The Federation of Irish Sport has announced the shortlist of finalists for the 2018 Sport Industry Awards.

The awards, which this year are sponsored by insurance company JLT Ireland were set up in 2015 to highlight the contribution that sport makes to Ireland’s economy both directly and indirectly.

Sport for Business is a previous winner of a Sport Industry Award as best Emerging Sports Business and we are a keen supporter of the idea of recognising those who have made a significant contribution to the world of sport.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Wednesday, 7th March in the Banquet Hall at Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin 8.

“The awards were set up to highlight the importance of the business of sport in Ireland,” said Federation of Irish Sport CEO Mary O’Connor.

“Today sport supports almost 40,000 jobs, represents almost €2.4 billion in household expenditure and has been estimated to contribute almost €1.9 billion in tourism revenue. And that is beyond all of the other contributions sport makes in areas such as health, inclusivity, diversity and reputation both at home and abroad.”

The winners will be determined by a judging panel drawn from both the business and sporting community. The panel is Cliona O’Leary, RTE Sport, Athlete Louise Galvin, Rory Sheridan, Diageo Ireland, Liam Harbison, Sport Ireland Institute, Larry Fenelon, Leman Solicitors, Cathal Dervan ASJI, Rob Hartnett, Sport for Business, Amanda Harton, JLT, Deirdre McDermott, OSK Accountants and Business Consultants, Mark Doyle, AIB and John Aherne, GolfGraffix, two of last year’s winners.

The full list of those shortlisted is as follows
DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT COMMUNITY OF THE YEAR

  • AIB/GAA – Club and County
  • IRFU/Vodafone – Team of Us
  • Basketball Ireland – Overall Digital Strategy
  • Triathlon Ireland – Overall Digital Strategy
  • GAA – GAANOW
  • Motorsport Ireland– Overall Digital Strategy
  • Shamrock Rovers – #FootballLovesUs

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AWARD

  • Louth LSP – INCLUSIBILITY PROJECT 2017 Cricket Ireland – Get Into Cricket
  • Boxing Ireland – Cashen Vale Boxing Club
  • CARA – FIT4ALL
  • FAI – CARA/Sport Ireland Inclusive NGB
  • Gymnastics Ireland – Gymable
  • GAA – Healthy Club

CAMPAIGN OR PROGRAMME OF THE YEAR AWARD

  • Vodafone/ IRFU – Team of Us
  • AIB/GAA – Jeff and Kammy Journey to Croker
  • IRFU – Women’s Rugby World Cup
  • AIG – Dublin GAA
  • Lidl – Ladies Football
  • Largo Foods – Basketball Ireland

GOVERNING BODY OF THE YEAR AWARD

  • Ladies Gaelic Football Association
  • Cricket Ireland
  • Gymnastics Ireland
  • Triathlon Ireland
  • Tennis Ireland
  • Swim Ireland

LOCAL SPORT PARTNERSHIP OF THE YEAR AWARD

  • Limerick Local Sports Partnership – Sports Inclusion Club
  • Waterford Local Sport – WSP Balance Bike Programme
  • Laois Local Sport Partnership – Transformation Programme for women over 50
  • Clare Local Sport Partnership – Active Primary Schools programme
  • Cork Local Sports Partnership – Cork Sports Ability

SPORTS EVENT OF THE YEAR AWARD

  • LGFA – TG4 All Ireland Ladies Gaelic Football Finals 2017
  • IRFU – Women’s Rugby World Cup
  • IRFU – Six Nations Match Ireland vs England
  • Badminton Ireland – FZ Forza Irish Open 2017
  • Basketball Ireland – FIBA U18 Women’s Europeans

BEST COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIP AWARD

  • Lidl – Ladies Gaelic Football
  • Largo Foods – Hula Hoops Basketball Cup
  • AIG – Dublin GAA
  • Electric Ireland – Minor GAA
  • Fighter.ie – Broadcasting of Mixed Martial Arts

JIMMY MAGEE AWARD FOR SPORT JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

  • Vincent Hogan – Irish Independent
  • Roy Curtis – Sunday World
  • Kieran Cunningham – Irish Daily Star
  • Malachy Clerkin – The Irish Times
  • Sinead Kissane – TV3
  • Niall Kelly – The42.ie
  • Keith Duggan – The Irish Times

SPORT BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD

  • Clubify – Community engagement app
  • SportTech – Developing Sport Technology Companies
  • SportsJoe.ie – Broadcasting Sport
  • Fota Island Adventure – Sport Experience and training
  • KitmanLabs – Athlete optimization system

SPORTS MEDIA OUTLET OF THE YEAR AWARD

  • The Irish Times – Women in Sport
  • The 42.ie – Journalism off print
  • The Irish Examiner – Overall regional and national sport coverage
  • The Irish Independent- Tee to Green
  • Off the Ball.ie – Digital Sports Show

SPORTING INNOVATION OF THE YEAR AWARD

  • Motorsport.ie – Broadcasting own content
  • Irish Sailing – Water Sport Inclusion Games
  • Dublin Simon Community – A Gym for the Homeless
  • Complyfile – Software Platform for Voluntary Organisations
  • Rowing Ireland – Get Going – Get Rowing

 

All those shortlisted are deserving of the recognition for what they have done over the past twelve months.  We will be there to report on the winners on Wednesday, March 7th.

 

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