It wasn’t only the location of Croke Park that had a strong sporting connection to business enterprise yesterday as two of the top prizes in the National Student Enterprise Awards went to sports related business ideas.
74 different business ideas were join display, drawn from the 17,000 students who enter the competition through their local Enterprise Offices.
The Senior winner was 16 year old Shíofra Ryan from St Brendan’s Community College in Birr, County Offaly who has designed a specialist boot for hurling and camogie.
She researched the different movement patterns between top class soccer and hurling players to determine the areas of pressure in a boot that were potentially lacking in a specialist boot. A shock absorbent insole, arch support and special ankle support have been built into ‘An Tionchar’ which can currently be bought in prototype format for €119 but around which Ryan is currently in discussion with manufacturers.
“She has done everything from product concept right through to commercialisation. She now has to look at her costs and reduce them so her profit margin goes up. It is a premium product and there is a significant market there for her to tap,” said Sean O’Sullivan, one of the judges of the Awards.
At intermediate level there was a strong connection between business and the GAA as well with students from Colaiste Eanna in Dublin who produced ‘My GAA Journey’ a journal tracking players’ progress and achievements in the game. This was a timely idea given the report yesterday from the GPA on the pressures on student players.
These awards are a natural follow on from the BT Young Scientist and Technology Awards held in January where sport plays an increasingly high profile role in the projects on show and where Sport for Business hosts the annual Business of Sports Science and Technology Conference.
Yesterday’s winner featured prominently in that arena this year, winning a cash bursary and a place on the BT Business bootcamp that took place last month.
