This evening I attended the first day of the Irish Indoor Athletics Championships at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast. This event attracts up to 1,000 athletes from Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic and beyond and includes a competition for primary and secondary age children as well as the main senior championships.
The championships are organised by Athletics Northern Ireland and Athletics Ireland and this is the seventh year of the competition.
I presented the medals for the women's 3,000 metre walk and I was rather amused when one official suggested that this was rather appropriate in view of my own participation in quite a number of long walks over the summer months, although they are rather different and usually involve bands and banners. After that I presented the medals for the women's long jump.
The Odyssey Arena has the only indoor hydraulic 200-metre running track in either Northern Ireland or the Republic and it was interesting to see how the arena can be transformed into a showcase for top class athletes from around the world.
I presented the medals for the women's 3,000 metre walk and I was rather amused when one official suggested that this was rather appropriate in view of my own participation in quite a number of long walks over the summer months, although they are rather different and usually involve bands and banners. After that I presented the medals for the women's long jump.
The Odyssey Arena has the only indoor hydraulic 200-metre running track in either Northern Ireland or the Republic and it was interesting to see how the arena can be transformed into a showcase for top class athletes from around the world.
Is Athletics NI part of Athletics Ireland and/or Ulster Athletics?
ReplyDeleteI have noticed in other sports (e.g. rowing and rugby) that when it is organised on an All-Ireland basis, they adopt the anthems and flags of the Republic. Can you organise a conference for all these sports and ask them to recognise that the teams are joint NI and RoI teams. Therefore, the NI Ulster Banner flag and anthem (GSTQ) should also be used. Alternatively, they could use the Cross of St Patrick for the whole island and a neutral anthem.