'We hope females will be inspired by what they hear and sign up for the Female Leadership Programme'

People across Donegal with any involved in sport are being invited to attend the Women in Sport webinar on Tuesday, March 8th, at 7 pm. 

The free webinar will be hosted by Donegal Sports Partnership on what is International Women’s Day. 

Looking ahead to the event, Maggie Farrelly, Education & Training Coordinator with Donegal Sports Partnership, said the purpose of the webinar is two-fold – to hear the experiences of current leaders in competitive and recreational sport and physical activity in Donegal, and to promote and recruit future leaders to be part of the Female Leadership Programme which starts at the end of March. 

The webinar’s guest speakers will include Letterkenny AC coach and senior team operations manager with Athletics Ireland, Teresa McDaid, Letterkenny Blaze Basketball Club Chairperson and Coach, Lynda McGuinness, Lagan Ladies soccer coach, Brid McGinty, and Letterkenny Parkrun director, Margaret O’Donnell. 

To register for the webinar, which will be moderated by Donegal Sports Partnership Chairperson, Anne McAteer, and Maggie Farrelly, click on the link below: https://women-in-sport.eventbrite.co.uk

“We have managed to assemble a superb panel of successful female leaders who will share the insights of their journey, from when they first started out to their current role in sport. They will discuss how they got involved, what motivated them to stay involved, and their future aspirations,” Ms Farrelly commented. 

“We are encouraging all those who support the delivery and facilitation of sport in clubs to join us – and that invitation is extended to males and females, athletes, players, coaches, volunteers, mentors, administrators and parents,” she added. 

“We hope females attending the webinar will be inspired by what they hear from the speakers and sign up for our next Female Leadership Programme that commences at the end of the month. The first Female Leadership Programme was launched just before the start of the pandemic in 2020. Despite that, we managed to get the course delivered online and it proved to be hugely successful. 

“Donegal Sports Partnership is committed to developing strategies to increase women’s participation in sport in the county, and to provide opportunities for women to engage in meaningful programmes which will build towards a lasting and positive relationship with sport,” she said. 

According to the education and training coordinator, the aim of the programme is to provide training and support to women to help them achieve success in leadership roles in their sport. 

“The Female Leadership Programme will give women and young girls across Donegal the opportunity to enhance their personal skills, increase their confidence, and create networks with like-minded people across different sports. Sessions will be delivered using a combination of both online and in-person settings. The sessions will be interactive and will focus on developing confidence, leadership, resilience and effective communication,” she explained. 

The programme is specifically designed for female leaders over 16 years old working or volunteering in sport, be that as a committee member, an official or a coach, and for females who want to pursue a future role in club activities.   

Those who attend the online session on March 8th will get an opportunity to meet past participants from the Female Leadership Programme delivered in 2020. The webinar will enable attendees to ask questions and hear from the experiences of the past participants first-hand.  

Places will be offered via an application process. As the course is heavily subsidised through Sport Ireland Dormant Accounts, Donegal Sports Partnership is offering places at €25 per participant. The deadline for applications is 12 noon on Friday, March 18th. To register your expression of Interest for this programme click on the link below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1f-192dadTWo7ixIHLKdYZsZhfar3SJ1cr0mNR7IQZ2M/edit