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Are you looking for the perfect challenge this year? We have found the ideal one for any super cyclists who are eager to raise money for charity. It is time to get on your bike and sign up for the annual Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle. Participants are now being encouraged to sign up for the annual fundraising event, which is both a test of endurance and an unforgettable experience.

Registration is now open at www.ringofkerrycycle.ie for one of the nation’s favourite charity cycles with organisers looking forward to welcoming returning hardy perennials who have taken part in this epic cycle more than once, as well as newbies eager to prove their mettle on the 175k route around the stunningly scenic Ring of Kerry. 

“The Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle is considered a ‘bucket list’ experience by veterans of the annual event,” said Bridget McGuire, Chairperson for the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle. “The route will undoubtedly test your fitness and endurance, but the camaraderie of fellow cyclists that travel all over the world just to take part, encouragement from spectators, and the knowledge that your fundraising efforts can make such a big difference to deserving charities is all the motivation you’ll need to get you around the route!”

Each year, six charities are shortlisted from a long list of applicants to become approved beneficiaries of the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle. This year, cyclists can choose to raise much-needed funds for the following charities:

  1. Ard Chúram Day Care Centre, Listowel – A daycare service that operates from Monday to Saturday and caters for older people in a purpose-built centre in Greenville, Listowel.
  2. Banna Rescue – A voluntary inshore and land rescue unit covering one of the busiest and best beaches in the country.
  3. Breakthrough Cancer Research – An Irish medical research charity focused on raising vital funds for cancer supports and services.
  4. Cunamh Iveragh – A respite home for adults with special needs in South Kerry.
  5. Down Syndrome Ireland (Kerry branch) – Helping people with Down Syndrome to make their own futures as bright and independent as possible by providing them with education, support and friendship every step of the way.
  6. St Francis Special School – Providing educational programmes in Beaufort for students with moderate/severe/profound general disabilities. 

Registration for #ROKCC2020 costs €100 plus a 3.5 percent service fee per entry. Cyclists can fundraise with an official Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle 2020 sponsorship card or through the online fundraising platform, www.everydayhero.com. While the six main beneficiary charities benefit thanks to the efforts of the cyclists, an additional number of charities will receive funds raised through the registration process.

With an entry limit of 6,500 cyclists this year, places on Ireland’s favourite charity cycle are expected to sell out quickly, so participants are encouraged to secure their spot soon. The #ROKCC2020 team will be posting regularly across its social media channels, where they’ll offer training tips and hints on how cyclists can boost their fundraising, highlight the beneficiary charities, and introduce followers to a number of cyclists ahead of July 4, so be sure to follow and tag as you prepare for the big event.

For more information and to register visit, www.ringofkerrycycle.ie. To set up your fundraising page, click here.

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Sea Sessions Surf and Music Festival has managed to get EVEN BIGGER this year; already boasting Norwegian pop sensation Sigrid, Two Door Cinema Club and Clean Bandit as headliners.

The festival takes place in Donegal's Bundoran every year; a uniquely Irish haunt which has sold-out tickets weeks before the festival over the last four years.

Now they've added major names like Jax Jones, The Magician, Wild Youth, Hermitage Green, The Sugarhill Gang with Grandmaster Melle Mel & Scorpio, Le Boom, Jerry Fish, Bitch Falcon, Trojan Sound System, Kormac and Inhaler to the lineup.

The festival has seen major artists grace their stages, like luminaries Dizzee Rascal, Paul Weller, Tinie Tempah, Rudimental, Bastille and Seasick Steve.

It began way back in 2008 as an after-party for a big surfing competition, and now hosts a range of the world's top skateboarders, BMX bikers and beach sporting heroes.

Festival director Ray O’Donoghue couldn't contain his excitement about 2019's eclectic line-up, and we don't blame him.

He said: "We’re delighted with this year’s lineup and with our new additions. We think it is by far our strongest lineup yet! There’s something for everyone there, from Sigrid to The Sugarhill Gang, Two Door Cinema Club to Jax Jones  and everything else in between."

He continued;

"We’ve sold out the last 4 years so we expect this year to be no different. We’ve even got a surprise or two still left up our sleeves. We literally can’t wait until the summer."

The summer festival will take place from June 21 until June 23 in 2019, and early bird tickets have already been snapped up.

Day and weekend tickets are still available now from Ticketmaster outlets, priced at €119.90 for three days non-campsite and €149.90 to include four nights of camping banter.

Limited single day tickets are available from€54.90 + VIP Upgrades for €50, if you head to the Sea Sessions website you can catch them now before they're gone.

Feature image: Instagram/@sea_sessions

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According to research from Nielsen, 63 percent of people want to see Ireland's sportswomen honoured as national heroes in the same way as sportsmen.

Irish journalism focused on women in sport is in dire need of improvement, and today Investec has launched it's inaugural 20×20 Media Awards to recognise excellence in this field.

The 20×20 Nielsen Sports Study found that just a shocking three percent of print and four percent of online coverage was dedicated to women’s sport in Ireland: it's time for improvements.

The Federation of Irish Sport presented Investec as a sponsor for 20×20 in order to provide more support for women in sport.

Greater cultural recognition is one way to start; broadcast, print and online journalists are being invited to submit entries on women in sport to it's latest awards competition.

Investec has curated an expert panel of judges for their 2019 Media Awards;

Anna Kessel as chairwoman; Mary O’Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport; Michael Cullen, CEO of Investec; Sarah Colgan, CEO of  Along Came A Spider and 20×20 co-founder and Gordon D’Arcy, former Irish International rugby player.

Nielsen Sports were commisioned by 20×20 to monitor media coverage of sport, which resulted in quite discouraging statistics. 

20×20 has estimated television coverage of women's sport is less than 12 percent, and 59 percent of Irish people believe that the media should do more to promote female sport.

57 percent of people want to see equality in female and male sporting role models in the media, and 63 percent of the public would love to see Irish women being given the same 'national hero' status as men.

Anna Kessel, chairwoman of Investec 20×20 Awards said: “In celebrating women's sports journalism the Investec 20×20 Media Awards are sending out a very powerful message: women's sport is amazing, and of value."

"For every sports editor who's ever wondered if it's worth covering; to every coach who questioned whether girls needed encouraging, and to every sports’ governing body deliberating over how much to invest in their female athletes this year, this initiative makes it clear: women's sport matters."

The objective of 20×20 is to increase the level of coverage of women’s sport across media by 20 percent by the end of 2020, according to its founder, Sarah Colgan.

Gowan girlos, you deserve a medal. Like Katie Taylor-sized medal. Multiple medals, actually…

amy poehler soccer GIF

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Tributes are pouring in for tennis star Andy Murray after a tearful press conference addressing his possible retirement.

The former world number one has claimed that retirement is imminent following injuries which have plagued him for years, especially that of his hip.

Speaking about the upcoming Australian Open, Murray broke down in tears as he said it could be his last tournament.

The three-time Grand Slam winner has broken himself in order to keep up with arguably tennis' greatest generation, with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer hot on his heels all the time.

Murray was emotional as he spoke about this summer's Wimbledon tournament, saying; “I'm not sure I'm able to play through the pain for another four or five months.”

The Scotsman has won the beloved British tournament twice, and wants to finish his career in the place where he won his first ever Grand Slam.

He couldn't hold back the tears at the conference, after years of intensive physiotherapy and surgeries to try and maintain his status as one of the world's top players.

"I said to my team I think I can get through this until Wimbledon – that's when I'd like to stop playing,” he said.

Tributes have been coming in fast for the player and iconic feminist, among them is one from the infamous 39-time Grand Slam winner Billie Jean King;

Fellow player and BFF Nick Kyrgios posted a touching tribute to his 'brother' and 'old friend' Andy, and our hearts legitimately shattered;

Murray has become a low-key feminist icon after consistently defending female tennis players battling the notorious sexist in the sport, such as Serena Williams.

He has argued for women's rights in the sport in numerous press conferences, and has battled sexist questions from journalists throughout his career. SLAY ANDY.

During Wimbledon in 2017, Murray called on schedulers to give women more opportunities to play on the main show courts.

Let's not forget his unreal take-down of a reporter who claimed a male player was "the first US player to reach a major semi-final since 2009," even though Venus and Serena Williams as well as three other female players had achieved this.

YAS ANDY. SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK

He's also renowned for his blunt Scottish wit;

We love you Andy, never change.

Congratulations for all that you've achieved in the tennis world, you'll be remembered as one of the greats.

 andy murray trophy GIF by College GameDay

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Have you ever wondered what allowed Manchester United their years of sporting success?

Probably not, however, we recently discovered their secret – and we're very surprised. 

The Manchester United manager employed 'nutritional guru' Trevor Lea, who insisted on introducing Jaffa Cakes to the player's diets.

Yes, JAFFA CAKES! 

Image result for jaffa cakes

Hoenstly, if eating biscuits (or is it a cake?) can make me a superstar sports player – I am down. 

Former player Brian McClair tweeted about the Jaffa experience, stating:

"In '92, SAF brought in Trevor Lea a nutritional guru, his first act was to confiscate the custard creams, bourbons & choc digestives."

"He had a Jiffy bag from which he pulled the performance enhancing superfood that was key to Utd's success over the next 16 years!!!"

The former player then went on to explain that the players were told to eat FIVE jaffa cakes on training days and three on matchdays.

A diet we can certainly get on board with! 

The team ended up winning 13 titles under Ferguson – meaning that the Jaffa Cakes may actually have been their secret weapon

"Not eaten one since 1998," McClair added on Twitter. "I've had my life's quota, still enjoy the odd custard cream with a glass of ribena, full fat of an evening."

 

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If you love all kinds of sports, eating colossal amounts of pizza and money, then there's a role going that's just for you.

In a job that sounds as crazy as being a professional cuddler, take a look at what Pizza Hut is offering students willing to travel around the country.

Image result for pizza gif

For only working seven months, you'll be paid $50,000 (€45,000) to go to as many NCAA championships as possible. It includes 90 games which span from basketball to hockey to volleyball and basically everything in between.

And can going to basketball matches while getting paid a ball load of money actually be counted as 'work'? Nope, it sounds like a dream to us…

Image result for pizza gif

Unfortunately, you have to be a resident of the US for the job, but how amazingly-wonderful does it all sound?!

If you want to investigate more, the application is open on the Pizza Hut website now.

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Tying your shoelaces for the first time, learning to read, asking your parents the same question 30 times in one day… if you're anything like us, that pretty much sums up what being four was like.

But not for Adam Wynne, an Offaly boy who has just won a trophy for his snooker skills on prime time TV.

The four-year-old managed to pot an incredible 22 balls in 46seconds, completely blowing his celebrity opponent – German soccer star Arne Friedrich- out of the water.

German TV producers invited Adam to play live on Klein Gegen Gross (Small Versus Big) after seeing his incredible potting skills on YouTube. 

The Tullamore tot went viral earlier this year went a video of him playing snooker like a pro aged just three clocked up almost 800,000 views. He later went on to show his skills to Ryan Tubridy on The Late Late Show, before catching the attention of German TV station NDR.

Adam started playing at home when he was just one year old, and a year or two later his uncle Bernard made the video that propelled him into the spotlight.

But chatting with a German TV host last night Adam looked like any normal four-year-old – though he did proudly tell the audience that his hometown was famous for "whiskey"..

Watch the full video of his performance below:

 

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The first ever Ironman race to take place in Dublin is being held today. The 2,500 athletes took off at 7am this morning, putting the rest of us and our much-loved Sunday lie-ins to shame.

The first stage was a 1.9km swim at Scotsman’s Bay in Dun Laoghaire. Then they tackle 90 km cycle through the city centre and looping back to Phoenix Park. The race then concludes with a 21km half marathon.

We bet you thought they might have been stopping for tea with Michael D after that cycle, right? No, these are serious athletes.

Ironman 70.3 is a mid-distance triathlon but Dublin is expected to host a full-distance Ironman in 2016.

That would be a 3.8km swim, a 180km cycle, and a 42.2km run. So there’s plenty of time for us to get our best cycling shorts out for next year’s training then.

Athletes from over 40 countries are expected to take part today alongside some 1,500 Irish athletes that include professionals Robbie Wade and Kevin Thornton. Just one famous face spotted among the crowd was Bressie, looking very, errr, stylish in his wetsuit…

These athletes include some 500 female athletes, in the last number of years that has been a huge increase in the number of female athletes competing in such events.

The spokesman for Triathlon Ireland Scott Graham has said: “In 2005 we had 800 members, this year we are expecting about 10,250 members. So over the last 10 years it’s been double-digit growth in terms of membership year-on-year.”

Included in the field of competitors this morning is German athlete Sonja Tajsich who has been described as the “fastest triathlete on land.”

Phew! We’ll be thinking of them all while we tackle our Sunday brunch favourites his morning. Plenty of locals along the route are making sure to provide some support for competitors along the way. The Irish Mammy type has never been appreciated, we can only imagine:

After just 4 hours on the course the winner was announced earlier today.

Congratulations Denis, we'll be raising a cup of coffee to you as we prepared for our Sunday midday nap.

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Running is an increasingly popular sport and there seems neon coloured joggers popping up everywhere you look. However, those who assume that running is nothing more than throwing on a pair of shoes are just asking for trouble.

Stick with us and you’ll be an injury-free running pro…

Buy the right shoes
Running shoes can help reduce injury as they alter your form and how your body deals with the repetitive movements. If your feet hurt after a run, it means that they are not the right ones for you.

Make sure you have a strong core
By keeping your muscles, ligaments and tendons nice and strong, you will automatically protect yourself. When your body is strong, it tells your brain to brace for impact before the foot hits the ground. Remember, strong is the new skinny.

Know your limits
Injuries can happen when you push yourself too far. Build up your running distance a little at a time and don’t assume that you will be able to run that 10k after a few laps around your estate. You won’t.

Now stop looking for excuses and get out there…

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