Over 90 students awarded for sports excellence at UCC

A total of 95 student athletes from Cork and further afield were awarded sports scholarships by University College Cork this week.

Among the recipients are representatives from a variety of sports including athletics, basketball, boxing, GAA, canoe, golf, gymnastics, rowing, swimming, and table tennis.

The university announced the 75 athletes who had been selected for the 21/22 UCC Sports Scholarship programme today following a detailed assessment of the students' sporting track records and development potential.

A further 20 students were rewarded under UCC’s Sports Performance and Development programmes.

The students hail from 14 different counties and include Olympian Meg Ryan, All-Ireland winner Mark Kehoe, FAI Cup winner Christina Dring, and Irish u20 rugby player Jack Kelleher.

In total, 37 students from Co Cork were selected.

Aside from financial support, the athletes will benefit from support provided by the university’s club coaches and staff specialising in sports science, conditioning, nutrition, sports medicine, sports physiology, and sports analysis staff.

“Our UCC Sports Scholarship Programme is a really important part of recognising and celebrating the success of our athletes," said Morgan Buckley, Head of Sport and Physical Activity in UCC.

“We have international standard athletes to players that represent UCC on a national level. 

"It's a key part of supporting the performance of our teams but also a key part of recognising and supporting these athletes to reach their full potential while fulfilling their education studies.

Speaking at the announcement earlier today, scholarship recipient and UCC rugby player Rob Hedderman said: “The scholarship is recognition for the hard work and dedication that I've put in for the last couple years. It gives me an extra help to make sure that I can get the best out of my performance for UCC.

“There’s more than just the two hours of training that you're going to be doing with the team every week. It's the extra gym sessions, and extra nutrition. 

"It’s having people like UCC's Sport High-Performance Manager Jeff Gomez helping you get the most out of your performance on the pitch as well.”