7th October 2002

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57 of the Province’s top athletes from the sports of Gaelic football, hockey, rugby and athletics, last night joined the new Sports Institute for Northern Ireland, based at the University of Ulster in Jordanstown.

The Institute is Northern Ireland’s elite sporting academy, and part of a network of high performance centres based across the UK which provide training and support services to these athletes through their own performance managers. It represents a multi-million pound partnership between the Sports Council for Northern Ireland and the University of Ulster.

Welcoming the athletes to the Institute the Minister, Michael McGimpsey said: “I am delighted to see athletes from these sports now being able to access services at the Sports Institute. This will help build a High Performance culture in Northern Ireland and assist our athletes to compete better on the international stage. This is important for NI as good performances on the international stage will help improve our country’s image. These athletes will also provide excellent role models for future generations.”

The University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Student Support, Professor Jim Allen, said:
“Through a professional team of staff based at the University of Ulster, the athletes will be able to access services such as Strength and Conditioning, Sports Science, Sports Medicine and advice on careers and education. An integrated programme approach is greatly needed by the athletes because it will provide individual responses to improve each athlete`s performance.”

Sports Council Chairman, Professor Eric Saunders added: “The Institute is central to one of the Sports Council’s strategic aims, that of improving sporting performance in Northern Ireland. By providing better access to facilities, and support services, we hope NI athletes will be able to achieve better performances and that the outcome of this will be better international rankings, personal bests and more medals.”

Heading the Sports Institute is Ronnie Smyth, ex international hockey coach. He said:
“This cohort of 57 of Northern Ireland’s top young athletes will be a pilot programme for 6 months, and will enable us to iron out any teething problems prior to bringing on board new sports and more athletes. It is anticipated that the Institute’s athlete population will rise to 140 over the next 18 months.”

At the induction event, a panel of athletes including Commonwealth medallist Lisa Bradley, Olympic gold medallist Jimmy Kirkwood, International Rugby player Paddy Wallace, Tennis professional Clare Curran, Gaelic star Anthony Tohill and 400m runner Paul McKee all spoke enthusiastically about the potential of the Institute.

“Having full-time professional staff to consult and provide you with advice will mean a lot to international athletes because most of our athletes have career or educational commitments. We need a high level of support in order to compete at the very top level.” said Lisa.

Tennis player Clare Curran, who has already benefited from support at the Institute in a bid to get back to fitness after a hip operation said:

“The support given to me has been first class. Getting an individual programme of services has helped me on the road to recovery. This has by been achieved identifying the needs I have at present and setting some clear process goals. The staff are currently helping me to focus on these and I hope to be back on the international circuit in the near future thanks to the help I have received.”

Looking forward to next year’s European Hockey finals in Barcelona, assistant Irish coach Jimmy Kirkwood said:

“This is the platform our players need to help us enter a European event with the target of gaining a top 5 position and a place in the World Cup.”

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk