More than 150 vision impaired athletes from across the island will gather in Dublin next month to celebrate MayFest 2013. The MayFest, organised by Irish Blind Sports, will be a carnival weekend of come and try, competition and demonstration sports, ideally suitable for people with vision impairment.
The Irish Blind Sports MayFest will run over two days on the weekend of May 11 and May 12. Most events will be staged at the Aer Lingus Sports Complex (ALSAA ) beside Dublin Airport. There will be 12 come and try and competition sports to include archery, athletics, football, indoor rowing, judo, SNAG golf, swimming, tai-Kwando, tandem cycling, tenpin bowling, walking, yoga and board games including chess.
Michael Clarke, chairperson of Irish Blind Sports, believes that participation levels in sport among those with vision impairment here is below what it should be. “But by hosting an event like our multi-sport MayFest should create awareness and help vision impaired not just find sports but, find sports which best suit their capabilities,” he said. “While we are expecting an entry in excess of 150 with a little push we could double or treble this figure.”
Entry forms and further information on MayFest 2013 can be downloaded from the Irish Blind Sports website www.ibsports.ie Early registration is recommended as it is expected that demand for places in many sports will be quite high.
