On Thursday the 11th of September Stacey Cannon the GAA’s Health and Well-Being Coordinator provided ASAP, (Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention), training in Annacurra to the combined Under 14 teams for the Derry Gael’s, Tinahely and Annacurra Camogie clubs. The aim of the ASAP programme is to try and minimise the harm caused by the misuse of alcohol and other substances in the sporting environment. All involved in the programme in Annacurra found it useful and where grateful to Stacey for providing it.

After the ASAP course the regular bi-monthly meeting of the Leinster branch of the Healthy Club Initiative that the Annacurra GAA club is involved in was held. The Healthy Club Initiative is a grass level programme in the GAA to try to promote health and well being at all level’s throughout the community. Annacurra is the smaller participating club in the current pilot phase and the perspective of a small club has been most beneficial as the other clubs are larger and have different requirements. During the meeting a presentation on interim report on the GAA Healthy Club Project from researchers in WIT was given and each of the clubs detailed their progress so far. For Annacurra this has included the SafeTALK suicide alertness programme that was run within the club, along with the pitch side first aid course and the running group that has been setup amongst others. The meeting was a most productive one and as the pilot phase of the initiative draws to a close we can look forward to an increased commitment from the GAA in this area.