Welcome to Bike Week 2024 Grant Application!

Are you part of a club, school, community group, or organisation passionate about cycling? Gear up for Bike Week 2024 and be part of the action with our exclusive grant opportunity!

About the Grant:

We’re excited to offer grants of up to €2,000 to eligible applicants planning events during Bike Week 2024 (May 11th – 19th, 2024). This grant aims to support clubs, schools, community groups, and organisations in organising engaging and impactful cycling events.

How to Apply:

Submitting your application is simple. Please ensure you meet the criteria outlined below and submit your completed form no later than 5:00 pm on Wednesday, 10th January 2024.

• Submission Methods: Email to cshanahan@carlowcoco.ie or post to Caroline Shanahan, Carlow Sports Partnership, Community Section, Carlow County Council, Carlow Town Hall, Centaur Street, Carlow.
• Criteria for Eligibility: Events must take place during Bike Week 2024, incorporate the Bike Week & Carlow Sports Partnership logos on promotional materials, provide a post-event breakdown of participants, and use the grant for event organisation and running (not for capital investments).

Benefits of the Grant:

This grant is your chance to showcase your commitment to cycling and community engagement during Bike Week 2024. Whether it’s organising cycling races, educational workshops, family rides, or inclusive community events, your initiative can make a difference!

Get Involved:

Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity! Rally your club, school, group, or organisation to participate and be part of Bike Week 2024. For further details, contact Caroline Shanahan at cshanahan@carlowcoco.ie or click below to download an application.

Let’s pedal together towards an extraordinary Bike Week 2024 celebration!

CSP is delighted to offer two blocks of classes designed for mothers and older adults in Tullow

Carlow Sports Partnership is providing a limited number of spaces for classes held at Tullow Town Hall. Classes will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and booking is essential for both sessions.

Buggy Buddies – Baby-Friendly Pilates Classes

The Buggy Buddies classes are suitable for mothers of all ages and are baby-friendly. This program offers a wonderful opportunity to engage in gentle exercise with your baby while meeting new friends.

Day: Tuesdays & Thursdays
Dates: 9th January – February 13th (Tuesday) / 11th January – February 15th (Thursday)
Time: 10am – 11am

To book the Buggy Buddies Pilates Tuesday classes, click here.
To book the Buggy Buddies Pilates Thursday classes, click here.

Wise & Well – Functional Fitness Classes

Additionally, there will be low-impact exercise classes designed for adults over 55. These sessions are adaptable and suitable for all fitness levels and abilities.

Day: Tuesdays & Thursdays
Dates: 9th January – February 13th (Tuesday) / 11th January – February 15th (Thursday)
Time: 11am – 12pm

To book the Wise & Well Tuesday classes, click here.
To book the Wise & Well Thursday classes, click here.

For any inquiries about these classes, please email Jennifer at jdempsey@carlowcoco.ie.

Please note that attendance is only allowed for the session you have booked.

Carlow Sports Partnership are on a mission to get the club men of County Carlow moving. We are offering clubs the chance to run their own programmes aimed specifically at the men who help your club run. This programme is perfect for those that miss the buzz of game day or anyone who wants to get fit.

Applications are now open to all clubs in Carlow. Carlow Sports Partnership will provide applicants with the organisational support and funding they need to plan and run a dedicated programme aimed specifically at adult men in the club.

Carlow Sports Partnership can provide funding for a qualified club member to lead these programmes, or an outside professional, to get your club men back on the move.

If you’d like to express an interest in running a program at your club, please send completed application forms to Caroline at cshanahan@carlowcoco.ie.

Carlow Sports Partnership are currently recruiting for an ESF+ Social Innovation in Sport Officer

About the Post

Every day in communities across the country, Sport Ireland through its network of Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) helps people irrespective of age, gender, disability, or social circumstance to get active. The role of the ESF + Social Innovation in Sport officer employed within the LSPs will be to use sport and physical activity to foster social inclusion and provide education, inclusion and personal development programmes for European Social Fund (ESF+) target groups such youth at risk, persons with disability, disadvantaged women, ethnic minorities and migrants throughout the country. All programmes will be developed with an innovation and user-centric focus.

This role is funded by the European Social Fund + (ESF+) Programme 2021 -2027 through Sport Ireland. The ESF+ Programme will support the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights by seeking to:

• Support access to employment for young people and underrepresented groups
• Promote skills and lifelong learning
• Tackle poverty and social exclusion

Sport and Physical Activity will be used as mechanism to support these principles and the Local Sport Partnerships will be the main drivers on this project locally.

Sport Ireland published its first policy on Diversity and Inclusion in Sport in 2022 which expresses its vision for a sport sector that celebrates diversity, promotes inclusion, and is pro-active in providing opportunities for lifelong participation for everyone. The ESF+ Social Innovation in Sport officer will work in collaboration with key local and national stakeholders to support the implementation of this policy.

Particulars of the Post

This post is a three year contract and is being offered at analogous Grade V on the Local Authorities pay scale.

The closing date for applications to the post is 12:00pm Friday 15^th December 2023.

For more information, and to download the Candidate Information Booklet and Application Form, please see below.

Informal queries about the role can be made to the Sports Partnership Coordinator, Deborah Foley, via deborahfoley@carlowcoco.ie

Carlow Sports Partnership is once again launching the Local Sports Participation Grant Scheme. This fund aims to assist existing clubs and community groups that have physical activity and sport as their primary activity and encourage the set-up of new clubs and groups to promote physical activity and sport. The National Sports Policy 2018 – 2027 highlights the need to prioritise support for minority sports and low participation groups including young people, females, people with a disability, ethnic minorities, older adults, ethnic and clubs/groups located in disadvantaged areas. To access the National Sports Policy, please click here.

How Much Funding is Available?

For 2023 the maximum grant available is €2,000 per club. Please note that capital projects are not eligible under this grant scheme.

Who Can Apply?

Grants are available to all local sports clubs, community groups, and voluntary organisations that promote physical activity & sport. This grant is not available to schools, contact the Sports Partnership office for information on school support.

Please Note:

Only fully completed application forms will be considered. The closing date for receipt of applications is 5:00pm, Friday 8^th December 2023. Applications received after this date will not be accepted.

To download a copy of the Guidelines and Application Form, please see below. Or for more information, please contact Ger via gbonner@carlowcoco.ie

Physical Activity Programme for Primary Schools 2023/24

Carlow Sports Partnership has teamed up with Ireland’s National Governing Bodies of Sport to bring an exciting opportunity to your school for the upcoming academic year. This collaborative effort aims to empower teachers, enrich the physical activity curriculum, and infuse new elements of fun into learning—all at significantly subsidized rates. Here’s what the program entails:

What’s on Offer

Paid Programs

Basketball Ireland: Collaborating with SETU Carlow international basketball team, this program offers a 6-week coaching block by awarded basketball players from IT Carlow. The package includes essential equipment and coaching resources at a cost of €30.00 plus €2.00 per child per session.

Badminton Ireland: With a highly skilled tutor, this program offers a coaching block after Christmas for teachers and students, complete with racquets, shuttles, and a net, all for €45.00.

Mountaineering Ireland: An adventure into Mt. Leinster’s low land areas, providing classes with essential map reading skills and safe hiking guidance for different age groups at €30.00 per program.

School Hall Fitness: This program delivers gymnastics and fun fitness sessions by expert coaches over six weeks at a cost of €2.00 per child per session.

Free Programs

Learn to Cycle: Loaning balance bicycles along with video tutorials for teachers, aiming to boost confidence in younger pupils learning to cycle.

Sports Hall Athletics: Empowering senior students to assist junior and senior infants in physical activity. Carlow Sports Partnership provides training and equipment for an Athletics Ireland-approved course for six weeks.

GAA Handball: Offering a two-hour taster course and a detailed six-week teachers’ Handball PE program, all covered with no cost to the school.

Daily Mile: A social physical activity where children run or jog at their own pace for 15 minutes, enhancing fitness and learning readiness, requiring no additional setup or equipment.

For more information on any of these programmes, you can download our brochure by clicking here or contacting Caroline via cshanahan@carlowcoco.ie or on 087 918 5466.

How to Sign Up

To enrol for any of these programs for the academic year 2023/24, contact Caroline via cshanahan@carlowcoco.ie or on 087 918 5466.

This initiative promises an enriching, diverse, and fun-filled approach to physical activity for your school, fostering both physical and mental well-being among students and teachers alike.

The third year of the Winter Initiative has been launched by Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne TD, with the aim of getting as many people as possible exercising and participating in physical activity over the coming winter months. With over 700 events and activities planned across the country there is a specific focus on encouraging people to try their hand at a new sport they may not have experienced before.

Speaking as he launched the Winter Initiative in Laytown, Co. Meath, the Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne TD, commented: “With less daylight and harsher weather, this is a time of the year when we all need to dig a little deeper to find the motivation to exercise and to be physically active. For many of us at this time of the year, our bodies and minds do not get enough light and endorphins. Research suggests that winter exercise has many health and wellbeing benefits and The Winter Initiative is designed to provide both the motivation and the opportunity to get out get out exercising with family, friends, neighbours or work colleagues. With a large programme of events and activities planned right across the country, I urge everyone to get active over the coming months, to generate those all-important feel-good hormones which help keep the winter blues at bay”

Getting involved in sport, exercise and physical activity have huge benefits to individuals and communities and the Winter Initiative is designed to ensure that these can be felt by as many people as possible. Local clubs and groups are also encouraged to post and advertise their events and activities online to spread the word about the Winter Initiative and encourage new people to try out different sports which they may have felt were outside their comfort zone before now.

Sport Ireland CEO Una May added: “Sport Ireland welcomes the launch of the latest Winter Initiative and we would really encourage people to try to make sport and physical activity a part of their daily routine. NGBs and our network of LSPs will be hosting events all over the country and these afford everyone the opportunity to try something new or engage again with a sport that they might have drifted away from and to get healthy and get active this winter.”

A full list of all the events and activities planned all around the country that people can get involved in is available on the Sport Ireland website at https://www.sportireland.ie/winter-initiative