Participants arriving can register at reception before enjoying some breakfast, tea & coffee in the National Indoor Arena while they browse the Sport Ireland Exhibition Stands. 

Participants will be welcomed to the conference by our MC, Joanne Murphy from Tri Talking Sport. 

This will be followed by an address Sport Ireland CEO, Dr Úna May.

Finally, Sport Ireland Director of Governance & Strategy, Sinead Gordon, will address the conference.

A discussion with Paralympic Sprinter Orla Comerford and Olympic Swimmer Darragh Greene, will offer an insight into the lives of high performance athletes and, in particular, how sports development environments positively influenced them as younger people.  

1. Her Moves (Women In Sport) – Nora Stapleton 

   Launched in March, the Her Moves campaign is steadily building momentum. This workshop will provide an update on the Her Moves campaign; providing case studies of programmes running to date and plans for the future.

2. Mapping Participation Pathways in Sport (Coaching) - Tony Wright  

   In order to develop structures to support participation in sport (including coach education) it is useful to be aware of when & how people are entering the sport and how they can / do progress within it. This workshop will be a (re)introduction to the concept of mapping Participation Pathways in Sport using practical examples from a number of sports

3. Sport Ireland Outdoors – Ciara Munnelly 

   An engaging and informative session where we will explore how the Outdoors unit can support the sector in increasing participation in outdoor sports and physical activity. We'll cover the National Digital Database, National Trails Register & Guidance, and the power of collaboration.

Participants can make their way to the National Indoor Training Centre for Lunch.

The Conference participants can enjoy a range of various sports activities during this light hearted session encouraging everybody to engage with other participants that they may not know yet and foster new collaborative relationships.

These practitioner focused workshops aim to bridge the gap between academic research and sports practice, providing a forum for researchers, National Development Staff, and other practitioners to discuss knowledge gaps, practical challenges, opportunities and areas for potential development to enhance future delivery of sport looking specifically at the following areas:

1. Bridging the knowledge gap in women's sport - 3 x presentations

2. Volunteering & Participation in the post-COVID era - 3 x presentations

Participants will be guided down to the Multi Sport Activity Pitches on Campus to enjoy a series of different sporting activities as part of a team to have fun and compete for top spot! 

Find your team below.

Participants will be welcomed to Day 2 of the conference and invited to briefly reflect on what they both learned and enjoyed from Day 1. 

This panel discussion will see MC, Joanne Murphy, interview 4 individuals within the sporting network to offer their insight and experience of engaging with communities across Ireland. 

These individuals are: 

• Ceara O'Connor - Rowing Ireland (Engaging with Women in Sport)
• Michael Reilly - Longford Sports Partnership (Engaging with Traveller Communities)
• Majella Fennelly - Kildare Sports Partnership (Engaging with Disadvantaged Communities)
• Padriag Healy - Vision Sports Ireland (Engaging with People with a Disability)

1. Exploring Creativity in Sport – Cormac MacDonnell 

   This workshop will aim to answer the following questions ‘what is creativity?’, and ‘how can we bring creativity into our roles in sport and our lives?’.  Being creative lies at the heart of many innovation and sport development projects; encouraging creativity in sport will benefit sport and bring a new and rewarding dimension to the sport development space. 

2. Why is Physical Literacy Important? - Declan O’Leary 

   This presentation will examine global physical activity trends and identify the potential of Physical Literacy in impacting and tackling Physical Activity levels in Ireland. Physical Literacy’s potential to be a catalyst for change, and the development of a culture where positive, meaningful movement experiences are an everyday occurrence will be emphasised. 

3. Diversity & Inclusion in Sport: Delivery at National and Local Level – Helen McHugh 

   This workshop will explore practical approaches to developing programmes with a focus on the Sport Ireland Policy on Diversity and Inclusion in Sport. During the workshop the D&I Policy pillars will be used to develop a framework for engagement with people from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.

The conference will break for Tea & Coffee, and participants are encouraged to visit the Sport Ireland exhibition stands

1. Futurepast Mentoring - Louise Burke

   This session will be a facilitated exercise within which attendees will break off into smaller groups and spend time thinking about their future and how best they can achieve it. This session aims to help attendees remove barriers and challenges by starting at the outcome and working their way back to the starting point. It will include a panel with Sport Ireland Directors speaking about their journey and skillsets they prioritised to get to their position. 

    

2. Start to Sustain - Applying behavioural science to increase the take up (start) and continuation (sustain) of sport - Ian Redpath

   This interactive workshop discusses the findings of "using behavioural insights to better understand issues around non-participation" and helps participants explore how people would integrate these findings into their work.                                      

3. Discussion about the latest data and behavioural insights sport in Ireland. Panel Discussion with Neil Fleming, Dearbhla Jordan and Eric Lacey, moderated by Benny Cullen. 

Come join us in this session to discuss and learn about how sports participation is changing in Ireland with a preview of key learnings and insights from Sport Ireland's most recent research and behavioural science. Who is active and who is not? What activities are they doing and what activities would they like to do?

Participants can make their way to the National Indoor Training Centre for Lunch.

Research Breakouts

These workshop aim to bridge the gap between academic research and sports practice, providing a forum for researchers, National Development Staff, and other practitioners to discuss knowledge gaps, practical challenges, opportunities and areas for potential development to enhance future delivery of sport looking specifically at the following areas:

1. Social Inclusion & Diversity - 3 x presentations

2. Innovation, Education & Evaluation - 3 x presentations

Sport Ireland Director of Participation (Louise Burke) and Director of National Governing Bodies (Shane Califf) will provide a closing address to end the conference. 

Conference Ends