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103 Cork Primary Schools take part in Cispheil na mBunscoil 2018. Over 2,000 boys and girls from 103 Cork Primary Schools took to the Basketball Courts of Neptune Stadium, Parochial Hall and Upper Glanmire recently as part of Cispheil na mBunscoil. Now in its 8th year, the primary school event aims to provide children of all abilities with a fun introduction to Basketball. This Basketball celebration is coordinated by Cork Sports Partnership’s Basketball Development Officer, Ciaran O’ Sullivan, with support from the Cork Basketball Board, Basketball Ireland, local clubs, schools and volunteers.
Speaking at this year’s event Ciaran said “To have over 2,000 children from primary schools all over Cork playing Basketball is fantastic to see and we are delighted with the response”. He added “Over 500 games took place over the 4 days. This would not be possible without the great support we receive from the Basketball Community in Cork. We are particularly grateful for the support of Teresa Murray and the Cork Basketball Officials Association for giving up their free time to provide referees for the event and to the Transition Year students of Colaiste Choilm Ballincollig, Gaelcholáiste Mhuire AG, Colaiste an Phiarsaigh and Presentation Brothers Cork who added to their Gaisce Award by helping out over the four days and were critical to ensuring that the event ran smoothly”.
Blarney Street CBS & Scoil Bhride Eglantine emerged victorious from the competitive event on Tuesday which saw 28 teams battle it out for the competitive boys and girls competitions. The non-competitive events on Wednesday and Thursday were a feast of Basketball with 67 teams taking part in boys, girls and mixed events.
Following the introduction of a Basketball for All strand to the event 2 years ago, inclusion continues to play an important role in the development of the event. Over 40 participants from special schools in Cork took part in a basketball workshop which concluded with a mini blitz as part of Cispheil na mBunscoil 2018. In addition, this year’s event was also supported by Service Users from Cope Foundation who are taking part in Cork Sports Partnership’s Community Sports Coaching Programme. Sports Inclusion Disability Officer with Cork Sports Partnership Padraig Healy stated “We had a fantastic day of Basketball in the Parochial Hall, the aim is to get students of all abilities playing basketball in Cork and make all sporting programmes fully inclusive, and today was a clear example of this”.
Anyone looking to get involved with a local Basketball club in Cork City and County can contact Ciaran O Sullivan at cosullivan@corksports.ie