South Dublin have won the first pilot Go for Life Games held in DCU this month

22/06/2012

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DATE: 21 JUNE 2012

Dublin South Take Home the Gold at the pilot
Go for Life games

South Dublin have won the first pilot Go for Life Games held in DCU this month

A team of twelve older people from South Dublin have won gold in a pilot for the Go for Life Games. Go for Life is the national programme for sport and physical activity for older people. These pilot Games are a warm-up for a full National Games which aim to bring together teams from every county in Ireland to compete for glory. The team, supported by the sports office of South Dublin County Council (SDCC), beat off stiff competition from six other counties to be crowned ‘Best Overall County’ during the Games.

“Tony Nolan” said “It was a great day out, we had a great time and the bonus was coming away with the title” of their win.

The Go for Life Games are based on some of the games played by Go for Life groups across Ireland. Competitors turned their hand to ‘Lobbers’ based on boules and pétanque, ‘Disc Toss’ and ‘Skidils’ based on skittles and, while competition was fierce, the umpires’ word was final, and the men and women of South Dublin emerged victorious.  

“It was a fantastic day out, the atmosphere was electric, the competitive part of the day was forgotten about and everyone got stuck in and had great fun, we are looking forward to next year’s national games – the team is back in training already!” said Alison Silke, Sports & Recreation Officer of South Dublin County Council

“The Go for Life Games are a festival of physical activity, a celebration of sport,” says Go for Life’s Programme Director Mary Harkin. “The heats in each county so far have attracted a lot of people, including a lot more men than usual. We hope to see 2013 as a year where we have a team from every county coming from the thousands of people who take part in Go for Life every week.”

People interested in getting more active can call Go for Life on (01) 805 7733or South Dublin County Council (SDCC) (01) 4149000 or South Dublin County Sports Partnership at 01 4149000

ENDS

For further media information contact: Michael Foley, Age & Opportunity, michael.foley@ageandopportunity.ie; 01 805 7709; 087 236 1659.

Editors Notes:

Go for Life is the national programme for sport and physical activity for older people.  Go for Life is an Age & Opportunity initiative which is funded by the Irish Sports Council.

Further details about the Go for Life Programme can be found on www.ageandopportunity.ie.  The Go for Life Steering Committee is chaired by Robert Grier and is made up of representatives of the Irish Sports Council, Age & Opportunity, the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament and Active Retirement Ireland

Age & Opportunity is the national not-for-profit organisation that promotes opportunities for greater participation by older people in society through partnerships and collaborative programmes. Other initiatives include Bealtaine – the national arts festival celebrating creativity in older age.

South Dublin County Sports Partnership (SDCSP) is one of a national network of 32 Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs). It is part of the County Development Board network. The principal goal of the SDCSP is “to increase opportunities for participation in sport/ physical activity among the community”. In particular among certain target groups such as young children, teenage girls and women in general, people with disabilities, disadvantaged (socio-economic), older people and ethnic minorities.  

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