2009
Primary School Superstars was delivered in 2009.
Primary School Superstars - The first ever primary schools superstars competition for Co. Offaly was staged on Tuesday, June 9th in Tullamore Harriers Stadium with over 160 children.
The competition which was developed by Offaly Sports Partnership and the Health Promotion Unit of the HSE consisted of 10 different activities which tested children’s fitness and sports skills and was based on the Superstars competition which was very popular in the 1980s.
“We developed the programme to allow children in primary school to try out a number of sports and to improve their fitness”, said Eamonn Henry, coordinator of Offaly Sports Partnership. “It is part of our ongoing commitment to provide appropriate competition opportunities for children of school going age following on from the sports-hall athletics competitions we ran last winter”, he added. Mr. Henry also said that following this pilot programme in the four participating schools and a further four in south and west Offaly, the Sports Partnership hopes to take it into many more schools in the coming year and that the competition will become part of its annual programme.
Clodagh Armitage, Health Promotion Officer with the HSE and a member of the Board of the Sports Partnership spoke positively of the programme. “Avoiding over specialisation at a young age is important for the development of all round sporting ability”, she said. “The Superstars programme allowed children to try out a range of activities in a fun filled environment. This can only enhance their love for sport and increase the chances of them staying involved in sport in the future”, said Ms. Armitage. She paid tribute to Catherine Collins who is on student placement from Dublin City University. Catherine was responsible for bringing the programme into the schools and training teachers in the various disciplines ahead of the final inter schools competition. She also complemented Bronwyn Shiels who is on student placement from Tralee Institute of Technology and is carrying out a similar programme in south and west Offaly.
Four categories of competition were held on the day; 3rd and 4th class girls, 3rd and 4th class boys, 5th and 6th class girls and 5th and 6th class boys. The spoils in the girls’ competitions were shared between Monasteroris National School Edenderry and Geashill National School. Scoil Bhride Croghan lost the senior girl’s competition to Geashill by a mere one point. Cappagh National School was dominant in both boys’ competitions having a margin of 24 points to spare in one competition and 32 in the other. The results from the competitions were as follows:
Overall Result 3rd and 4th Class Girls – 1st Monasteroris National School, 105 points; 2nd Cappagh National School, 101 points; 3rd Geashill National School, 100 points; 4th Scoil Bhride Croghan, 85 points
Overall Result 3rd and 4th Class Boys – 1st Cappagh National School, 119 points; 2nd Monasteroris National School, 96 points; 3rd Scoil Bhride Croghan, 89 points; 4th Geashill National School, 88 points
Overall Result 5th and 6th Class Girls – 1st Geashill National School, 108 points; 2nd Scoil Bhride Croghan, 107 points; 3rd Cappagh National School, 92 points; 4th Monasteroris National School, 86 points
Overall Result 5th and 6th Class Boys – 1st Cappagh National School, 124 points; 2nd Geashill National School, 92 points; 3rd Monasteroris National School, 90 points; 4th Scoil Bhride Croghan, 84 points
For further information on the Primary Schools Superstars programme contact Eamonn Henry at Offaly Sports Partnership; telephone 057 93 46843, email: ehenry@offalycoco.ie. Schools wishing to be considered for participation in future interschool Superstar competitions should also contact the Sports Partnership.
The following programmes were also delivered in 2009: -