LEADING construction business BAM Ireland has been announced as the title sponsor of the Cork City Sports International Athletics Meet.

BAM, which has a strong presence in Cork for over 60 years will support the event, which was officially launched yesterday in the River Lee Hotel, in its 68th year. The meet will take place at the Cork Institute of Technology Athletics Stadium on Wednesday, August 14 at 5.30pm.

The CEO of Athletic Ireland Hamish Adams was on hand for the launch, along with Ger Harrington from BAM, and representatives of the media sponsors The Echo and 96FM/C103.

BAM Ireland CEO Theo Cullinane is delighted to link up with the prestigious Cork City Sports.

“We’re thrilled to be supporting this highlight of the international sporting calendar. For almost 70 years it has been a spectacle that has brought world-class athletes to the city and it is important for business to support the community in which they operate.

“This initiative is part of BAM’s ‘Enhancing Lives’ programme – our commitment to enhance the lives of one million people by 2020 through employment, education, training and charity engagement projects.”

The Cork City Sports committee explained they are grateful for financial support of the Irish Sports Council, Sport Ireland, Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Cork ETB, Cork County Board AAI and Leevale Athletic Club.

There are a host of event sponsors: Johnson Controls, Cork Airport, John Buckley Sports, Leisureworld, AON Hewitt, Musgrave’s SuperValu/Centra, Henry Ford & Son Ltd, KBC Bank, Barry’s Tea, Johnson & Perrott Ltd., The River Lee Hotel, FDC Financial Services, Dukes Coffee, JCD, Group, EVROS, Glenilen Farm, FMC, and O’Leary Insurance Group.

The BAM Cork City Sports this year should be a great spectacle as it is positioned in the lead up to the IAAF World Championships which takes place in Doha at the end of September. It should provide a timely test of form for a lot of world-class athletes in their build-up for the major championships. 

A lot of our leading Irish athletes will compete in Cork. These will include Corks own Phil Healy from Bandon AC, multi Irish record holder in the sprints. In 2018, she set a new Irish Record of 22.99 for the 200m at the Cork City Sports. She will undoubtedly be trying to improve on this as she takes on all comers from across the world on home soil this year.

 The programme will include throws, jumps, sprints and middle-distance events as well as a very interesting inter-firm relay race involving local businesses and institutions. The international programme will have athletes from Ireland, USA, Australia, Ethiopia, The Bahamas, Jamaica, South Africa, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Sweden, Spain, Japan, Canada, Kenya, England, Poland, France, Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany and Slovenia, providing a feast of athletics. 

This will be a great evening out for all the family at CIT Athletics Stadium, Bishopstown.