The Olympic Federation of Ireland, together with PTSB, have officially launched the ‘Road to Paris’, an interactive schools challenge that is part of the Dare to Believe Olympic Schools Programme.
With Paris 2024 being almost a ‘home Games’ which is also the 100-year anniversary of Team Ireland competing in the Olympics, this challenge is aimed at getting primary school children more active, whilst learning more about Irish participation at the Games ahead of the summer’s Olympic fever.
Rolling out from 15 April to 10 May, the Dare to Believe ‘Road to Paris’ is a free 4-week challenge which encourages schools to get more active, whilst learning fun and engaging facts about the Olympics, French culture, and Team Ireland.
Over the four weeks schools log their activities which in turn convert to distances on a map that brings them around Ireland and across the sea to Paris. The journey includes five stops where videos and classroom challenges are unlocked, revealing messages and insights from some of Ireland’s top athletes like Olympic Champion boxer Kellie Harrington, Olympic medallist in rowing Aifric Keogh (pictured above), and World Champion gymnast Rhys McClenaghan.
Hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren around the country are anticipated to participate in the programme, and registration is now open for the free, inclusive, and easy-to-follow programme.
Schools are encouraged to head to https://olympicschoolschallenge.daretobelieve.ie/ to register their teams, the first 2000 teachers to register will receive an exclusive and unique Team Ireland Olympic Challenge map, by illustrator Fatti Burke.
The Dare to Believe Programme is now in its fifth year and was founded by Beijing Olympian Roisin McGettigan and Róisín Jones, who is the Dare to Believe Programme Manager.
“With the building excitement of the Paris Olympics this Summer, we are delighted to announce the Road to Paris Olympic School Challenge,” said McGettigan.
“We want every school kid in Ireland to get to know and love our Olympic Stars, feel connected to the biggest sporting event on the planet and increase their motivation to be physically active.”
“As proud title sponsor of both the Dare to Believe Schools programme and Team Ireland for Paris 2024, PTSB is delighted to support the ‘Road to Paris’ schools challenge,” added Leontia Fannin, Head of Corporate Affairs at PTSB.
“In such an exciting year for Team Ireland as it celebrates 100 years of participating in the Olympics, the ‘Road to Paris’ challenge offers school children across the country a really unique and interactive way to participate in sport and physical activity while getting involved in the Olympics excitement in the run up to the Games this summer.”
“Being able to bring the Olympics into the classroom in such a fun and interactive way will enrich the learning in any classroom and act as a huge inspiration to the children taking part. The current, up-to-date interviews with Ireland’s elite athletes are engaging and they allow schools to share in the excitement in the build-up to the Olympics in July.”
Annie Colquhoun, Teacher at Christchurch National School Waterford
“Being a Dare to Believe ambassador is important to me, and thanks to the support of PTSB it is wonderful for us to be able to share our Olympic journey with hundreds of thousands of students around the country. I was obsessed with all sports as a kid, and I would have loved to have a challenge like Road to Paris to feel involved in the Olympic Games as a student.”
World Indoor Championship Finalist and PTSB Ambassador Sarah Lavin
Sign up to get involved in the Olympic Schools Challenge – Road to Paris HERE
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