Help Support Cork Safety Alerts – Donate the price of a coffee here via Stripe: https://csalert.ie/donate

Pictured is: Stephen Scully, Parks Dept, Cork City Council; Caroline Kelleher, Health Promotion Officer with the HSE; Frank Fahey, Fitwalks Ireland and Alison Chambers, Walking Promotion Officer, Cork Sports Partnership. Image: Brian Lougheeed

Cork Sports Partnership, Cork Kerry Community Healthcare, fitWalk Ireland and Cork City Council are delighted to announce the opening of the first FitSTICKS Trail in Cork which is now open to the public in the centrally located, safe and picturesque Tramore Valley Park. The partners hope that this trail will provide a suitable walkway for anyone using Activator Poles and would like to add some variety and fun into their walks. The poles are suitable to use everywhere, but this purpose-built route with bespoke signage will provide additional benefits in the form of exercise ideas and instructions.

Speaking about the new trail, Maurice O’Sullivan, Sport and Marketing Manager with Cork Sports Partnership said:

“This trail will provide people of all ages and abilities with access to a designated trail with suitable Activator Pole exercises to make the trail more interactive and engaging. We look forward to working with our project partners to encourage more groups and people of all ages to access the trail over the coming months.”

Cork Kerry Community Healthcare, who have a remit to promote health to everyone of all ages and abilities are delighted to be involved with Caroline Kelleher, Health Promotion Officer with the HSE Health Promotion and Improvement Department stating that the trail is ‘especially beneficial for older individuals and those with mobility, strength, or balance challenges. It provides an excellent opportunity to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of outdoor walking.’

This project has been made possible through strong partnerships between the key stakeholders who have worked together on this as well as numerous other projects. Stephen Scully from the Parks and Recreation Department of Cork City Council reiterated this message: ‘Cork City Council is delighted that this was made possible by all project partners working together to deliver it, and that Tramore Valley Park will accommodate this exciting new initiative.’

This initiative has been funded and facilitated through the Active Cities Cork Initiative which is a major, new national campaign to get as many people exercising and participating in physical activity as possible in our biggest urban cities.

The Sport Ireland ‘Active Cities’ project which is funded through Dormant Accounts aims to engage, maintain and increase the number of citizens, regardless of age and ability, participating in sport and physical activity in their city, with the project being rolled out across Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, and Waterford. The project is being initiated and developed by 8 Local Sports Partnerships in conjunction with identified local and national stakeholder organisations.