Sports Digest: The 2006 Junior European eventing championships, which will be held in Co Fermanagh in mid-September, were officially launched in Belfast yesterday by the North's Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, Maria Eagle MP, writes Grania Willis.
The championships will be run on the Necarne Castle estate in Irvinestown from September 14th-17th as part of the annual senior international one and two-star competitions at the Co Fermanagh venue. A budget of almost €400,000 has been earmarked for the championships, with teams and individual riders from over 12 European nations expected to take part.
Australia's triple Olympic gold medalist Andrew Hoy and his German wife Bettina flew over from their home in England to attend the launch, which was headed by Belfast-born Jean Mitchell, who was awarded an MBE in Britain's 2003 New Year's honours list for services to equestrian sport.
Also at the launch was top national hunt trainer Jessica Harrington, whose daughter Kate finished second behind fellow Kildare rider Camilla Spiers in the junior class at the international event at Tattersalls in Co Meath earlier this month. Camilla Spiers and Kate Harrington are hot favourites to make the Irish team for the championships.
This year's junior Europeans will be the third major championships staged at Necarne Castle. The world individual and European team young rider championships were held at Necarne in 1999 and, four years later, the Irvinestown venue hosted the European pony championships in show jumping, eventing and dressage. The 2006 championships also marks the 12th year that an international event has been held at Necarne.
IHA to appoint full-time coaches
For the first time the Irish Hockey Association will appoint two full-time professional coaches to take over the men's and women's senior national teams, with Dave Passmore stepping down from his role as men's coach to concentrate on his position as high performance director, which is also becoming a full-time post, writes Mary Hannigan.
The creation of the full-time positions has been made possible by added financial support from the Irish Sports Council.
The IHA chief executive, Paul Varian, yesterday said: "That support greatly improves our chances of realising our ultimate goal of qualifying for and competing for medals at Olympic Games and World Cups."
The IHA, said Varian, will be advertising the men's and women's national coaching positions "very shortly".
