The Dare to Believe Olympic Schools Programme aims to inspire and increase youth participation in sports by maximizing our Olympic athletes' roles as ambassadors through inspirational workshops in schools around Ireland.
Team Ireland are facilitating Ireland's top ambassador athletes across a variety of sports and preparing them to go into schools with the aim of inspiring the kids by telling their stories of dedication, resilience and determination.
They have created an interactive curriculum for teachers based on Olympic and Paralympic values to increase the impact of the ambassadors’ visits and foster the Olympic Federation of Ireland’s relationship with schools in Ireland.
KEY OBJECTIVES OF DARE TO BELIEVE
- · Increasing awareness of the Olympic values:
- · Educating kids about the importance of having a healthy mind and body.
- · Improving participation rates of kids in sports across Ireland. Inspiring students to reap the benefits of sports for life.
- · Teaching kids that the joy of effort and striving for excellence in sport and other areas in life is something all kids, sporty or not, can experience and learn from.
- · Helping kids to understand the importance of goal-setting and its application to all walks of life, not just sport.
- · Supporting Irish world class athletes outside of the arena, helping them to broaden their skill sets and increase their visibility in their communities.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AMBASSADORS HERE
To register and to get involved with Dare to Believe click on the link below and you can even request a school visit from one of the athletes:
In the first year Dare to Believe exceeded all its original goals with 5000 schoolchildren across 60 schools passing through the programme, spanning 14 counties.
The feedback from the programme has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are delighted to be able to continue to offer it to teachers and schoolchildren during these challenging times.
Dare to Believe was developed by 2008 Olympian Roisin McGettigan, who competed in the steeplechase and who has been managing the programme.
