By Ricky Simms
Dr. Jim McDaid, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, has announced that £1.1 million will be distributed by the Irish Sports Council in the 2000 elite athlete sports grants. Of this £1.1 million athletics will get a total of £302,400 with a total of 51 of our best runners, walkers, throwers and jumpers receiving awards ranging from £1,000 - £18,000.
The awards are based on the athletes previous performances and, for many, the grants will go a long way in assisting Olympic preparations. In addition to the financial distribution all carded athletes will have access to the Sports Science and Medical Support services available at the National Coaching & Training Centre. Each athlete will be given a PACE (Player Athlete Card for Excellence) card which they can use to avail of medical, physiological, psychological, biomechanical or nutritional services with accredited service providers throughout Ireland.
Discus thrower Nicky Sweeney and high jumper Brendan Reilly were two of only four recipients of the maximum £18,000 grant, while Susan Smith and Mark Carroll each received £15,000. Due to other earnings Sonia O’Sullivan falls into the £12,000 bracket, with James Nolan, Peter Coghlan and Ciaran McDonagh. A notable absentee from the Carding Scheme is Catherina McKiernan who continues to fund her own training and preparations.
The categories of the grant amounts are described as: World Class = £15,000-£18,000, International = £5,000-£7,000, Developmental = £3,000-£3,600 and Junior = £1,000-£1,200.
The full recipient list is as follows:
|
Amount of Grant |
Athlete |
|
£18,000 |
Nick Sweeney, Brendan Reilly |
|
£15,000 |
Susan Smith-Walsh, Mark Carroll |
|
£12,000 |
Sonia O’Sullivan, James Nolan, Peter Coghlan, Ciaran McDonagh |
|
£9,000 |
Karen Shinkins, Gary Ryan, Tom McGuirk |
|
£7,000
|
Valerie Vaughan, Sinead Delahunty, Niall Bruton, Una English, Peter Matthews, Anne Keenan-Buckley, Breeda Dennehy-Willis, David Matthews, Terry McHugh, Gillian O’Sullivan, Dermot Donnelly, Paul Brizzell, Paddy McGrath |
|
£5,000 |
Martin McCarthy, Roman Linscheid |
|
£3,600 |
Brian Liddy, Ciara Sheehy, Colm McLean, Tomas Coman, Emily Maher, Robert Heffernan, David Keoghan, Fiona Norwood, Nicola Coffey, Gareth Turnbull |
|
£3,000 |
Olive Loughnane, Maria Lynch, Aoife Hearne, Paul Opperman |
|
£1,200 |
Derval O’Rourke, Liam Reale, Colín Griffin, Gary Murray, Brian Keane, Francis McCafferty, Conor Sweeney |
|
£1,000 |
David Kidd, Aoife Byrne, Orla Power, Serena O’Keeffe |