Girls Active Festival 2022
The Girls Active Festival took place in late April, with over 180 teenage girls from across County Sligo in attendance. This was the first Girls Active Festival held in two years.
Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership recently hosted our first Girls Active Festival in two years. The event was a celebration of the girls participation in the extracurricular ‘Girls Active’ programme in their schools. There was an energetic atmosphere in Cleveragh Park as the young women participated in a fun dance–based group warm up. Following the warm up, the participants split into smaller groups to take part in taster sessions in a variety of activities, including; Orienteering, Dance, Cycling, Olympic Handball, Gymnastics, Tag Rugby, Social tennis, Self Defence and GAA. This jam–packed day concluded with a group dance and cool down session. The event organisers would like to thank Sligo County Council for allowing the event to be held in the fantastic facilities of Cleveragh Park, and to Eimear Donlon of ATU Sligo and her third year Health Science students for their assistance on the day.
Kate Frahill, SSRP Co-ordinator for the Girls Active Programme said
“Girls Active has been very successful this year despite challenges experienced due to Covid-19. The festival is a great way for everyone to come together and celebrate their programme achievements. It is important to recognise the effort the groups have made throughout the year.”
Girls Active, a joint programme between the Health Service Executive and Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership, is currently running in 11 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, St. Mary‘s College Balisodare, 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. In the 2021/2022 school year over 200 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.
For more details contact Kate:
Email: kate@sligosportandrecreation.ie
Call: 071 9161511
