Whether it’s walking, jogging or running – just do it!

Date Published: 29-Jan-2010

IF Co-ordinator of Galway City Sports Partnership, Jason Craughwell has one clear message, it is to encourage the people of Galway to get involved in sport and physical activity – no matter what their gender, age or ability may be. To get out there, breathe in the fresh West of Ireland air, and – as the Nike advert goes – ‘just do it’.

Charged with inspiring the uninspired, Craughwell and the City Sports Partnership have been promoting participation in sport and physical activity since the organisation’s inception in September, 2007 – carrying on the work of its predecessor, the Sports & Recreation Forum.

Indeed, just last year, Galway City Sports Partnership – under the chairmanship of former Galway hurler Sean Silke – rolled out a series of programmes as part of its very first strategic plan, a comprehensive document embracing such themes as ‘Awareness & Participation’, ‘Facilities & Amenities’, ‘Education & Training’, and ‘Effective Partnership’.

The plan also outlined the achievements to date of GCSP, including the Fun x Four, Eastside Strollers and Buntús programmes. “We do have a number of target groups, like women in sport, older adults, people in disadvantaged communities and people with disabilities, but our basic premise is that we are trying to promote participation and physical activity across the divide,” reiterates Craughwell, who highlights that the aforementioned programmes have proved very successful in fulfilling this objective.

“The aim of running the Fun x Four is to show them sport is fun at a young age. So, if you can show at a young age that sport is fun, they will keep going throughout their lives, no matter what it is,” he says.

Indeed, over 80 girls between the ages of eight and 14 from Ballybane, Ballinfoile, Renmore and Westside participated in the six-week venture, which was a collaborative effort with the Connacht Ladies Gaelic Football Association, Cumann Camógaíochta na Gael, the Connacht Branch of the IRFU, and the FAI. Funded through the Women in Sport Programme and supported by the HSE, for two hours each week, girls got the opportunity to experience four different sports, namely ladies football, camogie, rugby and soccer.

“We also facilitate walking programmes, such as the East Side Strollers, which will be up and running again soon,” continues Craughwell. “It is, basically, a walking group for women and it is based in Renmore. So, they walk around the Renmore area and they do anything from a kilometre to an 8km walk.”

In addition to the Fun x Four and Eastside Strollers projects, Galway City Sports Partnership also facilitates other programmes such as Buntús, the Code of Ethics & Good Practice in Children’s Sport, and the Healthy Lifestyles Programme.

Craughwell explains that a great deal of the funding they apply for comes through the Irish Sports Council, although there would also be support from the GCSP’s stakeholders, including Galway City Council, the VEC, the HSE, Galway City Partnership, Galway City Community Forum, among many others.

“We also work very well with the big organisations – the FAI, the GAA, the IRFU, the Camogie, Ladies Gaelic Football and Basketball. We run a number of programmes with them and they have proved very fruitful. They have helped to get people involved in team sports.

“However, there are a huge number of people who prefer individual sports or those that are not as competitive or as structured. The Irish Sports Monitor has shown over the last few years that the vast majority of people in those marginalised groups – or those groups who dropped out of sport – that if you get them involved in individual sports, they will tend to stay involved for longer periods of time.

“So, you are finding more people over the age of 35 are involved in the likes of running, walking, cycling, swimming and tennis, activities that tend to hold onto people well into their later lives, which, of course, promotes their physical well-being.”

Indeed, one of the problems for people involved in team sports up until they are 35 – bar the few older exceptions – is that there is no follow-on programme of events for those in their chosen sport. One example is GAA. Despite it being the largest sporting organisation in Ireland, the GAA does not provide opportunities for its older members to play its mainstream games in later life, even at a social level.

For more, read page 49 of this week’s City Tribune.