Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media, Catherine Martin TD and Minister of State for Sport and Gaeltacht Affairs, Jack Chambers TD, yesterday announced an unprecedented €85 million funding package for the Irish sport sector, which has been significantly impacted by the various Covid-19 restrictions imposed since March 2020.
The Sport Resilience Fund will address the existential threat to National Governing Bodies and their club networks, allowing sports organisations to off-set significant losses incurred in recent months and allow planning for 2021 and was established by the government in recognition that the sports sector is one of the worst impacted sectors by Covid19. Following the submission of a comprehensive grant application in September, Community Games were successfully awarded €110,000. €50,000 of the fund is to cover Area/County losses following an initial internal application submission and the remaining €60,000 is to support Community Games as an NGB to offset loss of income incurred in 2020 and to support new e-learning systems and virtual activities. Community Games Chief Executive David Hoysted on receiving the news said: "This is very positive for Community Games and I'd like to express my thanks on behalf of the organisation to Chairperson of Sport Ireland Kieran Mulvey, CEO John Treacy and all the staff at Sport Ireland for their assistance throughout the year. I'd like to also thank the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media for addressing the needs of grassroots sport in Ireland in these unprecedented times." He added, "Work will commence immediately on reviewing and assessing the needs as outlined in each submission upon application to the Club Resilience Fund. We will be in contact with Areas and Counties in relation to distribution of the fund allocated to Community Games in the near future." Community Games President, Gerry McGuinness said "Without a doubt 2020 has been a very challenging year for Community Games and most of all for our participants this year, despite all this we've diversified and managed to run a series of online and virtual events that saw over 5,000 children part and where we gave out over 150 medals. I would like to sincerely thank Sport Ireland for their assistance."
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Statement from Gerry McGuinness, Aldi Community Games, 23rd September 2020![]() It is with deep regret that I inform you of the untimely passing of our esteemed Deputy President, Tony Lee. Our sincere and heartfelt condolences to all his family and his wide circle of friends and Community Games family. Tony Lee was an integral and valuable Board member for over a decade and a volunteer at grass roots level for over 40 years. His hard work, devotion and commitment to Community Games was outstanding and he will be missed the length and breadth of the country but most of all in his native Galway Community Games. Tony was a great friend and an engaging and dedicated Board Member. He was never too busy to help or advise, and his counsel was always very sound and well founded. He was a charming man and had a great enthusiasm for community and family and an incomparable knowledge of all things Community Games. Ar dheis de go raibh a anam dilis. Gerry McGuinness President Aldi Community Games Well done to all our winners at the Active Communities Event in August. Fantastic to see every county represented from the thousand entries we received from both our Creative and Active Communities Events!
Everyone who took part receives a Digital Certificate. Active Communities Move Event - 6,173km or 15,433 "virtual" Laps - Ran or Walked in 2 weeks!13/8/2020 Well done to everyone who took part in our Move competition as part of our Active Communities Event! In total collectively we ran/walked 15,433 virtual "Laps" of the UL Track or 6,173km!
We gave away €50 Aldi Vouchers each day to one lucky winner, see our list of winners below :
Great to see everyone staying in the games and keeping active! Yours in sport Gerry McGuinness President Aldi Community Games Aldi Community Games wish to congratulate everyone who came together while also staying apart by taking part in our recent ‘Creative Communities’ events which took place from May 15th to May 29th. We had a huge response to our appeal to all of the children and adults in Ireland to get creative with nearly 2000 fantastic entries flooding in.
Winners of each event were announced on our Facebook page last Sunday and each winner will receive a special commemorative medal. Everyone who entered will receive a digital certificate which can be framed and kept forever. There were lots of prizes handed out by our partners Aldi Ireland and Bus Éireann throughout the competition and lots of encouragement and engagement from Síle Seoige who helped us launch the competitions. Overall this was a huge success with over 1 million people reached through our Facebook posts alone which allowed everyone to stay creative and most importantly “stay in the games”. As Covid 19 restrictions still remain in place in Ireland and plans for mass gatherings still a distance away, we must inform you now that the August Festival in UL will not be taking place this year. This also extends to all Community Games events at Area, County and Provincial which will need to remain on hold for the foreseeable future. This is disappointing news for our participants, families, communities and volunteers but as always the safety of everyone connected to Community Games and their extended families is our key concern at all times. While we cannot come together yet in a physical manner, the ‘Creative Communities’ competitions have demonstrated we can come together virtually and with that in mind, we are now working on exciting new plans for August which will showcase activity. Therefore, we are delighted to let you know a new online ‘Active Communities’ event with a host of activity based competitions will take place in August. Please do keep an eye out on our social media channels and our website for updates. For now, please continue to follow the Government and HSE guidelines in relation to Covid 19 and we encourage you to remain healthy and active both physically and mentally as much as you can. Statement from Aldi Community Games (12th March 2020) regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the impact on all planned Community Games events Nationwide.
The health and safety of our participants, volunteers and their extended family members is our key priority at all times. With this in mind and in the interest of safety, please note: ALL Aldi Community Games events Nationwide have been suspended with immediate effect and until further notice. We will continue to closely monitor the Coronavirus outbreak and take the advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team, the HSE, and the WHO while deciding on further updates. Thank you for your understanding at this time. The Board of Directors Aldi Community Games The Community Games AGM will take place on 6th March 2020 in the Radisson Blu, Sligo.
Nominations for positions are as below The National Area, Volunteer and Media Awards will be held in Mt Wolseley Hotel on Saturday 7th December 2019
Hotel Accommodation can be booked by contacting Mount Wolseley Hotel on 059 9180100 or email reservations@mountwolseley.ie Hotel rates are as follows: Single rate: Bed & Breakfast - €85.00 Double/Twin – Bed & Breakfast - €140 Any unused rooms will be released back to the hotel on Monday 18th November, so please book in advance. Please mention Community Games when booking. Invitations / Tickets: Complimentary tickets will be allocated to each County (for the Volunteer’s/Area nominees who confirm their attendance) – they will be allocated as follows; one for the Area winners, one for the Youth Volunteer Recognition Award winner, one for the Adult Volunteer Recognition Award winner and two for County Executive members. These tickets will be posted out in advance. All members and nominees wishing to purchase extra tickets must do so by contacting their County before the 29th November, they cost €50 per person. Counties can order these extra tickets via this page (see form below). County must pay for these tickets by Wednesday 4th December, an invoice for all paid tickets will follow. Any cancelled tickets after the 29th November are chargeable as final numbers have to be given the Hotel. 3rd iCoachKids International Conference “Child Centred Coaching” University of Limerick June 14th and 15th 2019 - Hosted By Sport Ireland Coaching. The event will be the 3rd conference of this 36-month project co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission. Under the overall theme of ‘Child Centred Coaching’, an international line-up of renowned youth sport experts will deliver keynotes, workshops and practical sessions over the two-day event. Keynotes include:
A Global Movement is Born At the previous Conference in Leeds, the most significant element of the conference was the confirmation that iCoachKids, its philosophy and its main goal of supporting the development of a specialist children sport coaching workforce are much more than a three-year project, but has grown in to a global movement. Sport Ireland Chief Executive, John Treacy, said: “Sport Ireland is delighted to host the 3rd iCoachKids Conference in the University of Limerick. The previous edition of this event attracted a global audience from as far afield as the USA, Australia and South Africa, and we’re looking forward to a large number of delegates to listen to and debate some of the most important issues relating to creating effective children’s coaches. I would also encourage as many Irish coaches as possible to attend what will be an invaluable two days. “ iCK Project Director Dr Sergio Lara-Bercial said "We are delighted that Sport Ireland are hosting the 3rd iCoachKids Conference, and we are looking forward to engaging with National and International delegates, through our exciting technical programme.” Places at the 3rd iCoachKids Conference in the University of Limerick can be reserved here: https://www.ickinternationalconference.com/ For more information contact Sheelagh.quinn@coachingireland.com 061 202895 061 202895 Community Games is an all-Ireland independent voluntary organisation and National Governing Body providing opportunities for children and young people to grow and develop in a positive and healthy way while experiencing a wide range of sporting and cultural activities.
We are currently recruiting for a Data Entry Clerk to assist with the processing of Volunteer Applications in our Athlone office. Role:
Closing Date - 5th April 2019 Please send your CV and cover letter to sinead@communitygames.ie |
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November 2020
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