Increased levels of participation highlighted in Mayo Sports Partnerships 2014 Annual Report

Initiatives such as Operation Transformation, Couch to 5K, Men on the Move, Walking and Cycling Programmes, Secondary School Healthy Living programmes, Primary Schools Little Athletics, Goal to Work Coaching Programmes, Go for Life Games for Older People, Sports Inclusion projects etc are contributing to a positive environment of active participation across the county.

To view the full report please click here http://www.mayosports.ie/media/Media,27032,en.pdf

Launching the 2014 Annual Report of the Mayo Sports Partnership, outgoing Chairman Cllr Brendan Mulroy paid tribute to all the many volunteers who give of their free time to organise programmes in their local areas. The report, describing the workings of the Sports Partnership during 2014, highlights that 49% of the female population in the county now participate in sport / physical activity at least once a week, compared to 47% of the male population in Mayo. This rise in female participation, which now currently is the highest in Ireland, can be attributed to increased development of facilities and programmes which is to the credit of all agencies and stakeholders in the business of community development. A core initiative inputting in to this impressive statistic has been the Western People West of Ireland Womens Mini Marathon which since 2010 has assisted close to 13,000 women in their efforts to participate more in sport.

Other highlights from the report shows that Mayo Sports Partnership and its stakeholders provided physical activity opportunities for some 10,632 people through 78 locally delivered sports programmes, 4,259 women through 10 Women in Sport initiatives and 403 people with a disability in 18 Sports Inclusion Disability Programmes. In addition the sports umbrella body ran 45 training and education workshops with 665 participants, supplied information to 580 clubs / organisations and over 10,000 people contacted the Partnership for general and sports specific information.

Again as in previous years, the Partnership has made significant advances by increasing the number of locally delivered programmes and training opportunities for leaders / volunteers. The development of the Couch to 5K initiative, parkrun to three areas in the county, further expansion of the hugely successful Men on the Move programme, healthy living projects in second level schools, primary school little athletics, the Sports Inclusion Summer Camp and Go for Life Games days for older people groups were some of the success stories in 2014. In addition the Goal to Work Sports Coach training programme for unemployed was rolled out in the Swinford area which brought close to 50 the number of sports coaches trained under this scheme since 2010.

Cllr Brendan Mulroy Chairman of Mayo Sports Partnership thanked Minister Michael Rings Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, key stakeholders the Irish Sports Council and Mayo County Council along with the many other partners who contribute to the continued development of the umbrella sports body.

"Much credit must go to the Sports Partnership staff for continually delivering high quality participation programmes and working with local agencies and all sections of society." Cllr Mulroy added.

The Sports Partnership can be contacted at 094-9047025 or e-mail msp@mayococo.ie . You can also log on to its website and download the full report at www.mayosports.ie/news