Olympic Federation of Ireland’s Dare To Believe programme hosts first Olympians Live!

The Olympic Federation of Ireland’s Dare To Believe programme hosted its first Olympians Live! nationwide webinar event for both primary and secondary schools on 16 November.

Over 12,000 students tuned in from all over the country to watch two of Ireland’s top Olympians, Tokyo bronze medallists, rowers Aifric Keogh and Eimear Lambe. The two 30minute shows were hosted by TV personality and activist Emer O’Neill and they welcomed students from six schools ask the Olympians questions live.

Reviews of the webinar reported that students loved having live access and interaction with the medallists;  learning about the athletes lives, training routines (they can weight lift the equivalent of a panda!!) , the importance of teamwork, information about the sport of rowing and how they came back from injury and defeat. The rowers were described as inspirational!

Sponsored by the International Olympic Committee Solidarity Fund and Permanent TSB, the Olympic Federation of Ireland schools programme aims to inspire the young people of Ireland to ‘Dare to Believe’ in themselves through an interactive curriculum that explores the Olympic Values and includes visits with  Team Ireland  Olympic and Paralympic role models that bring the values to life.

Launched in 2019, the programme now boasts 31 world class ambassadors who go into schools all over the country to share their inspirational stories of resilience and teaching students how to set goals and adopt healthy lifestyles through participation in sport.

Resource packs that cover the Olympic Values of Respect & Equality, Healthy Mind & Body, Joy of Effort and Striving for Excellence are sent to schools to prepare for the Dare to Believe Ambassador’s visit. All materials are user-friendly, completely free and identify Irish National curriculum strands for teachers.