15 schools athlete’s, including double Munster Champion Phoebe Murphy (above), will be representing Ireland this weekend at the European Youth Olympic Trials in Baku, Azerbaijan.
This is the first chance for most of the to compete on an international stage and if successful in their events they have the opportunity to qualify for the World Youth Olympic Games.
Update from Jacqui Freyne Jnr & Youth High Performance Manager:
“The 15 strong Irish team have settled in well to their new surrounds in the enormous purpose-built Olympic Village in Baku.
A long day’s travelling on Wednesday culminated in incredibly long and exhaustive security checks to get not only the Team, but the Team bus, into the magnificent Olympic Village. Every athlete, every rucksack and every large gear bag had to be searched and cleared before the Team could enter the Village.
The athletes are housed in one of three blocks being used for EYOT ( there are 17 blocks in total purpose built for next year’s inaugural European Olympic Games ). The apartments each have four enormous bedrooms with bathrooms etc and a vast communal area with views out over the intriguing city of Baku.
The Team are slowly finding their way round the huge Dining Hall which has only plastic cutlery and paper plates (presumably for security reasons again!) which offers a big variety of hot and cold food and lots of fruit and water plus two special areas dedicated to making toast and all the toppings u can imagine to go along with it!
Today the Irish team visited the Stadium and checked out the logistics such as location of Call Rooms, loos and other important ’stuff’ and did some light training. Then it was back through more security and sniffer dogs checking the buses entering the Village, before a well-deserved afternoon of R&R for the Team.
Competition begins tomorrow.”