Community Games to be held in Athlone

DETAILS OF this year’s HSE Community Games have been announced by the organisers.

They will take place at the Athlone Institute of Technology because Mosney is having a face-lift.

The events this year take place from May 22nd to May 24th, and from August 14th to 16th and August 21st and 23rd.

The announcement was made at the annual general meeting of the games in Trim, Co Meath, on Saturday.

The meeting also announced that The Irish Times had won a national media award for its coverage of three national final weekends of the games.

HSE Community Games spokeswoman Margaret Bolton said it was important for events like the Community Games to get national news coverage despite the pressures of space and resources.

“To be afforded any coverage in a national newspaper is fantastic; to get the volume of coverage from The Irish Times was exceptional. The coverage we got was priceless.”

More than 6,000 young people take part in the national finals. However, the organisation has more than 20,000 volunteers nationally, and 500,000 children participate at community and county level.

The games were given a silver health quality award by the National Youth Council on Saturday for the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. They have broadened their remit to promote healthy living from their traditional role of promoting sport.

National youth council assistant director Deiniol Jones said: “The health quality mark is by no means an easy undertaking.

“HSE Community Games has invested in training, policy developments and the establishment of support structures and a framework that prioritises health promotion work as a standard of quality on an organisation-wide basis.”