Minister Ring Launches Speak Report On Local Sports Partnerships For 2012
- 57% of funding of Local Sport Partnerships raised locally
- More than 250,000 people participated in locally delivered sports programmes
- Over 400,000 children given access to the Buntْs Programme since 2002
- LSPS provided responses to 157,000 specific requests for information on sport
The impact of the national network of Local Sports Partnerships in 2012 in creating a local infrastructure for sport was detailed in a new report launched today (October 25). The 31 Sports Partnerships are having a positive impact on hundreds of thousands of people through the delivery of direct programmes and support to local sports organisations.
In 2012, 255,225 people participated in 838 sports programmes delivered locally by the Sports Partnerships. This number includes 64,576 people who took part in the 256 programmes which were delivered for the first time in 2012.
An additional responsibility of the Sports Partnerships is the delivery for the Buntْs range of sport programmes which introduce children to sport. Since the initiative started in 2002 more than 400,000 children have been provided access to Buntْs which aims to give every child a quality introduction to a sport that is suitable for all abilities. In 2012, 93 schools received training in Buntْs and 300 childcare centres received Buntْs Start training.
SPEAK 2012, the sixth annual evaluation of the national network of Local Sports Partnerships, was launched in Westport, Co Mayo by the Minister of State for Sport Mr. Michael Ring T.D. He was joined by Counsellor Henry Kenny, the Chairman of Mayo Sports Partnership and John Treacy, CEO of the Irish Sports Council. Also, in attendance were trainees from the Community Sports Leaders programme operated by Mayo Sports Partnership which is giving local unemployed people an opportunity to become trained as sports coaches and leaders.
Minister Ring stated: "The continued success of the Local Sports Partnerships is evident with over a quarter of a million people participating in over eight hundred locally delivered programmes in 2012. I would like to thank all of those in the Local Sports Partnerships and sports organisations and would continue to encourage people to become involved in sport events in their local areas so that they can enjoy the health and social benefits that come from sport and physical activity."
The Sports Partnerships were created by the Irish Sports Council in 2000 to provide opportunities in sport for target groups which face barriers to sport.
Funding from the Irish Sports Council accounts for 43% of the total LSP funding in 2012, the remaining 57% is raised from other sources this meets the recommendation from the Fitzpatrick Report of 2005. Almost €13m was invested in the network in 2012 including Monetary Funding leveraged locally of €3,420,397 and Benefit-in-kind (BIK) of €3,957,880. Irish Sports Council funding to the LSP network reduced by over €75,000 or 1.3% from €5.68m in 2011 to €5.61m in 2012 reflecting the reduction of €2.3m in the Council's own budget.
John Treacy, Chief Executive of the Irish Sports Council attended at the launch and commented; The Partnership Network continues to be an essential element of the sports infrastructure in Ireland. Their focus is on increasing participation and the SPEAK Report demonstrates their success in activating communities and, within a formal evaluation context, confirms all the positive feedback we receive about their work in every county in Ireland".
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