KATIE TAYLOR SURPRISES GALWAY STUDENT LIVE ON SKY SPORTS NEWS HQ

•OLYMPIC CHAMPION ANNOUNCES SKY SPORTS LIVING FOR SPORT WINNER AT ARDSCOIL MHUIRE IN BALLINASLOE

Sky Academy Ambassdor and Olympic Boxing Champion, Katie Talyor made a surprise visit to Ardscoil Mhuire in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway today to present 14-year-old Stephanie O’Halloran with the Sky Sports Living for Sport Student of the Year award for the Republic of Ireland.

The Olympic Gold medalist surpised Stephanie as she was participating in a school quiz. After one of the students gave the answer ‘Katie Taylor’ to a question, the boxing star entered the room and gave Stephanie her award live on Sky Sports News HQ.

Stephanie will now attend the Sky Sports Living for Sport Awards at Sky Studios in London this weekend to discover whether she will be crowned the overall UK & Ireland Student of the Year.  She will be up against the winners for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Awards will be broadcast on Sky Sports 1 on Sunday 29 March 2015 at 7.30pm. 

The Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of students and teachers in using sports stars and the skills learnt through sport to  build life skills in young people as a result of their involvement in the programme.  Sky Sports Living for Sport is part of Sky Academy, a set of initiatives using the power of TV, creativity and sport to help one million young people in the UK and Ireland build practical skills and experience to unlock their potential.  

Katie Taylor, Sky Academy Ambassador said: “All of the three Irish students shortlisted for Sky Sports Living for Sport Student of the Year are inspirational and I’m so pleased that they have been recognised at this year’s awards. Today is Stephanie’s day and it’s great to be here in Galway to give her the award.  She’ll be sure to have an amazing time at the Sky Sports Living for Sport Awards in London this weekend. Good luck Stephanie!”

Stephanie was selected as the Student of the Year for Republic of Ireland by a panel of judges for participating in the Sky Sports Living for Sport programme which helped her to overcome a challenging time in her life. Her father passed away a few weeks before the project started and understandably enough Stephanie was affected hugely. 

Participating in Sky Sports Living for Sport presented Stephanie with the tools to gain self-confidence and improveher communication skills.. Stephanie’s Sky Sports Living for Sport project was aimed at students who were previously less involved in sport at school, and this helped her to expand her friendship group and become happier in herself. 

At the end of her project, Stephanie was given the task of planning a sports event which provided a welcome distraction from her family situation. During the two months of the project Stephanie became a brighter, happier girl. She never missed a session and was always ready and willing to help out, especially when delivering a sports session to a group of disabled teenagers at a neighbouring school. 

Athlete Mentor and former international Boxer Dermot Gascoyne inspired Stephanie while working with her on the programme as he demonstrated how sport can be used to develop people skills and described the importance of mental toughness. Gascoyne’s words combined with the life skills gained through the Sky Sports Living for Sport project have had an immeasurable benefit on Stephanie, helping her to gain life skills and grow into a more confident all-round pupil within the classroom, friendship groups and sports. 

Stephanie’s teacher, Karen Usher said: “It is a testament to Stephanie how she took the skills she learned in the club and applied them to her own life. Her increase in confidence, self-esteem and happiness was not only noticeable within the club, but also in the classroom and school corridors.”

Olympic champion Katie Taylor was appointed the Ireland Sky Academy Ambassador when Sky Sports Living for Sport launched in the county in 2013, and she is supported by 20 Athlete Mentors across Ireland, from sports including GAA, boxing and athletics. Sky Sports Living for Sport is delivered in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust and this academic year alone over 175 Irish secondary schools will take part in the programme.

To get involved and sign up to Sky Sports Living for Sport visit www.skysports.com/livingforsport.

James Elms

Sky Ireland

00353 86 4528406

James.elms@bskyb.com

Follow us on twitter @SkyAcademy  

Sky is Europe’s leading entertainment company. The group serves 20 million customers across five countries: Italy, Germany, Austria, the UK and Ireland. We offer the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose.

 

Sky has annual revenues of over £11 billion and is Europe’s leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of over £4.6 billion. The company employs 31,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

 

Sky Ireland is located in offices at Burlington Road, Dublin and employs more than 900 people. Over 2 million people tune into Sky channels each week in Ireland. Sky is increasingly engaged in grass roots activities across Ireland: it is the title sponsor of the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival in Kilkenny where it holds premieres of some of its latest entertainment content; the Sky Arts Ignition series saw a €230,000 fund exclusively allocated to Dublin-based theatre group Rough Magic for their unique production in the Olympia Theatre in June 2014 of The Rise and Fall of The City of Mahagonny in association with Opera Theatre Company; and the Sky Sports Living for Sport Programme, which launched in 2013 and has already seen 100 secondary schools across Ireland participate in life skills initiatives aimed at 11-16 year olds.

To find out more about Sky Sports Living for Sport, visit our website https://livingforsport.skysports.com/

Sky Sports Living for Sport is part of Sky Academy, a unique and groundbreaking set of initiatives that uses the power of television, creativity and sport to inspire young people and help them build skills and confidence.  At Sky, we want to use our position as a leading media and communications company to make a positive impact on society. So, to mark our 25th anniversary, in November 2013 Sky Academy was launched with an ambition to create opportunities for one million young people across the UK and Ireland by 2020.  There are many other free initiatives that form Sky Academy, that your school and students can take part in.  

To find out more about these initiatives visit our website http://www.sky.com/academy 

Sky Sports Living for Sport was launched in 2003 and is delivered in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust. Now in its 12th year, it is a free initiative open to all UK and Irish secondary schools. This academic year 1500 UK Secondary schools and 175 Irish Secondary schools will take part in Sky Sports Living for Sport.

Sky Sports Living for Sport uses sports stars and the skills learned through sport to help build confidence and develop life skills. It’s not about finding the next sporting superstar, it's about using the power of sport to change behaviours and increase academic attainment, whatever your athletic ability.

To find out more about Sky Sports Living for Sport, please visit https://livingforsport.skysports.com/

The Youth Sport Trust is a national charity that is building a brighter future for young people through PE and sport. Through 20 years of experience we have developed a unique way of maximising the power of sport to grow young people, schools and communities through the development of qualities including creativity, aspiration, resilience and empathy. For more information, please visit www.youthsporttrust.org