Swim Ireland were delighted this week with the announcement that we have received a record €110,000 funding through Sport Ireland Women in Sport Funding, the highest amount allocated (with Athletics Ireland) of the €2 million distributed to National Governing Bodies.
We would like to thank The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, the Minister of State for Sport, Physical Education and the Gaeltacht, Thomas Byrne and all in Sport Ireland for their continued support.
Earlier this year, we launched our Women in Sport Action Plan 2024-2026 and we are very excited about a number of new projects we can now get underway.
Recognising that teenage girls are a key target audience, a new area of development for us will be Artistic Swimming building on the hugely popular Aqua Moves programme piloted in 2023.
In 2024 we will also launch an online Athlete Hub. An information portal that will provide athletes with the knowledge and skills to develop inside and outside of the pool. The Athlete Hub will include content specifically for females of all ages providing health information and learning resources to support females in and out of the pool. Not just for females, the Athlete Hub will cater for male athletes also.
We are also delighted to develop an ‘Introduction to strength and conditioning’ education tool for club athletes across the disciplines.
Throughout 2024 we will also focus on enhancing the visibility of our initiatives. In particular this year will be our Coach Mentoring Programme; promoting the development of our female coaches; our Water Polo Respect Campaign which will aim to encourage a safe and supportive environment for all of our female referees and officials; and our Swimmin’ Women and AquaMoves programmes highlighting the opportunities for women and teenage girls to participate in our sport a well as highlighting the lifelong benefits of participating in our sport.
Swim Ireland CEO, Sarah Keane, said: “We are delighted to have received confirmation of our funding allocation from Sport Ireland for 2024 that will allow us to implement our new Women in Sport Action Plan 2024-We have already had some great successes in the area, with over 200 women from various sports completing our Women in Sport Leadership Programme. Our Swim for a Mile and Swimmin’ Women programmes are continuously introducing new participants to swimming as a life-long activity while our Coach/Mentoring Programme encourages females into the area of coaching. You can check out all of the programmes available in the action plan below.’
The full Swim Ireland Women in Sport Action 2024-2026 plan is available.
