Former Ballinasloe Town A. F. C. player Heather Payne received the ultimate accolade in Irish Soccer when she was chosen as the P. F. A. Irish International Senior Ladies Soccer Player of the Year for her consistently outstanding performances for the International Team.
Within a few days of picking up the very prestigious award at the end of the year, Heather was starring for Florida State University as they claimed the U. S. A. Colleges N. C. A. A. Women's National Championship title after a dramatic game which was decided on a penalty shootout on a 4-3 score line against BYU in Santa Clare in California. The game had finished 0-0 after extra time and Heather duly stepped up and scored her penalty kick to help secure the U. S. A. National Title for Florida State University. Club Development Co-ordinator Johnny Walsh stated, “Everyone associated with Ballinasloe Town A. F. C are extremely proud of Heather and wish her all the very best for the coming year and indeed are looking forward to Heather joining us in a training session when next back home.” There was further success for the club with three youth players Fionn Duffy, Adam Lloyd, and Adam McLoughlin who represented the under 12 Galway League Squad in Limerick in an interleague representative game in early January. The club’s committee were delighted to receive financial support with a sum of €2,000 being awarded from the local Credit Union’s Social Fund. The funds will go towards the next phase of the club’s development works. After the Christmas break activities have now resumed with the youth soccer academy having returned on Wednesday since mid January and all other youths and adult training sessions now back in action again at the Curragh Grounds. The senior team’s high-profile game in the F. A. I. Junior Cup 5th Round versus Ballyheane has been rescheduled for February 13.
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Tosú Performance Training is a new performance training gym located in Canal Drive offering two types of classes - Tosú Train and Tosú Yoga.
Tosú Train classes are fully programmed and coached by trainers, blending elements of weightlifting, basic gymnastics movements and are usually followed by a short metabolic conditioning session designed to enhance performance. Miriam, a native of Ballinasloe and John, originally from Newcastle, Co. Dublin, moved to Ballinasloe in April of this year with the ambition of creating a space where people can train and improve their fitness amongst a community of likeminded individuals. Miriam and John took up CrossFit three years ago, first training in CrossFit Clondalkin. John has a background in rugby, having played for over 13 years for Clondalkin RFC. John studied Strength and Conditioning and Personal Training with Setanta College and is also a CrossFit Level One trainer. Miriam has been practising yoga for more than six years and is a qualified Yin Yoga teacher. Before starting CrossFit, she competed in bodybuilding and powerlifting at a high level. John Allen Glynn said: “We aim to offer our members a place to become the fittest, strongest, healthiest versions of themselves. We chose Tosú as our name as we felt it fit our ethos and what we want to offer to the community. Tosú means start or beginning As Gaeilge and we believe that when it comes to getting fit, taking that first step can be the most important but it can also be the hardest one to take.”
All classes are an hour long and contain a full warm-up, the main strength exercise, metcon or accessory work, and a cool down. Anyone looking to try it out just needs to bring a bottle of water and a positive attitude! They have a changing room, waiting area, and toilet facilities on site. It is recommended to wear runners and a tracksuit or shorts or leggings. Classes are suitable for all ages and abilities – they have designed their classes so that they can be adapted for complete beginners whilst still challenging more experienced athletes. This is done by scaling the difficulty of the exercises. It is recommended that members try to attend at least three classes a week consistently.
Several membership options are available to suit any budget. For anyone who feels like they may need some extra attention, one to one personal training is also offered. Tosú does not offer any quick fixes or transformations. Believing that consistency and creating sustainable habits yields results. They want people to be fit for life. Not just for a picture. Hard work pays off. All pricing and packages are available to view throughTosú’s website, where you can also book into a free trial class: Coming up to Christmas, they also have vouchers available to purchase. online or can be picked up in the gym and can be redeemed against monthly memberships or for personal training. Contact them through phone or email - tosuperformance@gmail.com / (085) 272 5987 or you can find them on Facebook or Instagram - Tosú Performance Training. Arama CEO and Cleaghmore native, Donal Scannell, has worked on everything from ‘The Late Late Show’ to IRFU Rugby Specials to U2 tours.Last month saw him as shortlisted as one of 12 to pitch his startup idea in Enterprise Ireland’s prestigious Annual Showcase. On one occasion Garbally-educated Donal was sat in Tallaght Stadium, watching Shamrock Rovers play Dundalk in the League of Ireland when the realisation hit him, this game was never televised to - so many fans were unfortunate to miss out. He needed a way to make these games accessible. Arama, with the assistance of Trinity Engineering Professor Anil Kokaram, uses its combination of algorithm-based video technology and human expertise to cover events such as football matches. Donal stated: “We take a defined space, like a pitch, and we map it out with our cameras, then we train our algorithm to follow what’s important. We can take all these big wide shots from the area and select areas of interest which are then transmitted back to studio for a director to choose from.” Arama use AI and Computer Vision to give humans superpowers - a crew of three can achieve what currently takes 33 people, turning everything on its head using software, specifically AI and Video Processing. RTÉ and Premier Sports are on board as trial partners and they are in talks with Sky Sports and Eleven Sports. Arama has slashed the costs of TV outside broadcasts - They can do for €5,000 what currently costs €40,000.
Other companies also offer solutions to reduce the labour involved in outside broadcasting, but Arama believes its selling point is the combination of AI and human knowledge it uses on live events. The Enterprise Ireland-backed firm has already raised €330,000 in seed funding and is targeting a further €700,000 investment in the coming months. In the long run, Arama believes it can allow the world’s biggest broadcasters to cover far more football matches and later hopes to move into other live events. Ballinasloe’s annual Christmas Jumper Day was held recently and was yet again a resounding success. A group of volunteers TY Students from Ardscoil Mhuire assisted with the bucket collection on the day. Everyone from the local schools, playschools, shops & businesses decked out in their festive attire with all proceeds going to The Galway Hospice & Ballinasloe Social Services. The fundraiser accumulated over €13,500 and counting with more lodgements to be made soon.
Geraldine Dean, a member of the organising committee stated, “this was a phenomenal amount of money for a one-day fundraiser,” and she acknowledged everyone who helped out. “We would like to thank everyone most sincerely again for their generosity and support on the day. We would also like to thank Ana Victoria Maloney, Ballinasloe Glass, Corrib oil, Dubarry Shoes, Gullanes Hotel, Garbally Oil & Shearwater Hotel for giving us amazing prizes to promote Christmas Jumper Day.” Formal proceeds presentations will be made to the two groups over the coming weeks. |
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March 2024
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