It’s been another exciting month in women’s sports with plenty of record-breaking performances, awards ceremonies, and championships! However, beyond just the games played, we’re also excited to share updates and resources from the Female Sports Forum with participants, supporters, fans, coaches, academics, and many more!
The Irish Open Swimming Championship saw Victoria Catterson set a new Irish Senior Record in the 200m Freestyle, beating her own personal best by .12. Meanwhile, Danielle Hill swam a World Championship ‘A’ time in the 100m Backstroke and set a National Title and Championship Record in the 50m Backstroke. Ellie McCartney also achieved a consideration time in the 200m Breaststroke for the European U23 Championships. Other notable performances by Ulster Swimmers include Lottie Cullen, who finished third in 50m Back, Grace Davidson, who finished third in the 200m Free, and Alana Burns-Atkin, who finished first in the 200m Fly. Catterson and Hill will join the likes of Daniel Wiffen to represent Ireland at the World Aquatic Championships in July. For more information, check out the summary of the event at the provided Link.
The Very National Camogie League finished this month. It is great to see Antrim finishing third and Down finishing fourth. It is great to see them secure for another year in Division 1.
The Women’s 6 Nations started this month. While IRFU has come under scrutiny around comments made. The team itself is working hard to get stronger. The team is quite young with 8 players named to the squad for the first time. The team is in a building year. Such strong media attention after multiple articles being published hopefully will mean a strong investment in the national and grassroots women’s team. The Women play their final match in the year’s Tournament against Scotland this weekend. The final match will be streamed on BBC iplayer.
In other news, former Female Sports Forum Project Manager Danielle McDowell-Tuffy has become Irish FA’s first Girls’ Elite Youth Academy Manager, and Gail Redmond has been named manager of the Northern Ireland WU17 and WU19 Teams. Both women have valuable experience on and off the field and will help grow elite women’s international pathways. Congratulations to Gail and Danielle on their new roles. The U19 women’s team faced a tough loss to Cyprus and the senior team lost in a friendly against Wales, but we are excited to see how both teams will continue to play this year.
Antrim’s LFGA team won their first Division 4 title, and they’ll play in Division 3 next season for the first time. They had a 10-point victory against Leitrim during the final, which was especially exciting as they had lost previous deciders in 2014, 2016, and 2019, losing out on promotion. Additionally, seven players from the team were nominated to Div 4 of the LIDL Team for the 2023 Ladies National Football League. Div 2 was won by Armagh with a superb performance by Aimee Mackin. Aimee has now signed to Melbourne to play with her sister Blaithin next season. The women will be back in Div 1 after not having appeared at that level since 2017. Eight players from Armagh have been named to the division’s Lidl team.
Beyond just the highlights of the women’s performance this month we would like to congratulate all the Women who were honored at the first Women Sport Magazine awards. Additionally, if you are looking to get involved in sports the Women on Water Festival is happening next month on the 20th of May (REGISTRATION LINK). Golf Ireland is offering opportunities to get involved with golf through Chip and Chat events (LEARN MORE). Mark your calendars for the 1st ever LGBT+ Womens Sports Day on the 28th being hosted by Sporting Pride!
Lastly, good luck to all the women running the marathon this weekend!
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