GAA Congress normally takes place in February but tomorrow in Croke Park there will be a special additional version.
The GAA Youth Forum has become an annual feature of the GAA calendar, but this year is stepping up in terms of engagement through the hosting of a Youth Congress for those aged 16 and over.
More than 450 young players will travel from all 32 Counties in Ireland to Croke Park to participate in the 2018 #GAAyouth Forum in partnership with Sky Sports.
The young male and female players, aged 12 – 21, were selected on foot of an online application process, which had more than 600 applicants.
“The Youth Congress represents a new direction for the annual #GAAyouth Forum,” said GAA president John Horan.
“For the first time at the forum, players aged 16+ will have a chance to debate and discuss a number of items of critical importance within the Association including player drop-out, age-grades and the voice of young people within the Association.”
“As part of this a commitment has been made to relay the views and votes of the young people at the Youth Congress back to the top decision-makers in the GAA, LGFA and the Camogie Association – making sure their opinions on a range of topical issues are heard.”
There are plenty of additional activities planned on the day including a Consultation about how the Association can communicate more effectively with young people; a workshop on developing resilience and overcoming challenges led by David Curtin (former Dublin Inter-County hurler); a workshop on cultivating leadership skills on and off the field with Eoghan Hanley (Future Leader’s TY Programme Coordinator); and a series of ten minute talks from Ross Munnelly, Tracey Kennedy, Kieran Shannon, Donal Fallon, Úna Sinnott and Sky Sports Ambassador Ellen Keane on a number of different topics.
The Forum will conclude with a Q&A Panel – hosted by the 2 Johnnies – with Sky Sports Ambassadors Ollie Canning, Conor Lehane and Conor McManus who will join Cait Devane, Lauren Magee and Martina McMahon to answer questions on a range of issues of interest to young players including: managing a good balance between study, work and GAA; communicating effectively with adult coaches; the highs and lows of a sporting career and how the Ambassadors prepare themselves on the day of a game.
The #GAAyouth Forum is organised by the National Youth Committee in partnership with An Cumann Camógaíochta, the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) and GAA Handball in partnership with Sky Sports.
It looks like being a great day for the many young people involved.
One of Sport for Business’ new initiatives for 2019 is a partnership with PExpo on March 6th where we will be bringinging together business and education leaders with an interest in secondary level students and the new PE curriculum as part of a special day at DCU. Read a little more about this right here and get in touch if you’d like to be involved.
