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60 // Ladies Gaelic Football Association GOVERNMENT GRANT SCHEME PEIL Spring | Issue No 1 | Volume 14 he Government Grant Scheme is a colaboration between the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, the Camogie Association and the WGPA, and is supported by Sport Ireland and the Department of Sport. Grants were first awarded in 2017. Following year one a review of the scheme was commissioned to ensure its aims were being met. Grants have been widely welcomed as a means of supporting inter-county teams, recognising players as elite athletes and acknowledging their contribution to Irish communities. Players have acknowledge that this financial support has allowed teams to operate at a higher standard and support their players in achieving their full potential as footballers Cavan footballer and Secondary School Teacher Donna English described how she sees the grants as supporting her to become a better athlete, be that through access to physio, strength & conditioning, video analysis or just simpler things like food and buses. Government Grant Scheme 2018 T Sinead McNulty (Head of Sport DIT) acts as the independant chair of the Oversight Committee for the Scheme. At the 2018 Launch in Croke Park she acknowledged that while the three organisations, (Camogie, LGFA and WGPA) are di"erent with di"erent focus points, they still all have the same aim of providing the best possible support for high performing female athletes and the collaboration through this scheme has been very positive for all three. Geraldine Giles, the Chairperson of Westmeath County Board described the grants as giving the County Board a bit of breathing space in order to provide funds to support County teams and their aspirations to create a supportive environment for their players. Paul O'Donovan (Camogie Player Welfare Co-ordinator) & Lyn Savage (LGFA National Development Manager) highlighted another benefit of the grants in that it requires team managers, player representatives and County board representative to collaborate and discuss as a group how the grant should be used. 2018 is the second year of the Grant scheme. Changes were made between 2017 and 2018 in order to make the grants as e"ective as possible. So far it has been a successful programme that provides a strong foundation and first step to continued development of the level of support that female inter county teams receive. "breathing space in order to provide funds to support County teams and their aspirations to create a supportive environment for their players."