The Olympic Council of Ireland is responsible for the operational planning and management of 9 Olympic events during the Olympic Cycle 2013-16.
- 2013/2015 Winter and Summer European Youth Olympic Festivals
- 2014/2016 World Youth Olympic Games
- 2014 Winter Olympic Games
- 2015 European Games
- 2016 Olympic Games
The Olympic Council work in partnership with the National Federations and Sports Council/Institutes to add value to Olympic Sports programmes and personnel.Here a few highlights from 2015.
Winter European Youth Olympic Festival
Ireland’s Tess Arbez broke new ground for Snowsports in Ireland, following on from Seamus O’Connor’s top ten places at the Snowboard World Championships. Chef de Mission Anne O’Connor:
https://olympics.ie/sports/snowsports/11930-top-20-for-arbez-at-ewyof-2015.html
Baku European Games
Team Ireland athletes in the inaugural 2015 European Games were supported by an experienced performance support team led by Chef de Mission Dermot Henihan and Deputy Chef de Mission Stephen Martin. Team Ireland were represented in 14 sports and by 62 athletes:
https://olympics.ie/european-games/13348-team-ireland-baku-2015-3.html
European Youth Olympic Festival Tbilisi
It was the most successful team ever at this level and Team Ireland finished 16th of 50 countries on the medal table. Chef de Mission Martin Burke:
https://olympics.ie/sports/athletics/13477-tbilisi-eyof-team-return-home.html
OCI Science and Medicine Conference
As per 2013,2014, 65 practitioners working within Olympic Sports high performance support services attended the 3rd conference in this Rio 2016 Olympic Cycle.
Guest speakers include Prof. Jason Ellis and Dr Jack Lambert. There will be the highly popular “elevator pitches” session and of course updates on Ireland’s preparations for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games:
https://olympics.ie/summer-games/rio-2016/13883-oci-science-and-medical-conference-2015.html
Team Leader/Coach/athlete Conferences
40 delegates attended the OCI Team Leader, Head coaches, OCI HQ conference at Carton House.
OCI Rio planning updates, presentations by Criag Fulton (Hockey) Andy McKenzie (Modern Pentathlon) and Paul McGinley (Golf) “critical factors for success on the International stage”
https://olympics.ie/summer-games/rio-2016/14067-team-leader-coach-athlete-conferences.html
Rio 2015 Chef de Mission Seminar
The Olympic Council of Ireland Chef de Mission Kevin Kilty was in Rio to attend a Chef de Mission Seminar in advance of the 2016 Olympic Games:
https://olympics.ie/summer-games/rio-2016/13555-rio-2016-chef-de-mission-seminar.html
Pro 10 appointed Ireland Ticketing Agency
Pro10 were appointed by the Rio 2016 Organising Committee to be the Authorised Ticket Agent for Ireland for the Rio Olympic Games 2016:
https://olympics.ie/news/13948-ireland-ticket-agent-for-rio-2016-games.html
Electric Ireland announced as Team Ireland sponsor
OCI President Pat Hickey said, “The OCI is delighted to have Electric Ireland on board again as an official sponsor of Team Ireland. Our athletes and performance support staff understand very well the marginal decisions and smart choices necessary to perform at the very best. Electric Ireland is helping us to ensure that Team Ireland is given every opportunity to maximise and enjoy the Olympic experience.” The Sponsorship will provide a significant boost in preparing potential Team Ireland athletes for the challenging journey towards the Rio 2016 Olympic Games:
https://olympics.ie/news/13830-electric-ireland-sponsorship-to-energise-team-ireland.html
Kellogg’s confirmed as an official Team Ireland Sponsor
Pat Hickey, President of the Olympic Council of Ireland, said: “We are delighted to welcome Kellogg’s on board as a Team Ireland sponsor. Athletes believe, as we do, that the power of breakfast is crucial to a great start to the day and that from great starts come great things. That’s one of the messages we will help to deliver as Team Ireland.”
https://olympics.ie/news/13992-kelloggs-announces-team-ireland-olympic-partnership.html
Team Ireland Playlist “Athlete Interviews 2015
27 athlete profiles available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYZn54okHVY&list=PLBu_-Eub-VRJIfauo4N0Y6WNNrmd0mcls
Rio 2016 Athlete Scholarships and Team Support
Eight athletes in seven sports benefit from the scholarship scheme, which continues to give the nominated athletes a monthly grant towards vital training and preparation costs in their quest to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio 2016.In addition Irish Women’s Rugby 7’s programme receives 100k to help their qualification campaign for Rio 2016:
https://olympics.ie/sports/badminton/11197-rio-scholarships-announced.html
Russian Olympic University Scholarships 2015/16
Two graduates from Dublin University received Vladimir Potanin Foundation scholarships to study a Master of Sport Administration (MSA) in the Russian International Olympic University , Sochi for the 2015/16 academic year.
https://olympics.ie/news/13695-russian-olympic-university-scholarships.html
Coaching with Impact programme 2014-16
8 sports benefitted from “international expert” intervention during the year
Women in Leadership 2015/16
20 senior women benefited from individual coaching and group training workshops during the year.
Rio National Federation Performance Director Meetings
On going Team Leader meetings, completion of 500+ longlist athletes and support personnel online data capture, Rio flights now booked for 2016 based on arrivals and departure dates provided by Team Leaders, pre-Games training plans finalised, rank order preference for performance support staff provided, clothing production started, media accreditation on track for February 2016 deadline, and our innovative web password protected Rio games information section at m.olympicsdev.wpengine.com. launched to all long list athletes and performance support personnel.
