AWARDS SPORTS LIT students break Guinness World Record with ‘Scrum for Axel’ Tuesday 4th April 2017 will go down in the official record books and will be long remembered in the LIT community as 1,740 people - young and old came together to break a world record in memory of the legendary Munster and Ireland Rugby star, Anthony Foley. The late Anthony Foley’s legacy shone bright as students of LIT, with assistance from people across the Mid-West region entered the Guinness World Records with their ‘Scrum for Axel’. Held at LIT’s headquarters at Moylish, Limerick, where Foley himself attended before taking up a professional career in rugby – the event saw the existing World Record for the largest scrum ever (almost 1,600) turned over as 1,740 put their shoulders behind the LIT initiative. The workshops consisted of 4 modules which were a mix of theory and practice; Performance Testing, Sports Nutrition, Fundamental Movements and Sports Psychology. Workshops can be organised for specific groups. For more information, contact the Schools Liaison Office at 0504 28021 or email: schools@lit.ie LIT students achieving on & off the field The undertaking which was the brainchild of a group of LIT Business with Sports Management students caught the public imagination as young and old, from LIT students and staff, to local primary and secondary schools, rugby clubs, parents, children right up to pensioners all joined to create this special tribute to the heroic Shannon, Munster and Ireland rugby legend. Appropriately and poignantly, Anthony’s sister Rosie – herself a former Ireland Rugby international - was even on hand to help set the scrum and spoke of how touched the Foley family were by the effort and commitment the students put into organising the event and raising money for charity. LIT boasts a lively clubs and societies scene and there are many opportunities for students to get involved in the extra-curricular activities across our campuses. As another sporting year draws to a close, LIT again enjoyed numerous successes in inter-varsity competitions across a range of sports from GAA and Boxing to Judo and Basketball. Thurles based student Christina Desmond represented LIT and Ireland with pride at the World University Boxing Championships earlier in the year and won Ireland’s first ever medal at the event when she captured a bronze medal. Christina also retained her IABA (Irish Amateur Boxing Association) Elite Ladies Senior Boxing title recently. Speaking at the event, LIT President Professor Vincent Cunnane said “I’m just very proud of our students, that they would not alone set a world record, which is a huge achievement, but that in doing so they have honoured a legend of Shannon, Munster and Irish rugby, someone who is still very much in our thoughts on a daily basis. Anthony Foley clearly continues to inspire us.” Everyone in LIT is particularly proud of this fantastic achievement. First Year Drug and Medicinal Product Analysis student Calvin Nash was selected on the Ireland Under-20s Rugby team that competed in the 2017 Six Nations Rugby Championship, while Bailey Faloon and Colm Skehan were members of the Combined Irish Students Rugby team that played their English counterparts in April. Congratulations also to Sports Strength and Conditioning student Willie Connors, who was selected on the 2017 Official GAA and Independent.ie Rising Stars Hurling team for his Fitzgibbon Cup hurling exploits this year, while fellow Sports Strength and Conditioning student, Patricia O’Halloran continues to excel in her sport and won the Powerlifter of the Year Award at the recent Thurles Sports Awards Night. Major demand for Sports Performance Workshops at LIT Thurles There was huge demand for LIT’s specialist Sports Performance Workshops for Transition Year students in February where 300 students from schools in Limerick, Tipperary, Cork, Kerry and Kildare attended a series of performance based workshops where they got a first-hand glimpse of how elite athletes train. SPOTLIGHT
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