Paul Varian, chief executive of the Irish Hockey Association said,
“Whilst the Irish Sports Council is responsible for the funding of our High Performance programme, this grant award, negotiated through the good offices of Pat Hickey at IOC level, will provide vital additional support to our mens and womens squads in pursuit of their Olympic goals,” It will greatly enhance our preparations for the forthcoming European Championships and the 2008 Olympic qualifying tournament”
Dr. Stephen Martin, the OCI chief executive said that 2007 would be an important year in gauging whether Irish hockey could step up to the challenge of qualifying for the Beijing Olympic Games. “We all want an Irish hockey team there, hopefully two, and the OCI are delighted to be able to help the cause through this important grant. This is part of our ongoing work with the national federations and government agencies to ensure that we have the best possible support in place for athletes and teams to qualify and perform well at the Olympics.”
Ends
Further information: Dr. Stephen Martin at 087 125 0284
Or OCI Media Officer: Jack McGouran at 086 856 2649
