The Lenovo GAA Skills Hubs will be led for the first time by inter county players from across the GAA codes and cater for children aged between 13 to 15 years.
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), Gaelic Players Association (GPA), the Camogie Association and the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) are united today to announce the launch of the Lenovo GAA Skills Hubs, offering the chance for boys and girls aged between 13 to 15 years of age to learn the skills of Gaelic football, hurling and camogie from their heroes and heroines, in high quality venues across the country from June to August this summer.
Lenovo, the largest PC company in the world, have agreed a three year partnership with the GAA/GPA that will include title sponsorship of the Skills Hubs in addition to a nationwide affinity scheme for all GAA members. The Lenovo GAA Skills Hubs will give children an insight into the life of an inter-county player that will include conditioned games, skills development, mental preparation, sports nutrition and athletic development. Top GAA players including Bernard Brogan (Dublin football), Conor Lehane (Cork hurling), Deirdre Murphy (Clare camogie) and Cliodhna O’Connor (Dublin ladies football) will be coaching at the Skills Hub.
Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas,Liam Ó’Néill said: “ I have said on many occasions that we should work towards uniting the GAA with our sister associations namely the Camogie Association, the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, into one even stronger Gaelic Athletic Association which also includes GAA Handball and GAA Rounders. I believe the Lenovo GAA Skills Hubs mark another significant step in bringing our organisations closer together and I would like express my thanks to all in developing the concept. I would also like to thank welcome Lenovo into the GAA family and look forward to working with them on this and other initiatives in the coming years.”
Speaking at the launch, Fiona O’ Brien, Country Manager, Lenovo Ireland said: “We are privileged to align ourselves with such a unique and community based organisation as the GAA/GPA on these exciting and innovative Skills Hubs for the summer of 2014 and beyond. Today’s announcement coincides with a period of tremendous growth for Lenovo in the European market and marks the start of an exciting wider campaign in the GAA that will include the roll out of an affinity scheme for all GAA members across our product range.”
Gaelic Players Association, Chief Executive, Dessie Farrell added: “As a players’ organisation, we were delighted to work with various other GAA organisations on this initiative and we must continue to innovative and create new opportunities for both boys and girls of this particular age to play sport. It is also wonderful to see a global brand such as Lenovo seeking to collaborate with the GAA and it again reinforces the appeal and marketability of both our games and our players.”
Pat Quill, President of the LGFA, stated at the event that, “The Lenovo Skills Hub is a wonderful facility that is available for girls aged 13-15 for the first time. I am especially excited to see that the focus is not only on on-pitch activities and skills development, but an emphasis will also be placed on life skills that will stand to these teenagers in the future. It is an excellent opportunity for players, who are approaching the age where the highest levels of drop outs from sport occurs, to mix with camp leaders, who are also top Ladies Football, Camogie and GAA stars, who will act as role models and a source of inspiration for these young girls to stay involved in sport for years to come.’
Aileen Lawlor, President of the Camogie Association said: “I believe the Lenovo Skills Hubs highlight what can be achieved between Camogie, Ladies Football and the GAA when we work together. They represent a fantastic opportunity for girls to learn the skills of the game from their heroes and the strong sponsorship of Lenovo can provide a wonderful platform to raise the profile our games nationwide.”
Key Features:
• Specially designed initiative for teenagers 13 to 15 years old
• Coaching of key skills (shooting, blocking, tackling) from top GAA inter-county stars
• Break-out sessions on nutrition, inter county experiences, strength and conditioning games,
• Lenovo Ideapad to be won at each camp
• 26 Venues across the country
Also in attendance to launch the event were inter county players and Lenovo Skills Hub Ambassadors Bernard Brogan (Dublin), Conor Lehane (Cork), Deirdre Murphy (Clare) and Cliodhna O’Connor (Dublin)
For detailed information about the gaa.ie/lenovoskillshub
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