Gymnastics Ireland is to deliver a new annual conference for for its club network, members and fans of the sport.
‘Gymnastics Ireland Exchange’ will be a hybrid virtual and in-person knowledge exchange conference that will take place from Monday 30th October through to Friday 3rd November at the Sport Ireland National Indoor Arena.
Full details of the different sessions and speakers are to be released in the coming weeks.
“This is an exciting new annual conference that will hit all areas of our great sport and be of huge benefit to all sections of our member community,” said Gymnastics Ireland CEO Ciaran Gallagher.
“Participation, inclusion, performance, safeguarding, gymnastics business operation – we will aim to touch on it all through a flexible hybrid virtual and in-person week of exchanging ideas, educating, and supporting personal and club development.”
“The week will run alongside a series of education courses and gymnast camps to be announced.”
“We will be providing all our clubs with two free passes to each conference virtual session plus the in-person keynote speaker day on Friday 3rd November at the Sport Ireland National Indoor Arena.”
“We will also be providing each club with a twin room in a hotel close to the arena free of charge for the night of Friday 3rd November plus inviting the two named club attendees to a dinner and networking event that evening.”
So much of sport takes place with our heads down, volunteers doing their best to keep the show on the road, scheduling training sessions and events and dealing with the myriad issues that need to be kept on top of.
Taking time to remember the why of what we do and learn, perhaps, how to do it better in the company of others facing the same issues and challenges is sometimes a luxury that can be pushed back to ‘tomorrow’.
This decision by Gymnastics to bring the clubs together, to create a shared experience and help everyone be strong together and feel as though they are one sport is brilliant and deserves to be supported.
The sport is already among the most popular for young children, as well as arguably being the best suited to instill the importance of physical fitness at a young age. This move holds out the promise of consolidating what has been achieved in recent years and move on to another level.
