Sport is health and wellness, hobby and fun, and is practiced almost exclusively at grassroots level by a group of passionate volunteers.
Nonetheless, the value of industry in Ireland is estimated to be worth €1.5 billion to the Treasury every year.
Today the Federation of Irish Sport celebrated the people who help bring sport to life in clubs and societies across Ireland.
The Volunteer in Sport Awards are presented annually to recognize the social importance of volunteering in sport and to recognize the time given by those who advance the sport nationwide.
Mary O’Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, observed: “If you look at recent history we had the U20 Grand Slam, the adult men won the Grand Slam, the women are playing this weekend. There isn’t a single high-level athlete in this country who wasn’t positively influenced by a volunteer when he started the sport.
The ‘time spent’ by volunteers in sport is equivalent to around 37.3 million hours across Ireland’s 13,000 registered sport clubs and associations.
Today, Aislinn Nugent Reid from Co Wicklow received the Outstanding Achievement Award for her work with Valleymount Ladies Gaelic Football Club.
“It’s for the love of the game, it’s for the love of the sport and it’s for the kids,” Ms. Nugent Reid said.
“We want the girls to be outside in the fresh air, we want them to exercise, we want them to make friends, we don’t want them to be behind computer screens. We want them to have fun, be part of a team, that’s all about it.”
Ms. Nugent Reid was recognized for her more than 20 years of promoting inclusivity, community spirit, health and wellbeing through sport in her community.
There was an award winner in each county, all of which are just a few of the 450,000 people who volunteer in Ireland every week for sport and physical activity.
The special guest speaker at the awards, Thomas Byrne, Secretary of State for Sport and Physical Education, presented the recipients from each district with a bespoke medal recognizing their amazing commitment to volunteering in a variety of different sports.
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