EPS Sponsors BadminTEEN Initiative
New Programme to Encourage Teenage Girls to Take Up Badminton
EPS Group and Ashgrove Renewables and are co-sponsors of Badminton Ireland’s nationwide BadminTEEN initiative, which was launched in St. Mary’s Secondary School in Mallow in September.
BadminTEEN came about as a way of attempting to reverse the trend of teenage girls dropping out of sports in their secondary school years as evidence shows that just 65% of girls in secondary school engage in sport of any kind. That’s down from 94% in primary school.
The BadminTEEN initiative is being piloted in St Mary’s Secondary School, Mallow, where Badminton Ireland spent 2 days (Mon 9th and Tues 10th Sept) with 26 Transition Year students who were introduced to the sport, shown the rules, but also, shown how to run a club, elect members, etc.
The programme aims to also equip the girls with life skills, such as teambuilding, negotiation, organisational skills etc. They will also be encouraged to introduce the sport to primary school students as part of their TY programme.
BadminTEEN will be launched in 14 more schools across the country.
“Supporting BadminTEEN is a natural fit for us,” said Patrick Buckley, Managing Director of EPS Group. “We are committed to creating a positive impact in the communities we serve and this initiative aligns perfectly with our values of promoting health, well-being and empowerment as well as supporting local sporting activities”.
Shane Murphy, Managing Director of Ashgrove Renewables says, “Investing in our youth is investing in our future. We are proud to support a programme that encourages young women to embrace physical activity and leadership through such an engaging sport.”
