1.
2015 European Team Championships
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The sixth SPAR European Athletics Team Championships took place on 20 and 21 June 2015. Place, Central Stadium, Cheboksary, Russia Belarus, Finland, for full event details see 2015 European Team Championships Super League Place, Pankritio Stadium, Heraklion, Greece Czech Republic, Netherlands and Turkey were relegated from 2014 Super League. Latvia and Switzerland were promoted from 2014 Second League, Place, Stara Zagora As the 2017 Second League will feature 12 teams, no teams were relegated this year. Hungary and Slovenia were relegated from 2014 First League, cyprus and Iceland were promoted from 2014 Third League. Place, Baku National Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan The third league of the 2015 European Athletics Team Championships will be a part of the 2015 European Games, held in Baku, austria and Slovakia were relegated from 2014 Second League. Nb1 The original womens steeplechase winner, Chaltu Beji of Azerbaijan, was disqualified after giving a positive doping test for ostarine
2.
Republic of Ireland
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Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the part of the island. The state shares its land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, Saint Georges Channel to the south-east, and it is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The head of government is the Taoiseach, who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President, the state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was officially declared a republic in 1949, following the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955. It joined the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union, after joining the EEC, Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth. The country achieved considerable prosperity between the years of 1995 and 2007, which known as the Celtic Tiger period. This was halted by a financial crisis that began in 2008. However, as the Irish economy was the fastest growing in the EU in 2015, Ireland is again quickly ascending league tables comparing wealth and prosperity internationally. For example, in 2015, Ireland was ranked as the joint sixth most developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index and it also performs well in several national performance metrics, including freedom of the press, economic freedom and civil liberties. Ireland is a member of the European Union and is a member of the Council of Europe. The 1922 state, comprising 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland, was styled, the Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1937, provides that the name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland. Section 2 of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 states, It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland. The 1948 Act does not name the state as Republic of Ireland, because to have done so would have put it in conflict with the Constitution. The government of the United Kingdom used the name Eire, and, from 1949, Republic of Ireland, for the state, as well as Ireland, Éire or the Republic of Ireland, the state is also referred to as the Republic, Southern Ireland or the South. In an Irish republican context it is referred to as the Free State or the 26 Counties. From the Act of Union on 1 January 1801, until 6 December 1922, during the Great Famine, from 1845 to 1849, the islands population of over 8 million fell by 30%
3.
Waterford
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Waterford is a city in Ireland. It is in the South-East Region, Ireland and is part of the province of Munster, the city is situated at the head of Waterford Harbour. It is the oldest and the fifth most populous city in the Republic of Ireland and it is the eighth most populous city on the island of Ireland. Waterford City and County Council is the government authority for the city. Waterford is known for Waterford Crystal, a legacy of the citys former glass-making industry, according to the 2011 Census,65,928 people live in the Waterford Metropolitan District, however this figure does not include its suburbs in County Kilkenny and County Wexford. There are over 80,000 people within a 15 km radius of the city centre, with a population of 51,519, Waterford is the fifth most populous city in the State and the 32nd most populous area of local government. Following the Local Government Reform Act 2014, Waterford City and County Council is the government authority for the city. The authority came into operation on 1 June 2014, prior to this the city had its own local council, Waterford City Council. The new Council is the result of a merger of Waterford City Council, the Council has 32 representatives who are elected from five electoral areas. The city itself forms three of the electoral areas – which when combined form the Metropolitan District of Waterford –, residents in these areas are restricted to voting for candidates located in their ward for local elections. The office of the Mayor of Waterford was established in 1377, a mayor is then elected by the councillors from the two electoral areas of the Metropolitan District of Waterford every year, and there is no limit to the number of terms an individual may serve. Mary OHalloran who was mayor during 2007–2008 was the first woman to hold the post, the current mayor is Adam Wyse. The constituency elects four deputies to Dáil Éireann, there are no such ward restrictions for these elections and voters are entitled to vote for any candidate throughout the city and county. The name Waterford comes from Old Norse Veðrafjǫrðr, meaning ram fjord, the Irish name is Port Láirge, meaning Lárags port. Viking raiders first established a settlement near Waterford in 853 and it and all the other longphorts were vacated in 902, the Vikings having been driven out by the native Irish. Among the most prominent rulers of Waterford was Ivar of Waterford, in 1167, Diarmait Mac Murchada, the deposed King of Leinster, failed in an attempt to take Waterford. He returned in 1170 with Cambro-Norman mercenaries under Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, together they besieged, in furtherance of the Norman invasion of Ireland, King Henry II of England landed at Waterford in 1171. Waterford and then Dublin were declared cities, with Dublin also declared capital of Ireland
4.
Limerick
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Limerick is a city in county Limerick, Ireland. It is located in the Mid-West Region and is part of the province of Munster. Limerick City and County Council is the authority for the city. The city lies on the River Shannon, with the core of the city located on Kings Island, which is bounded by the Shannon. Limerick is also located at the head of the Shannon Estuary where the river widens before it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 95,854, Limerick is the third most populous area in the state. There are 102,161 people living in the Limerick City Metropolitan District, on 1 June 2014 following the merger of Limerick City and County Council a new Metropolitan District of Limerick was formed within the united council which extended the city area. The Metropolitan District includes the city area and extends outwards towards Patrickswell in the west. The City Metropolitan Area however excludes city suburbs located within County Clare, when included this increases the overall city and metropolitan area by a further 5,000 with a combined total population of 107,161. Limerick is one of the constituent cities of the Cork–Limerick–Galway corridor which has a population of 1 million people and it is located at a strategic position on the River Shannon with four main crossing points near the city centre. To the south of the city is the Golden Vale, an area of rich pastureland, historically, much of the citys industry was based on this rich agricultural hinterland and it is particularly noted for Limerick Ham. Luimneach originally referred to the area along the banks of the Shannon Estuary known as Loch Luimnigh. The earliest settlement in the city, Inis Sibhtonn, was the name for Kings Island during the pre-Viking and Viking eras. This island was also called Inis an Ghaill Duibh, The Dark- Foreigners Island, the name is recorded in Viking sources as Hlymrekr. Antiquitys map-maker, Ptolemy, produced in 150 the earliest map of Ireland, history also records an important battle involving Cormac mac Airt in 221 and a visit by St. Patrick in 434 to baptise an Eóganachta king, Carthann the Fair. Saint Munchin, the first bishop of Limerick died in 652, in 812 the Vikings sailed up the Shannon and pillaged the city, burned the monastery of Mungret but were forced to flee when the Irish attacked and killed many of their number. The Normans redesigned the city in the 12th century and added much of the most notable architecture, such as King Johns Castle, one of the kingdoms most notable kings was Brian Boru, ancestor of the OBrien Clan of Dalcassians. The word Thomond is synonymous with the region and is retained in place such as Thomondgate
5.
Alma mater
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Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In modern usage, it is a school or university which an individual has attended, the phrase is variously translated as nourishing mother, nursing mother, or fostering mother, suggesting that a school provides intellectual nourishment to its students. Before its modern usage, Alma mater was a title in Latin for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele. The source of its current use is the motto, Alma Mater Studiorum, of the oldest university in continuous operation in the Western world and it is related to the term alumnus, denoting a university graduate, which literally means a nursling or one who is nourished. The phrase can also denote a song or hymn associated with a school, although alma was a common epithet for Ceres, Cybele, Venus, and other mother goddesses, it was not frequently used in conjunction with mater in classical Latin. Alma Redemptoris Mater is a well-known 11th century antiphon devoted to Mary, the earliest documented English use of the term to refer to a university is in 1600, when University of Cambridge printer John Legate began using an emblem for the universitys press. In English etymological reference works, the first university-related usage is often cited in 1710, many historic European universities have adopted Alma Mater as part of the Latin translation of their official name. The University of Bologna Latin name, Alma Mater Studiorum, refers to its status as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. At least one, the Alma Mater Europaea in Salzburg, Austria, the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has been called the Alma Mater of the Nation because of its ties to the founding of the United States. At Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, the ancient Roman world had many statues of the Alma Mater, some still extant. Modern sculptures are found in prominent locations on several American university campuses, outside the United States, there is an Alma Mater sculpture on the steps of the monumental entrance to the Universidad de La Habana, in Havana, Cuba. Media related to Alma mater at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of alma mater at Wiktionary Alma Mater Europaea website
6.
University of Limerick
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The University of Limerick is a university in the city of Limerick, Ireland. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and it was the first university established since the foundation of the State in 1922, followed by the establishment of Dublin City University later on the same day. The university is located along the River Shannon, on a 137.5 hectares campus comprising 46 hectares on the bank and 91.5 hectares on the south bank,5 km from Limerick city centre. The university has currently in excess of 11,000 full-time undergraduate students including over 2400 international students and 1,500 part-time students, there are also over 800 research postgraduates and 1,300 taught postgraduate students at the university. The Co-operative Education programme allocates all students with an 8-month work placement as part of their degree and this was the first such programmes in the state. Professor Don Barry, a graduate of Yale University, is the current president of the university, in 1908 there was also an attempt to establish a link between the National University of Ireland and Mungret College located about 5 km from Limerick. The college offered courses in the faculty of Arts to degree, the Royal University of Ireland was dissolved in 1909 and was replaced by the National University of Ireland. Which marked the end of education at Mungret. Degrees were awarded to students at Mungret College by the NUI from 1909 to 1912 to accommodate students who had matriculated in the now extinct Royal University, the campaign for a University in Limerick began in earnest by the late 1950s. The Limerick University Project Committee was founded in September 1959 as a project of the 1957 Mayor of Limerick, another supporter, Mr Justice Dermot Kinlen, was a High Court judge and later the first State Inspector General of Prisons and Places of Detention. Both Mr Russell and Mr Justice Kinlen were awarded honorary degrees by the university in 2002, successful economic development policies of the 1960s led to an influx of foreign direct investment into Ireland and to a demand for advanced expertise not satisfied by the existing universities. In response the state decided to establish the National Institute for Higher Education at Limerick, Dr Walsh took up office as Chairman of the Planning Board and Director of the Institute on 1 January 1970. With finance secured from the World Bank, construction commenced on Phase 1, the first students were enrolled in 1972 when the institute was opened by then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch. The second phase of development was financed by the European Investment Bank, subsequently the billionaire philanthropist Chuck Feeney was a major donor to the university. The Shannon Development Company was also a supporter of the project. A change of government resulted in NIHE Limerick being required to apply for recognition as a Recognised College of the National University of Ireland which awarded degrees to its graduates in 1977. Arising from strong opposition mounted by students and others the NIHE Limerick was permitted to withdraw from the NUI and was established by legislation as an independent institution, from 1978 to 1988 the National Council for Educational Awards was the degree-awarding authority for the NIHE Limerick. In 1989 NIHE, Limerick was established by legislation as the University of Limerick, the University expanded in 1991 following the incorporation of the Thomond College of Education, Limerick into the University
7.
Track and field
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Track and field is a sport which includes athletic contests established on the skills of running, jumping, and throwing. The name is derived from the sports venue, a stadium with an oval running track enclosing a grass field where the throwing and jumping events take place. Track and field is categorised under the sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running. The foot racing events, which include sprints, middle- and long-distance events, the jumping and throwing events are won by the athlete who achieves the greatest distance or height. Regular jumping events include long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault, while the most common throwing events are shot put, javelin, discus and hammer. There are also combined events or multi events, such as the pentathlon consisting of five events, heptathlon consisting of seven events, in these, athletes participate in a combination of track and field events. Most track and field events are individual sports with a victor, the most prominent team events are relay races. Events are almost exclusively divided by gender, although both the mens and womens competitions are held at the same venue. It is one of the oldest sports, in ancient times, it was an event held in conjunction with festivals and sports meets such as the Ancient Olympic Games in Greece. The ancient Olympic Games began in the year 776 BC, when Koroibos, a cook from the city of Elis, won the stadium race. According to some traditions, this was the only athletic event of the games for the first 13 Olympic festivals. In modern times, the two most prestigious track and field competitions are athletics competition at the Olympic Games and the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. The International Association of Athletics Federations is the governing body. Records are kept of the best performances in specific events, at world and national levels, however, if athletes are deemed to have violated the events rules or regulations, they are disqualified from the competition and their marks are erased. In North America, the track and field may be used to refer to other athletics events, such as the marathon. The sport of track and field has its roots in human prehistory, Track and field-style events are among the oldest of all sporting competitions, as running, jumping and throwing are natural and universal forms of human physical expression. The first recorded examples of organized track and field events at a festival are the Ancient Olympic Games. At the first Games in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece, only one event was contested, Track and field events were also present at the Panhellenic Games in Greece around this period, and they spread to Rome in Italy around 200 BC
8.
400 metres hurdles
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The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men, on a standard outdoor track,400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once around the stadium. Runners stay in their lanes the entire way after starting out of the blocks, the hurdles are positioned and weighted so that they fall forward if bumped into with sufficient force, to prevent injury to the runners. Although there is no longer any penalty for knocking hurdles over, runners prefer to clear them cleanly, the best male athletes can run the 400 m hurdles in a time of around 47 seconds, while the best female athletes achieve a time of around 53 seconds. The current mens and womens world record holders are Kevin Young with 46.78 seconds, compared to the 400 metres run, the hurdles race takes the men about three seconds longer and the women four seconds longer. The 400 m hurdles was held for both sexes at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Athletics, the first championship for women came at the 1980 World Championships in Athletics – being held as a one-off due to the lack of a race at the 1980 Summer Olympics. The first awards in a 400 m hurdles race were given in 1860 when a race was held in Oxford, England, while running the course, participants had to clear twelve wooden hurdles, over 100 centimetres tall, that had been spaced in even intervals. To reduce the risk of injury, somewhat more lightweight constructions were introduced in 1895 that runners could push over, the 400 m hurdles became an Olympic event at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. At the same time, the race was standardized so that virtually identical races could be held, as a result, the official distance was fixed to 400 metres, or one lap of the stadium, and the number of hurdles was reduced to ten. The official height of the hurdles was set to 91.4 cm for men and 76.20 cm for women, the first documented 400 m hurdles race for women took place in 1971. Many athletic commentators and officials have often brought up the idea of lifting the height of the womens 400 m hurdles to incorporate a greater requirement of hurdling skill. This was the case at the World Championships in Seville and the problem can often be seen at international and national meetings. The 400m hurdle race one of the most demanding of all events in the sprint-hurdle group and it requires speed, endurance, and hurdling technique all along with unique awareness and special concentration throughout the race. When preparing to hurdle, the blocks should be set so that the athlete arrives at the first hurdle leading on the desired leg without inserting a stutter step. A stutter step is when the runner has to chop his or her stride down to arrive on the leg for take off. At the beginning of the take-off, the knee must be driven toward the hurdle, the knee should be slightly bent when crossing the hurdle. Unless an athlete’s body has great flexibility, the knee must be bent to allow a forward body lean. Unlike the 110m hurdles, a significant forward body lean is not that necessary due to the hurdles being lower, however, the trail leg must be kept bent and short to provide a quick lever action allowing a fast hurdle clearance
9.
400 metres
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The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men. On a standard running track, it is one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and race in separate lanes for the entire course. In many countries, athletes competed in the 440 yard dash —which is a quarter of a mile and was referred to as the quarter-mile—instead of the 400 m. An athlete who competes in the 400 m may still be referred to as quarter-miler, while considered to be predominantly an anaerobic event, there is some aerobic involvement and the degree of aerobic training required for 400 metre athletes is open to debate. The current mens record is held by Wayde van Niekerk, with a time of 43.03 seconds, van Niekerk is also the reigning world. The world indoor record holder is Kerron Clement, in 44.57 seconds, the current womens world record is held by Marita Koch, with a time of 47.60 seconds. Allyson Felix is the womens world champion, while Shaunae Miller holds the womens Olympic title. The mens T43 Paralympic world record of 45.07 seconds is held by Oscar Pistorius. An Olympic double of 200 metres and 400 m was first achieved by Valerie Brisco-Hooks in 1984, alberto Juantorena of Cuba at the 1976 Summer Olympics became the first and so far the only athlete to win both the 400 m and 800 m Olympic titles. The Olympic champion has won a second gold medal in the 4 ×400 metres relay. From 31 appearances in the Olympic Games, the gold medallist came from the USA19 times. A = affected by altitude Correct as of January 2017. Below is a list of all other times equal or superior to 43.80, Wayde van Niekerk also ran 43.48. Jeremy Wariner also ran 43.50,43.62, LaShawn Merritt also ran 43.74,43.75. Below is a list of all other times superior to 48.80, jarmila Kratochvílová also ran 48.45,48.61. Olga Vladykina / Bryzgina also ran 48.60,48.65, multiple 400 metres victories at the Olympic Games and World Championships,6 wins, Michael Johnson - Olympic Champion in 1996 and 2000, World Champion in 1993,1995,1997 and 1999
Ireland
