Aldi Ireland has today (16 May) revealed the start dates of the 2019 Aldi Community Games National Festivals.
The first of the two festivals will take place on 25 and 26 May at the University of Limerick.
Festival Launch
At this years festival launch was Limerick hurlers Tom Morrissey and Sean Finn, hurdle athlete Sarah Lavin and former Muster rugby player Ronan O'Mahony.
“My memories of Community Games are nothing but happy ones," said Morrissey, speaking at the launch.
"I remember trying such a range of different sports throughout my years involved including running, hurling, gaelic football and soccer."
"Being involved in those teams really meant a lot to me as you made great friends and memories with the other kids in the local area,” he said.
According to a statement, the Aldi community games aims to encourage and introduce young people to a love of sport and culture, focusing on participation rather than winning.
200 events
More than 175,000 children across 600 communities are taking part or have already taken part in over 200 scheduled regional events supported by 20,000 volunteers, it revealed.
The company stated that the event will bring together the regional champions in friendly competition across a wide range of sporting and cultural activities, individual and team sports.
There will be 300 volunteers each day helping children, according to the statement.
The volunteers will each day be overseeing activities including swimming, rugby, badminton, Gaelic football, hurling, skittles, debating, draughts, cross-country, gymnastics and more.
Over the past 52 years more than 5 million children have participated in community games, it revealed, including many irish celebrities, sporting heroes and world famous actors.
Healthy Lifestyle
"We set out two years ago to give more and more children and communities the opportunity to participate in Community Games, introducing them to the excitement of sport and laying the early seeds for a healthy lifestyle." said John Curtin, group buying director of Aldi Ireland.
"Progress has been phenomenal, with 177,150 children from over 600 local communities taking part in 2018,” he said
“With the support of our title sponsor Aldi in the promotion of healthy lifestyles, we are confident that a bright future lies ahead as we begin our sixth decade as Ireland’s leading sporting and cultural organisation.” added John Byrne, community games CEO.
“The focus of Community Games has always been to provide our young people with a pathway to an active lifestyle promoted by a huge team of hardworking and dedicated volunteers."
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Helen Galgey. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
