Two amateur athletes and a sports club based in County Wexford have each received a €1,000 uplift ahead of the festive period courtesy of Kingspan, a global leader in high-performance insulation and building envelope solutions…
The Kingspan Kickstart Sports Fund launched earlier this year, with support from Irish professional golfer, Shane Lowry, to provide support for grassroots level athletes and community sports clubs, and has already awarded a total of €90,000 to successful applicants across Ireland.
As part of the fund, athletes, Sophia Tkacheva, from Gorey and Caolan Costello, from New Ross, have been awarded €1,000 each, alongside Ferrycarrig Rowing Club, which will help to provide sporting equipment, training and other necessary resources, alongside offering assistance with any campaigns that are currently underway.
A figure skater, Sophia has been involved with the sport since she was five-years-old and has won a number of titles during that time. She clinched the Irish Junior Championship twice and has competed in dozens of international competitions including two Junior Grand Prix. Aiming to progress even further in the future, Sophia is planning to use the funding to pay for training, a new dress and skates.
Hoping to make his debut at the Senior World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games, Caolan has been competing in the modern pentathlon for approximately six years. Having competed abroad multiple times in European Cups and Championships, Caolan has a gruelling training regime, and hopes that the Kingspan Kickstart Sports Fund would go a long way to helping him pay for this as well as competition trips and equipment.
Elsewhere, Ferrycarrig Rowing Club was established in 1895 and welcomes people aged 10 and over and caters to all abilities. The Club competes in local and national regattas, long rows throughout Ireland and coastal challenges such as rowing across the Irish Sea. Focussed on recruiting new members, the Club plans to use the Fund to purchase new equipment.
Speaking about the Fund, Hannah Fidgeon, Kickstart Marketing Manager at Kingspan said:
“We are a long-standing supporter of Irish sports through our sponsorship of Ulster Rugby and Cavan GAA, so establishing the Kingspan Kickstart Sports Fund was an important initiative for us.”
“Professional level sport is largely well bolstered, however if it’s to continue to progress and thrive, support for grassroots level athletes, sports clubs and facilities is essential. It’s well known that competing at an amateur level can be extremely tough, especially in terms of finances, and we hope that this Fund will help to make a huge difference to clubs, facilities and athletes in their sporting journey.”
“We have an immense amount of home-grown sporting talent here in Ireland,” Hannah continued. “If our rich sporting culture is to continue to evolve and develop, we must do all we can to support the grassroots levels, which hopefully the Kingspan Kickstart Sports Fund will help to achieve.”
“Congratulations to all the recipients. We’re looking forward to seeing how your clubs and athletes grow in the near future,” Hannah told Wexford Weekly.
To apply for the Kingspan Kickstart Sports Fund, you must be an amateur athlete, sports club or a community sports facility open to all and based on the island of Ireland.
Applications for the next round of funding will open in 2024. Visit: www.kingspangroup.com/en/about/communities/kickstart-sports-fund/ for further information.
