PARALYMPICS ChallengeTen teams up with Irish Paralympic sport

ChallengeTen, the feel good personal goal initiative set up by Breifne Earley, has chosen the Paralympic Council of Ireland as its official charity partner.

Breifne set up ChallengeTen on 10/10/10 with the intention of accomplishing ten personal challenges before 11/11/11. ChallengeTen will also now feature Breifne's quest to successfully complete various grueling athletic events to help him achieve his targeted weight loss of 30 kilos. These will include Rowing Ireland's Indoor Championships, the 2011 Phoenix Park Race Series, the Dublin City Marathon and the Liffey Swim.

Breifne will undertake his first athletic challenge at the National Indoor Rowing Championships at Dublin City University's Sport Centre on Saturday 18 December. To support Breifne, members of the Paralympic Council of Ireland and the Irish Adaptive Rowing Team will also be taking part. Any other supporters who wish to join the ChallengeTen team on the day are urged to sign up as soon as possible at http://challengeten.com/ or on Facebook. All funds that Breifne and his supporters raise will go towards Team Ireland's preparation for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Speaking on the above announcement, Breifne Earley said:"I've really enjoyed my efforts on ChallengeTen.com so far and after speaking to a few friends and supporters I decided to use this opportunity to generate some much needed funds to ensure that some of Ireland's most talented athletes, who have each conquered greater obstacles than any of us, are able to participate against the best in the world in London 2012. My family has long been involved in charities who cater for children with physical disabilities, and with my love of sport, the Paralympic Council of Ireland was the obvious choice for a charity partner. These people demonstrate what is possible against the odds at each training session and during every single competition. Watching some of these athletes has helped to motivate me to undertake the challenges that I've set for myself for the coming months."

Patrick Haslett, Community Partnership Manager for the Paralympic Council of Ireland, commented: "We are delighted that Briefne has chosen Ireland's Paralympic athletes as the beneficiaries of ChallengeTen's fundraising efforts. At a time when the country is on its knees, Breifne is demonstrating that we can take control of our own destiny and turn things around with determination, hard work and a longing to succeed. Breifne's open and honest logging of his progress on the ChallengeTen blog is both refreshing and inspiring. We wish him the very best in achieving his ten challenge goals and would encourage everyone to support him and the Paralympic Council of Ireland over the coming year."