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SERVICES AND ELECTRIC IRELAND
June/July 2012 www.esb.ie/em
Electric Ireland set to energise GAA All-Ireland Minor Championships
ELECTRIC IRELAND HAS agreed a five-year sponsorship partnership with the GAA to support the GAA All-Ireland Minor Championships up to and including 2016.
The Championships will now be known as the Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championships.
Liam Molloy, General Manager, Electric Ireland speaking about the sponsorship said that he was delighted to continue our strong relationship with the GAA (ESB had previously been the sponsor of the GAA Minor Championships for the six years up to 2010 and our Cul Green partnership with the GAA/Croke Park has been in place since 2008) and as Ireland’s leading energy supplier Electric Ireland will help provide the energy and passion behind a whole new generation for the game throughout Ireland.
Paraic Duffy, Ard Stiúrthoir Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, welcomed Electric Ireland’s sponsorship and he thanked ESB for its support over the years and stated he was confident that Electric Ireland would be an energetic and supportive partner as the GAA continues to develop the Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championships.
Ciaran Kilkenny (Dublin), Conor Lehane (Cork), Niall Burke (Galway) and Peter Harte (Tyrone) all previous Minor Championship players, supported the launch of the Championships and took part in media interviews to promote our partnership with the GAA. We had great media interest in the announcement and the launch received prominent coverage in all of the main daily newspapers.
The Olympic challenge
AT THE FIRST meeting of BSC’s Health, Safety & Wellbeing Committee earlier this year we decided we should focus on Health & Wellbeing as well as the ‘traditional’ safety agenda. The idea of counting down to the Olympics by taking up a healthier and fitter way of life emerged. We got immediate support for the idea from our colleagues on the Electric Ireland Safety Committee and Electric Ireland’s marketing team who all got involved.
The idea of the Olympic Challenge is simple - it’s a self-set challenge, where anyone registering decides an appropriate personal target (healthy eating and/or activity) to commit to for 8 weeks. We wanted it to have a broad appeal so it could be as simple as deciding to drink 2 litres of water a day or take a lunchtime walk 3 times a week. Alternatively you could follow a choice of sample programmes designed by ESB Sports Clubs or take up a new activity. We weren’t asking people to try and become tri-athletes, or join a team or go on a diet and because it’s not team based you can be as private or as open about your targets as you want.
On 25th April the Olympic Challenge was officially launched by webex/online and in various BSC locations including Head Office, Waterford and Limerick with the Electric Ireland launch the next day. A host of ESB Clubs and SPORTSCO all lent their support and were available on the day in the canteen during lunchtime. So you could meet representatives from the clubs for Cricket, Athletics, Cycling, Badminton, Table Tennis, GAA, Golf and Swimming. You could meet the SPORTSCO Team and their tennis coach. A number of volunteers promoted lunchtime walking with details of routes near Head Office and Swift Square. We had taster sessions of TaiChi in Head Office and Pilates in Waterford.
To get into the spirit of the Olympics we themed the canteens with bunting, signage and themed menus. We are also promoting healthy eating tips and there will be some lunchtime talks from dieticians.
We’ve a sharepoint site where you register to take part and can download a daily/weekly tracker (which stays private and personal to you). It’s got the training programmes, a calendar of upcoming club and other events as well as healthy eating tips and links to other online resources. We have people posting news and comments on their own experiences and there are photos of the launch and maps of walking routes.
To help you to stick to your plan we check in with you weekly to see if you are on track. We don’t publish any personal results but we do keep in touch every week with the overall progress – and we do offer prizes along the way for those who take part.
There are now over 280 people signed up to the Olympic Challenge. So the initiative to get people energized has been a great success so far thanks to the efforts of all involved.
If you missed the chance to register for the Challenge why don’t you start now anyway and try it out for yourself. You won’t be eligible for the prizes but you may get the even more important prize of a fitter and healthier you.
If you want further details e-mail Olympic-challenge@esb.ie
