The voices of teachers and children will be placed at the heart of the 2026 Sport for Business Children in Sport Conference, taking place at Trinity Comprehensive School in Ballymun on Thursday, October 22nd.
Allianz and the Olympic Federation of Ireland will also present new research at the event.
Hosted by Sport for Business in partnership with Allianz, the morning gathering will bring together representatives from schools, sporting organisations, business and wider society to examine how children’s experience of sport can be improved.
Under the theme of Brighter Futures, the conference will focus on the people who see the opportunities and the challenges most clearly: the children taking part and the teachers working with them every day.
The event will also feature the publication of new research from Allianz and the Olympic Federation of Ireland, providing fresh evidence around children’s experiences of sport and the factors that influence whether they continue participating.
The findings will inform discussions throughout the morning and add to the work already undertaken through Allianz’s Stop the Drop campaign.
Previous research highlighted that one in five children stops participating in sport during the transition from primary to secondary school. The Stop the Drop initiative was created to provide teachers, coaches and parents with practical resources to address the biological, psychological and social barriers that can lead young people to leave sport.
Listening to Teachers
The opening part of the conference will include a dedicated Schools at the Centre conversation involving teachers and school leaders.
It will explore the reality of delivering sport and physical activity in schools, including pressure on facilities and teaching time, the importance of creating positive first experiences, and the challenge of providing meaningful opportunities for children with different abilities, interests, and levels of confidence.
Teachers are often among the first to recognise when a child is beginning to disengage from sport. Their contribution will help move the discussion beyond participation statistics and towards practical changes schools, clubs and communities can make.
Listening to Children
Students from Trinity Comprehensive School and other young participants will take part in a session entitled Through Their Eyes.
They will be invited to speak about what they enjoy about sport, what makes them feel welcome, what discourages them from participating and what they would like adults to do differently.
This will not be a discussion about children among adults only. Their experiences and ideas will directly inform the five commitments for improving children’s sport that will be developed at the close of the conference.
Young people will also feature in a Young Ideas in Action showcase, highlighting projects developed through PExpo and other student-led initiatives.
“The aim of the morning is to listen as much as it is to speak,” said Sport for Business founder and CEO Rob Hartnett.
“Research can show us where the challenges lie, but teachers and children can tell us how those challenges feel in the real world and what might make a genuine difference.”
“We want the conference to conclude with practical commitments that schools, sports, businesses and communities can take away and act upon.”
Registration and coffee will begin at 9:30 am, with the conference programme running from 10:00 am until 12:30 pm.
Tickets start at €40 plus VAT for Sport for Business members and can be booked below.
Allianz, the Olympic Federation of Ireland and the PExpo are among the many sporting organisations who see the value of a Sport for Business membership. If you would like to join them and see your organisation in our content, on our stages, and in the conversation happening every day around the commercial world of Irish Sport, email us today and let’s see what is possible, or sign up straight away from the link below.
Image Credit: Sport for Business
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