Ladies football is the fastest growing participation sport in Ireland over the past ten years. Now, in an attempt to raise the profile of the game and to attract more people to become involved with teams and all aspects of the game in the province of Connacht, the Connacht Council of the Cumann Peil na mBan have launched their three-year strategic plan (2008 to 2010). The launch took place in Claremorris last week and was attended by the Roscommon People. The official launch was performed by Geraldine Giles, the National President of Cumann Peil na mBan, while other speakers on the night included Mary Quinn, the President of the Connacht Council and Mary Beades, well-known St. Brigids and Roscommon player and Development Officer for the ladies game in Connacht. Indeed Mary is the driving force behind the plan. The aim of the plan is to increase participation in ladies football throughout Connacht – on and off the field – under the following main headings: Coaching, Games Development, Communication, Marketing and Finance, Administration and Governance, Fixtures and Competitions and Refereeing and Rules. Every club in Connacht which plays ladies football will be receiving details of the plan in the post this week and it is hoped that the plan will reach its targets by the end of 2010. There are currently 127 clubs playing ladies football in Connacht and it is hoped to increase that figure by 10% over the lifetime of the plan. In fact Roscommon has a big percentage of club participation with 19% of all clubs in Roscommon involved. Mayo have 21% and Galway 28% of their clubs involved in ladies football. There are currently 367 Primary Schools participating in ladies football in the province and it is hoped that the figure can increase to 467 by 2010. It is also hoped to increase the number of qualified coaches at Foundation level from 228 at present to 500 and at level 1 from 2 at present, to 140. There are also plans to increase the number of newly-recruited referees in the province from 12 to 50 over the three-year period of the plan. It’s an ambitious plan but the targets set out there are realistic and achievable, according to Connacht Development Officer Mary Beades. ‘This plan is not just for the elite players, the few who play for county teams. This is for every single person who is interested in ladies gaelic football in Connacht’ she told the People. ‘Ladies gaelic football has exploded in terms of interest, especially in the last seven or eight years, and we have a huge responsibility to make sure the back-up is there in terms of coaching, etc. I would say that the numbers of young girls coming in to play the game is beyond everyone’s wildest dreams and we have to be able to deal with that’ she continued. Mary Beades says that the biggest problems faced by the ladies football authorities is to get volunteers to help out with teams and coaching. ‘We have great people involved at the minute but they are becoming stretched and some of them have simply too much to do and we want to get help for them. We want more people to get involved even if it is in a very small way’ she said. ‘At the end of this three-year period we want to develop the game in all areas, in terms of participation, coaching, marketing and refereeing at all levels – right down to the very bottom’ she says. Mary is also very happy that the ladies football people have the full support of the main body of the GAA. ‘Since I came into this job I have been very happy with the co-operation that we have received from the GAA. This plan will demonstrate just how serious we are in ladies football and I am looking forward to the plan being implemented in full’ she said. Mary Quinn from Leitrim is a former well-known intercounty star footballer and is the President of the Connacht Council. She told me that she was excited and energised by the plan and its aims. ‘This covers every aspect of ladies football in Connacht, we want more volunteers. There is pressure on the people we have at the minute so we want to get more people in to help out in all areas of our association’ she said. ‘A lot of people are willing but are reluctant to do so (get involved) because a lot of them say – ‘I’d love to help out but I know knothing about training a team’ – but what we want to do is to put on courses and help in place to empower these people to be able to give a hand in clubs and schools at whatever level they feel they can help at’ she commented. ‘We need everyone that is interested in our game and we have to be there to assist them. We have a wonderful game. One of the things that a lot of the research says to us is that the young girls who participate in training and games should be having fun. ‘If they are not enjoying the game then when they come to age 16 or 17 they will give it up. So part of the plan is to increase the level of fun in the game and that’s all part of the development and coaching process’ she concluded. So you can expect to be hearing from your local club in the coming weeks about an appeal for extra help for Ladies gaelic football. Mary Beades says that clubs who have any problems should contact her or their own county board for details of extra coaching courses and assistance for club officials in the coming weeks, months and years. This then is a bold but welcome attempt by the Ladies Football authorities to increase the profile of the game in the province and with someone like Mary Beades as the driving force behind its implementation, there is no reason why it will not prove to be a success.
This Week’s Digital Edition
