Communities urged to get fit for Special Olympics athletes
Communities across the country will be taking part in a €16 million fundraiser to increase the number of athletes from 8,000 to 16,000.
Minister of State at the Department of Health Sean Power said the Go campaign, which will run over the next two months, was a great reason for people to start exercising.
“Lack of interest, willingness or time are the usual reasons people give for not taking exercise,” he said.
“A little exercise to raise some money could make a huge difference to a person with a learning disability getting involved with the Special Olympics programme. What better incentive could there be?”
According to research carried out by the ESRI and the Irish Sports Council last year, one in five adults takes no physical exercise, and only two in five take enough exercise to meet the minimum standards recommended by the World Health Organisation.
The campaign is intended to build on the success of the Special Olympics which were hosted in Ireland in 2003.
Special Olympics Ireland director Mary Davis said that it would cost around €1,000 to train each athlete.
“Our ambition is to double the number of athletes from 8,000 to 16,000. They will train on a weekly and daily basis in clubs that we will set up for them and they will participate in competitions at regional and national level.”
Under the ambitious plan, around 300 athletes will be selected for the Irish team to travel to the Special Olympics in Shanghai in 2007.
Ms Davis said people could raise money through sponsored exercise. “With all the statistics about the lack of physical activity and opportunities for the public, we thought if we can run a campaign to coincide with that to get people a bit more active, and to support the Special Olympics at the same time, that would be a win-win situation,” she said. More than 40,000 campaign packs have been distributed throughout the country. Fundraising projects include bag packs in supermarkets, sponsored walks, dances and golf classics.
