interim update on data collected during the first six months of the year January – June 2019. It is based on interviews with over 4,200 adults aged 16 and over.

The key finding is that 46% of the Irish population (approximately 1.78 million people) participated in sport at least once a week in 2019 compared to 43% for the equivalent period in 2017. This represents an additional 100,000 regular sports participants in the country.

Aside from the increase in active participation, improvements were also reported in the numbers taking part socially in sport while the gender gap declined as did the number of adults not taking part in either sport or recreational walking.

Overall, personal exercise remains the most popular activity (16%) followed by swimming (8%), running (7%) and cycling (4%).

Speaking at the launch in Dublin today, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin TD, welcomed the findings: “The Irish Sports Monitor mid-year report shows further progress towards the 2027 targets set out in the National Sports Policy 2018-2027. There has been encouraging increase in the number of adults actively and socially engaged in sport, meaning more people are benefitting from the physical, mental and social dimensions of sport and physical activity. It is also encouraging that the gender gap in active participation has narrowed slightly.”

Chairman of Sport Ireland, Kieran Mulvey, commented: “It is encouraging at this mid-point to see growth in the numbers participating in sport and also in social participation through volunteering, club membership and attendance at sporting events. The Board of Sport Ireland will continue to prioritise our efforts to increase participation right across all groups in our society. The insights gained from the Irish Sport Monitor are key to informing future actions in this regard.”

Olive Loughnane, Chair of the Sport Ireland Research and Participation Committee commented: “The ISM provides important data on sport, physical activity and social participation across the country. It provides valuable information to support decision making by the Committee.”

Speaking at the launch, Chief Executive of Sport Ireland, John Treacy, added: “The Irish Sports Monitor helps to inform Sport Ireland of social factors that affect participation in sport and identifies key groups that are not participating or have a low level of participation. This knowledge and insight informs our attentions and actions. The mid-year report is encouraging overall, and results are moving in the right direction.”

Data collection for the 2019 Irish Sports Monitor is ongoing until December 2019. As a result, the findings provided in the Mid-Year Report should be interpreted with caution as they could change once data collection is completed and data weighting is finalised.

 

A copy of the 2019 Irish Sports Monitor Mid-Year Report can be downloaded here.

 

Key Findings Include:

• 46% of the population regularly take part in sport representing 1.78 million regular participants. This is an increase of 100,000 additional participants since 2017.
• Gender gap in participation continues to decline from 4.5% at end 2017 to 3.9% at this mid-year point. When the ISM was introduced in 2007 the gap was 15.7%.
• Approximately 875,000 people volunteered for sport at some point during the past year.
• Those who do not participate in sport or recreational walking has decreased from 22% in 2017 to 20% in 2019.
• For the first time the disability gradient gap has decreased for those participating in sport to 16% as compared to 18% in 2017.
• The most popular sports to participate in are personal exercise (16%), swimming (8%), running (7%), cycling (4%) with the addition of dancing (3%) replacing soccer in the top 5 activities.
• The highly active report higher levels of wellbeing indicated by higher life satisfaction and happiness and lower levels of anxiety compared to their more sedentary counterparts.

 

 

Download the new plan in full  HERE

Download the Executive Summary HERE 

 

John Treacy, Chief Executive of Sport Ireland was in Sligo on Wednesday last 12th December to launch the Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership’s new strategy ‘Building a Culture of Sport and Physical Activity 2018 – 2023’.

The launch took place at County Hall, Sligo County Council with over one hundred people in attendance representing the many target groups, clubs, communities and agencies with which the Partnership works.

Leas Cathaoirleach Cllr. Paul Taylor and SSRP Board member was on hand to welcome the guests to the launch and in his address he paid tribute to all involved in the development of sport in the County which he stated was evident from the significant progress in recent years in both the area of facility development and sports participation opportunities for people of all fitness levels.

A highlight of the evening was the viewing of a video compiled by the Partnership which captured a diverse range of community sports programmes which it supports.

Maire Mc Callion, Chairperson of SSRP acknowledged the commitment to sport and physical activity shown by the sporting clubs and community organisations, the SSRP Board of Directors, statutory agencies and the staff of the Partnership. She outlined that the next phase of SSRP’s work will focus on four goals; Increase Participation, Build Capacity, Enhance Communications and Strengthen the Organisation. She signalled the intent of SSRP to continue to work in a co-ordinated and integrated way with sporting groups and local agencies.

Ciarán Hayes, Chief Executive of Sligo County Council spoke of the valuable contribution sport makes to quality of life and he paid tribute to the work of the sports clubs , communities, agencies and SSRP who work to deliver sporting opportunities.

In launching the plan John Treacy was highly complementary of the work of SSRP and all the sporting groups on the ground in Sligo stating “The vision Sport Ireland had for Local Sports Partnerships at the outset is truly being realised in Sligo through the collaborative engagement involving all partners with Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership playing a leadership role”. He went on to say “It is about the community groups, the sporting clubs, the Sports Partnership and all the agencies working together, and this partnership has worked very well in Sligo”.

For photos from the night please see our Facebook page