2022 was a year of highs and lows, from emerging out of lockdown to qualifying for a Women’s World Cup Finals and watching the Men’s tournament play out in the days leading up to Christmas.
Over twelve days, we are taking a back at twelve of the tales each month that captured our and your imagination over the past twelve months.
APRIL 2022
KATIE TAYLOR ON TOP OF THE WORLD
Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano became the first women to top the bill at Madison Square Garden and produced a fight that lived up to every expectation.
Taylor emerged victorious after a fight for the ages and the worldwide reaction was immense. It looked in advance like a breakthrough moment and so it proved. The Empire State Building was even lit up in Green, White and Gold to mark the occasion.
CRICKET IRELAND SIGNS MAJOR BROADCAST DEAL TO 2026
Cricket Ireland announced a new five-year broadcast deal with Pitch International for Ireland men’s and women’s international cricket played at home in that period.
Pitch International has worked with Cricket Ireland since 2014, facilitating broadcast sales for Ireland Men’s home international matches with the global market.
The new deal, covering home internationals from 2022 to 2026, extends Pitch’s scope in a number of ways – with Pitch now assuming ownership of Cricket Ireland’s rights.
Pitch will be expanding its portfolio of matches to include women’s internationals, and taking all international matches to the end of the next future tours programme (FTP).
K CLUB WINS HORIZON IRISH OPEN FOR 2023, 2025 AND 2027
The K Club signed a long-term deal with the DP World Tour which will mean the Horizon Irish Open will be staged at the Kildare venue in 2023, 2025, and 2027.
Next year’s tournament will be the first to be staged at the 2006 Ryder Cup venue since 2016, the only previous year it has hosted the tournament when it was won by Rory McIlroy.
The deal will run through to Ireland’s next hosting of the biennial challenge with the United States at Adare Manor in 2027.
IRELAND STAGES FIRST-EVER NATIONAL FITNESS GAMES
Ireland’s first-ever National Fitness Games took place over the weekend with over 800 individuals in 200 teams taking part in an event that has great potential to be a real success story in years to come.
The atmosphere was great and the sun shone to put everyone in the best of spirits.
ELECTRIC IRELAND SIGNS FIVE YEAR EXTENSION WITH THE GAA
Electric Ireland announced a major five-year extension to its sponsorship of the Electric Ireland GAA Minor Championships.
Having sponsored the Championships since 2012, Electric Ireland has supported the development of future inter-county stars across the country for a decade and will now continue its support of these historic competitions until 2027.
It will also continue its sponsorship of the Electric Ireland Higher Education GAA Leagues and Championships for an additional five years, having been the title sponsor of the competitions since 2017.
Each year, over 7,000 students take part in the Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education Leagues and Championships which culminate with the prestigious Electric Ireland Sigerson and Fitzgibbon Cup Finals.
As part of the launch, Electric Ireland is also announcing that it will become the title sponsor of the Celtic Challenge, a developmental hurling competition that features 39 teams from 29 counties, for the next five years, becoming the Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge.
THE TRAGEDY OF A LIFE LOST AT PLAY
How can you begin to imagine the death of a player on the field of play? That is what the Moran family, Galway’s sporting family and the sport of Camogie and beyond are having to come to terms with after the tragic passing of Kate Moran at the age of 21.
She went out on Monday to play a game with Athenry, as she has done all her life.
She went up for a ball and got an accidental knock on the head.
She played on but minutes later she collapsed and despite the best efforts of emergency medical professionals at the scene, she was pronounced dead at University Hospital Galway on Monday night.
The tragedy of any life lost young is immense but for it to happen on a sporting field brings with it an added weight of sorrow and also a wave of fear.
QUAFFLES AND SNITCHES AS LIMERICK SECURES EURO QUIDDITCH CHAMPIONSHIP
Limerick’s reputation as a base for major events among challenger sports received another boost with the announcement that the European Quidditch Cup and the International Quidditch Association European Games would both take place at the University of Limerick in the summer.
Details were announced at a joint launch by the two governing associations in Plassey House, Limerick.
The European Quidditch Cup Division 1 will take place over two days on the 4th and 5th June with an estimated 1000 athletes representing 32 teams from Austria, Belgium, Catalonia, France, Spain, Turkey, Germany, Italy, Norway, and the UK.
The International Quidditch Association European Games 2022 will take place from 22nd to 24th July 2022 with an anticipated 600 to 800 athletes expected to represent over 20 countries.
UL and Quidditch Ireland led the successful bids, beating competition from Spain, Germany and Turkey. Both bids were endorsed and supported by Shannon Region Conference & Sports Bureau, Failte Ireland, Limerick City and County Council, Limerick Sports Partnership & Out In UL (UL’s LGBTQ+ Society).
The tournaments added to the World U21 Lacross Championships and the European Flying Disc Championships that would also be on-site in 2022.
SKY LAUNCH FIRST TV AD FOR WOMEN’S NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
Sky Ireland launched a brand-new campaign to celebrate their primary partnership with the Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team, as Vera Pauw and her squad prepared for their first World Cup Qualifier of 2022, against Sweden on Tuesday, 12th April.
Sky Ireland’s campaign, titled ‘Outbelieve’, includes the very first dedicated Women’s National Team TV ad – a 60-second film that would run across TV and digital video platforms.
The new TV ad featured a soundtrack from Irish artist and Choice Music Nominee, Elaine Mai, whilst creative for the supporting Outbelieve outdoor campaign was developed in collaboration with award-winning Irish artist, Aoife Dooley.
It was produced by Core who have been a central part of the relationship that is seeking to elevate every aspect of how the country connects with the team and the players.
CARA AWARDS HIGHLIGHT ACTIVE DISABILITY
Staff and individuals from Disability Services all over Ireland were presented with special award trophies at the Active Disability Services Awards at Farmleigh House in Phoenix Park.
Awards were presented for specific physical activity programmes, management teams, key workers and active service users. There were also special recognition awards presented to people who work in disability services who go above and beyond to include active healthy practices.
Sport and physical activity featured strongly with four of the awards being given out in this key area.
The Best Physical Activity Programme Award went to the Sports Centre APA Programme at Stewarts Care in Dublin.
The Best Outdoor Activity Programme Award was won by Patrick’s Hiking Programme, St. Patrick’s Centre in Kilkenny.
The Best Health Education Sport and Recreation Programme Award went to AVISTA at St. Vincents Centre in Dublin.
And the Best Community Engagement Programme was given to Enjoy Tennis from KARE Kildare.
CORK CONVERSATIONS
The Business of Sport in Cork took place at the National Rowing Centre in West Cork on Tuesday, April 6th.
It was a great morning with contributions from Maeve Buckley of Leading Sport, Philip Quinn of Munster Rugby, Michelle Carpenter of Rowing Ireland, Sinead O’Keeffe of Cork GAA and Sharon Lancaster of Sports Direct.
Here is a report carried in the Irish Examiner that picked up on some of the themes of the conversation…
“Munster Rugby would love to play in Páirc Uà Chaoimh, the provinces chief operating officer Philip Quinn has said, expressing a desire for sports stadia in Cork city to be shared and utilised “to the best of their ability”.
Quinn was speaking at yesterday’s ‘The Business of Sport in Cork 2022’ event, and described the home of Cork GAA as a “fantastic facility that is here down the road”.
“The Cork Sport 2040 group, one of the big things in our discussions was really around more municipal stadiums, sharing of facilities. You talk about Páirc Uà Chaoimh, a fantastic facility that is here down the road. Munster would love to play a match inside in Páirc Ui Chaoimh. We want facilities utilised and to the best of their ability,” said Quinn.
We wonder what became of that…
PEXPO HIGHLIGHTING THE POWER OF YOUTHFUL THINKING
The PExpo took place at DCU on April 6th and we wer there to judge the projects and highlight some of the always impressive smart thinking that the students bring to their subjects.
This is effectively a BT Young Scientist Exhibition but in the world of physical education, life science and sport.
The event has been held since 2015. In 2020 it was one of the last events to take place for schools before the lockdown began and last year’s event was held in a virtual setting.
Now it is back in person and Sport for Business was delighted to be involved once more.
GAA STRATEGIC PLAN LAUNCHED TO 2026
The GAA’s new Strategic Plan was published in Termonfeckin in April, covering an extended five-year period with sustainability and integration at its core.
‘Aontas 2026 – Towards One GAA for All’ is a substantial document, framed by the widest-ever consultation of GAA members and coming off the back of a shock to the system that had not previously been experienced.
In those ways alone it is an important document worthy of close study and demanding a detailed implementation plan to bring as many of its ambitions to life as possible.
It goes back to basics outlining the six key values of the Association being those of community identity, amateur status, respect, inclusiveness, player welfare and teamwork and volunteerism.
Restating those core principles can never be done enough, particularly when the heads-down demands of organising as many games and competitions as there are will always demand time and energy.
