Dylan Farrell (20) from Dromod; Keanu McGee (19) from Mohill and Fintan Smyth (20), from Ballinamore will participate in the event, which brings athletes with physical disabilities from across Ireland together for a dedicated day of inclusive fitness competition and fun.<\/p>\n
Dylan, Fintan and Keanu have all been training hard to prepare for the Fitness Inclusion Games and are excited to take part on May 7. <\/p>\n
Speaking ahead of the games, Keanu McGee said: \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to meeting new people, and the message is that disability is not a disability, it\u2019s an ability.<\/p>\n
“It goes to show you that everyone can do something if you put your mind to it,\u201d said Keanu. <\/p>\n
Fintan Smyth said he has been busy preparing for the games and is ready to take part. <\/p>\n
“I\u2019ve been in the gym in Ballinamore on Tuesdays.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019ve been training for it and I\u2019ve been running around Ballinamore too.<\/p>\n
“At the gym, I do weights while I do swimming and horse riding too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dylan Farrell, who also participated in last year\u2019s Fitness Inclusion Games and won a special award for his performance on the day, has become a dedicated gym-goer to get ready for the Games.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe rowing would make you tired and the skiing machines would make you very, very tired, your arms would be falling off,\u201d said Dylan. <\/p>\n
Taking place at the prestigious National Indoor Arena on the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin, the Games will see 150 participants compete in adapted team challenges designed to test strength, endurance and skill.<\/p>\n
Now in its second year, the Fitness Inclusion Games are helping to build momentum for more inclusive fitness opportunities across Ireland, addressing the ongoing barriers many people with physical disabilities face when accessing gyms and competitive sport.<\/p>\n
Valentina Macesanu, Young Adult Support Officer at IWA Carrick-on-Shannon, said: \u201cFor some of our group, this is their first time taking part in something like the Fitness Inclusion Games, and that\u2019s a big step in itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cOthers have already been building up their confidence through gym sessions, boxercise, and taking part in programmes with the Sports Partnership.<\/p>\n
“Some are even coming in with experience like CrossFit, which is brilliant to see.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about meeting everyone where they\u2019re at, supporting them to grow, and focusing on their ability.<\/p>\n
“For us as staff, it\u2019s about creating those opportunities, building confidence, and seeing each person realise what they\u2019re capable of.<\/p>\n
“Through IWA\u2019s Fitness Inclusion Project, IWA is committed to delivering real and lasting impact, ensuring more people with disabilities can enjoy the physical, mental and social benefits of being active in their communities,\u201d said Valentina.<\/p>\n
Inspired by CrossFit and Hyrox, the Fitness Inclusion Games feature adapted workouts, enabling athletes of all abilities to take part in a supportive and high-energy environment.<\/p>\n
The Fitness Inclusion Project began as a small pilot in Drogheda in 2022 and has since grown into a national initiative, with programmes now running in locations including Navan, Galway and several areas in Dublin.<\/p>\n
The Fitness Inclusion Games represent a significant step forward in making fitness accessible and inclusive and in creating lasting impact for people with disabilities across Ireland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dylan Farrell (20) from Dromod; Keanu McGee (19) from Mohill and Fintan Smyth (20), from Ballinamore will participate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554853,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[190707,6647,102,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-554852","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-emma-ryan","9":"tag-fitness","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}