» Home » News » St Lawrences announce venture with CITC
St Lawrences announce venture with CITC
St Lawrences GAA Club Manchester are pleased to announce an enterprising new venture with City in the Community (CITC™).
CITC is the charitable trust established by Manchester City FC® with the aim of forging closer links between the football club and the local community. It has been recognised as one of the leading community initiatives in Britain and Europe, with the scheme being heralded as a model of best practise by the Premier League™, the PFA™ and the FA™.
CITC's scheme is focused across four main disciplines including Sport & Adventure, Health & Lifestyle, Young People and Skills & Enterprise. Certain parts of the scheme initiatives are designed to raise awareness about the benefits of physical activity, its importance and where these activities can be accessed.
St Lawrences were initially invited by CITC to participate in a two day multi-sports programme delivering such benefits. The project is aimed at 8-13 year olds within local community areas served by the GAA Club.
Gavin Makel, the Play Co-Coordinator for CITC, believed the addition of Gaelic Football would work quite well with the scheme initiatives and was delighted that St Lawrence’s had seized the opportunity to become involved.
He explained; “The idea behind the project is for young people to experience sports they may not usually get the chance to play and Gaelic Football seems like the ideal sport for this occasion”.
Paul Murphy, the architect behind St Lawrences involvement, added “We have persuaded CITC to involve St Lawrences as part of their multi-sports programme, in order to promote Gaelic Games at this level. The objective is to introduce Gaelic Games to those children and encourage further implementation through-increased-awareness,-active-involvement-and-practical-enjoyment”.
He continued, “Should the project prove to be a successful venture, we would be seeking to extend the relationship with CITC, facilitating access to a wide range of children involved with these regular programmes. In addition, this opportunity would also provide us with the foundation to increase club memberships and to source funding from numerous government backed incentives and sponsors alike, through our association with such schemes”.
Paul also commented that he expects other GAA clubs in Britain to follow suit; “Opportunities like this must be sought by clubs at all levels and is vital to the sustainability of Gaelic Games in the UK. Subsequently, it was rather surprising that we did not receive the initial support of the Games Development Committee (GDC), contrary to their principal objectives. Going forward, I would urge the GDC to become involved and play a major role in the support of schemes like this.”
He also added that fellow clubs should act independently in their pursuit of such opportunities and should maximise all funding sources available to support their work; “Collectively, UK Gaelic Games would stand a better chance of sustainability through an increase in independent club activity at juvenile levels. Such efforts would raise awareness and increase recognition synonymously”.
The Gaelic Football sessions took place on 16th and 17th February 2009. St Lawrences senior trio of Paul Murphy, Liam Murphy and Jimmy Wray delivered the programme to over 60 children, culminating in their participation in an exhibition game as a demonstration of their new found skills.
Gavin Makel was notably pleased with the delivery and felt the children had gained a lot from the experience; “I've got some good feedback from the kids that they really enjoyed it, particularly in Crowcroft Park.”
He believes a successful relationship with St Lawrences is a step closer and has called for the GAA Club to be involved in further programmes throughout the course of the year.
The venture is an innovative move for a GAA Club, but is not unfamiliar territory for St Lawrences. In May 2007, a unique promotional stunt involved the senior team participating in a soccer match at the home of Manchester United FC®. However, it would appear for now at least, that focus has shifted to a blue moon appearing on the horizon.
St Lawrences are currently recruiting players at all age levels for the new season. Anybody interested in playing Gaelic football should contact Club Registrar Jimmy Wray on 07709434978.
Club Contacts
Address
St Lawrences GAA Club
Turn Moss Road
Stretford
Manchester
Lancashire
UK
M32 8QD
Phone
+ 44 77 0943 4978