Sky Sports Living for Sport launches in Ireland and announces Katie Taylor as official ambassador

Sky Ireland today launched Sky Sports Living for Sport and announced that Olympic Gold Medallist, Katie Taylor has become Ireland’s Sky Sports Living for Sport Ambassador.

Sky Sports Living for Sport is a free initiative run in partnership with Youth Sport Trust. Sky Ireland is looking to encourage thousands of young people across a third of secondary schools in Ireland to take part within the next three years.

As a national sporting hero, Katie will be a crucial role model and inspiration to young people and schools that take part in Sky Sports Living for Sport in Ireland. She will also champion the work of the other professional athletes who will use their life changing stories and sports skills to mentor students in schools throughout the country to be more engaged, learn team work and new skills and achieve more at school.

After a successful pilot programme with nine Dublin schools and building on the success of Sky Sports Living for Sport in the UK, the initiative will now be rolled out nationwide in partnership with Irish schools.

Olympic Gold Medallist and Sky Sports Living for Sport Ambassador in Ireland, Katie Taylor said: “I am really looking forward to being part of Sky Sports Living for Sport. I know that sport really can make a difference and if I can use my experience to help young people in schools across Ireland to believe in sport and in themselves, then I’ll be thrilled.

“I’ve worked with Sky before and it’s great to see them helping to improve the lives of young people in Ireland. I really hope lots of schools across the country will sign up and get involved”, she added.

According to Eamonn Gaffney, Principal, St. Peter’s College, Dunboyne, Co. Meath who participated in the pilot programme, “Our staff could see the positive impact of the programme on students’ enthusiasm for school. There was a tangible improvement in the self-esteem of many of the students. The Mentor visits were both inspiring for the students and helpful for the teachers in shaping the Sky Sports Living for Sport project”.

Katie joins David Beckham OBE and other Olympic Gold Medallists, Jessica Ennis CBE and Darren Campbell MBE, along with a team of 74 other world class Athlete Mentors.

Commenting on the launch, JD Buckley, MD, Sky Ireland said, “We are delighted to launch Sky Sports Living for Sport today in Ireland. This launch offers another clear signal of Sky Ireland’s commitment to the market. It is important that we continue to play a positive part in communities across the country and, through the power of sport and leading sports professional, such as Katie Taylor, we look forward to helping students in secondary schools throughout Ireland improve their lives.”

Founded in the UK by Sky in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust (YST), Sky Sports Living for Sport uses sports stars and sports skills to improve the lives of thousands of young people aged 11-16 each year, in partnership with secondary schools. The scheme currently reaches over 30,000 students in a third of all secondary schools in the UK.

To find out more about Sky Sports Living for Sport and to get involved visit www.skysports.com/livingforsport.


NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Sky

Sky is the UK and Ireland’s leading home entertainment and communications company, and is the UK’s biggest investor in television content, investing more than €2.75 billion a year in channels such as Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Sky News. Around two-thirds of Sky’s content spend is home-grown and Sky is the fastest-growing source of investment in original home-grown programmes. More than 30 million people watch Sky content each week in the UK & Ireland.

Alongside its commitment to offering customers a greater choice of high-quality content, Sky is a leading innovator. Customers enjoy total control and flexibility over their favourite TV through Sky+, watch TV on the move through Sky Go, and enjoy the best quality TV experience at home through High Definition and 3D.

Sky believes in making a positive contribution to society by improving lives through sport; championing creativity and opening up the arts; helping young people to build skills for a changing world; and taking action to protect the environment. Sky employs 23,000 people and has annual revenues of over £6.8 billion. Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (BSY). www.sky.com/corporate

Sky Ireland is aiming to get thousands of young people across a third of Irish second level schools involved in Sky Sports Living for Sport within the next three years. The key areas of focus for the initiative are: attainment and achievement, health and wellbeing, self-esteem and encouraging pupils to reach their full potential. Sky Sports Living for Sport has resulted in significant positive changes in the young people involved and Sky is confident that the initiative in Ireland can make an equally positive impact.

About Sky Sports Living for Sport

Sky Sports Living for Sport is now in its tenth year and 30,000 young people in a third of UK secondary schools have taken part each year. The initiative forms part of Sky’s wider commitment to the community through the Bigger Picture. To find out more about Sky’s The Bigger Picture initiative visit: www.sky.com/thebiggerpicture

Teachers can run the Sky Sports Living for Sport on a stand-alone basis or as part of existing curriculum activities by selecting up to 20 students who they feel need support and submitting a simple project plan in outline. Sky then sends them information packs and t-shirts. Teachers set project goals with their groups including asking them to lead their own sports event, before finally celebrating the group’s achievements. Every school that participates will receive two visits from a professional Athlete Mentor.

A key part of the initiative is inspirational school visits from sports starts as each school that signs up to Sky Sports Living for Sport gets two special visits from one of Ireland’s new Athlete Mentors, locally-based elite sports people who motivate and inspire the students and the wider school, raising aspirations and improving life skills. Sky Ireland will be announcing the elite athletes who will become Ireland’s Sky Sports Living for Sport Athlete Mentors later in the year.

The following schools participated in the pilot schools programme in Dublin.

• Beaufort College - Margaret Aylward Community College
• Marino College - O’Fiaich College
• Patrician College - Pobascoil Rosmini Community School
• St Josephs - St Peters College
• St Dominic’s Secondary School

To register for Sky Sports Living for Sport, go to: www.skysports.com/livingforsport

About Youth Sport Trust

Youth Sport Trust is passionate about helping all young people to achieve their full potential by delivering high quality physical education and sport.

Youth Sport Trust works to:
• Give every child a sporting start in life through high quality PE and sport in primary schools;
• ensure all young people have a sporting chance by developing opportunities for those with special educational needs and disabilities;
• Support all young people to achieve their sporting best in school and their personal best in life.

To find out more visit: www.youthsporttrust.org