16th November 2021
Vision Sports Ireland launch Vision Sports Awareness Training
Sport Ireland Chief Executive, John Treacy launches Vision Sports Awareness Training at the National Indoor Arena on Thursday, 11th November with Paralympic Cyclists Martin Gordon and his pilot Eamonn Byrne.
The course which is designed to educate coaches, volunteers and teachers on the various vision Impairments will provide individuals with the knowledge and competence to adapt sports to make them accessible for participants who are blind and vision impaired. Supported by Sport Ireland Coaching, the course will become the Foundation Level of all future training opportunities by Vision Sports Ireland.
Speaking at the launch, John Treacy, Chief Executive of Sport Ireland commented ‘’Sport Ireland welcomes the launch of the Vision Sports Awareness Training. I would encourage as many coaches, volunteers, teachers, Local Sports Partnerships and National Governing Bodies of Sport to undertake the training and to help make sport accessible for all. Making sport accessible to everyone is a key priority of the Governments National Sport Policy. This Sport Ireland Coaching accredited training will increase awareness of visual impairment and support the adaption of all sports to be more inclusive. Vision Sports Ireland are to be commended for the development of this innovative training course and I wish them every success with its rollout over the coming weeks.’’
According to the 2016 census there are 54,810 people in the Republic of Ireland and a further 8,000 in Northern Ireland living with a vision impairment or blindness. Vision Sports Ireland supports all people in Ireland who are blind or have a vision impairment to participate and be actively involved in sport and exercise of their choice. The course aims to aid the growth of our members accessing, engaging, and enjoying the benefits of physical activity on a regular basis.
Pádraig Healy National Sports Development manager with Vision Sports Ireland spoke at the launch “We are delighted to launch the Vision Sports Awareness Training which is the foundation level on our new Training and Education Framework. The course is aimed at increasing awareness in the community of vision impairment and the various sports and adaptations available to support individuals with vision loss to be active. The certified one-hour online course is aimed at teachers, coaches, volunteers and parents and we are very excited for its roll out”.
Martin Gordon Paralympic Cyclist highlighted the importance of training and education for coaches and volunteers “This really is quite a unique training opportunity for coaches, volunteers and teachers to step into a new realm of sporting opportunity or to perhaps step out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves to engage with blind or visually impaired people in exploring new ways of participating in physical exercise which will open up all the enjoyment and pleasure that sport and an active lifestyle brings. For me I feel this training will give people the confidence they might not have had previously when it comes to training or coaching people with a disability such as a visual impairment, it has the potential to unlock so much opportunity and talent at all levels of sport”.
The first Vision Sports Awareness Training will take place on Thursday, 2nd December 2021. For more information and to register please visit https://visionsports.ie/training-and-education/
