Age is no challenge to utilising our Gym
January 19, 2024
Killavullen GAA provides facilities to enable Gaelic games for both boys and girls, men and women to be played in Killavullen. We have a growing population that utilise our pitch, AstroTurf and now gym. We also lend our facilities to both National schools of the parish, Killavullen and Ballygown, and to any community group within the parish or the greater North Cork area that wish to utilise our amenities. With Killavullen being a small village, facilities for sports and recreation are limited, but we earnestly try to unite our parish around our facilities. We also, in cooperation with Cork County Council already provide a trailhead destination for the nearby walks, in the Nagle Mountains and Nano Nagle Centre.
Killavullen GAA have created a community gym in their facility within their existing building structure, that can be activated by persons, who wish to utilise. The cost of entry is kept deliberately low, so that all persons can join. We have an Over 60’s groups, who utilise the gym under instruction on a Monday morning @ 10.00 AM. New participants are always welcome. A fully qualified, strength and conditioning coach, in John Morrissey is on hand to instruct users in age appropriate exercise at this time juncture, and at other times, in a private arrangement between John and the end user.
Here to now, it would be hard to get those older people, to engage with our club. It is accessed controlled, to allow independent entry. Players, both male and female are also able to use the gym, but so many more people in our community as well. This is all part of our long term plan in Killavullen GAA to be more inclusive, reaching out beyond our playing cohort, to have Killavullen GAA facilities become a focal point in our community.
A community gym, such as what we provide is an asset to an entire community. An accusation could be levelled at any GAA club that they only look after GAA players, but there are any number of individuals in a community, that do not play GAA. We want to reach out to them. We want them to stay in our community, rather than travel into Mallow, saving on the carbon footprint, to use a gym. We want our facilities to be utilised and we are getting traction in that regard. We want the age group that are no longer playing GAA engaged in recreational activities. A community gym is one such solution. By allowing person to access the gym at their own validation, the gym can be used more, but the persons utilising it, are become more invested in their community and by default our GAA Club .The community is healthier as a result.
Contact any club officer if you want a tour of the facility, to ascertain if this is something that you may be interested in.