Our Chosen Sport

1. Our Chosen Sport

2. MY CHOSEN SPORTBySHANE ADAIR • My chosen sport is football. I play football every day and play for a club called Saintfield AYC. • I can play in quite a few positions. In the youth leagues, I played at central defense, but now in the senior league, I am being used as a defensive midfielder. • We train once a week but I do my own training on top of that, such as gym work.

3. As well as playing football for Saintfield, I enjoy going out for runs and playing badminton and squash at college. • I also enjoy cycling, and mostly go out at night when the roads are empty. I listen to music to motivate me when I’m running or cycling long distances. • I used to play Gaelic for my local club, Killyleagh, although I stopped a while ago.

4. My footballing career has been pretty successful. I have won the league and league cups in the under tens with my home club, Killyleagh, the league in the under twelve’s and won the league and league cup in the under 14s with Saintfield AYC. In the under sixteen's, I won the league cup with Saintfield United.

5. MY CHOSEN SPORTBYGARY THOMPSON My chosen sport is football. I currently play football for Larne and am out on loan from Linfield. I also have played for Northern Ireland at schoolboy level. • My favourite position is centre midfield as I enjoy the big tackles and the amount of the ball that you get.

6. I train 3 times a week and play a match on a Saturday. I also do weight training. • As well as play football I also helped coach the tech ladies team who won a major competition beating some of the best teams in the country.

7. My Chosen SportKarl Murphy • My chosen sport is Karate. I participate in karate every Wednesday and fight for the Ireland squad. I also train in Dublin. • I have fought in quite a few competitions in varying countries. • I train once a week in Alssa karate club in Dublin near the airport.

8. I fought in the all-Ireland championships and got to the final but got disqualified for kicking below the belt. I also fought in the European championships in Sweden and the world championships in Dallas Texas. I also won a competition in Rotterdam. (UK Championships)

9. As well as fighting in karate I also partake in soccer, I play soccer for Ardglass FC I am a goal keeper. • But I can play anywhere on the pitch, preferably on the right wing or a striker. • I also enjoy playing basketball • I used to play it when I was in high school, I was quite good at it and was offered a scholarship to Queens.

10. MY CHOSEN SPORTJORDAN KENNEDY • The main sport I participate in is football. I am currently playing for Killyleagh YC who is the most successful and probably the best amateur team in Northern Ireland and I train 2 nights a week and have a match on a Saturday.

11. I play on the right of midfield and it is draining both mentally and physically, however I still love it. My favourite position however is centre midfield because I feel I get more of the ball and can drive forward a lot. As well as playing football I also help coach it. Me and my mate Gary are currently coaching the SERC ladies football team and are currently champions of the dale farm 5a-side tournament.

12. My Chosen SportChristina Woodside In the sport I do many of us practise our climbing at indoor walls using a top rope, this means that all I have to do is climb and not worry about placing gear in the rocks. Many competitions take place at indoor wall, taking into account you technique.

13. From doing this sport I have taken many excursions to Scotland climbing in the highlands. These are some of the hardest climbs i have ever experienced, mainly due to the nature of the rock, that being that is crumbles, meaning that finding gear placements is quite challenging

14. Rock Climbing- Outdoors This picture was taken in the Mournes in Co. Down, it was at a mountain called Slieve Meelmore, up the side of a climb called Spellek This is were i go when i am training for excursions.

15. MY CHOSEN SPORTBRONAGH WALSH • In the title picture I am the girl on the right wearing black in the front row. • I am interested in keeping fit by running ,doing aerobics classes and also an aerobic circuits class. Doing these classes helps with my chosen sport which is kickboxing. • I have only been kickboxing for 6 months but I really enjoy it. Through the women's only club I have received my first grade which is a red sash.

16. Next year I hope to continue with my kickboxing and receive my next grade in the summer. • I am also interested in hopefully running my first marathon in the new year, as it is always something I have wanted to do and have recently began training for.

17. MY CHOSEN SPORTJUDE TRAINOR • I study a style called Tai-jutsu, which is a blend of Japanese kickboxing and jiu-jitsu. In English it translates as Art of the Body, a means of fighting using specific areas of the body. • It involves brutal striking attacks such as kicking, punching, knees and elbows. • It also includes throws, pins, submissions and ground fighting. There are many techniques to learn and the training is very traditional and physically demanding. • I began with a white belt level which would mean that I’m not ranked but have since moved up to a yellow belt and will soon be tested for the next level, an orange belt. • My sensei (teacher) is Gary McAllister, he is the head of the Northern Ireland Tai-jutsu Association.

18. Tai-jutsu helps to build physical strength, power and endurance as well as other principles. • Our equipment include a gi (pronounced Gee), with has the upper body wearing a short robe and the lower body with a black and white set of trousers. This is the same as a kickboxing outfit. • I’m the one with a yellow belt. The other guy is a Karate student.

19. I carry a license stating that I am ranked, the level I am at and any rules that I might have broken which is none. • On the license are a set of rules which are called the ‘Code of Honour’ by which we follow. • So far I am very skilled on what I have learned and I’ve trained very hard since day one, which is vital for me if I’m to compete professionally.

20. These pictures are just showing a demonstration of the striking skills that I practise. The first picture shows me performing a low roundhouse kick. • The second picture is a high roundhouse, aiming for my friends ribs. • This picture is a high knee attack to the chest. • The last (on the next slide) is a counter-punch to the stomach.

21. My chosen SportByRebecca Carberry The army cadet force is like a mini version of the British army, we do all sorts of things like shooting, drill, physical training, assault courses, field training, annual camp and weekends down at Ballykinlar camp . The best thing about the cadets is the physical side of it we do Physical training tests, 3 mile runs on the beach, assault courses, the 2 mile marine endurance course, day and night patrols with all our army kit and sleeping under the stars.

22. The things I like most is doing assault courses  This is me on 6 foot monkey bars across a deep pool of water, I was holding on for life as I didn’t want to end up soaked! But there was worse to come . . . . . .

23. Holding on for life or for the nice marine waiting for me ?!

24. This was me and my friend on a high rope. We decided to be the only girls to cross it. Again it was under a massive pool of deep water and the rope was as high as my house!

25. Half way across, arms are starting to hurt! And then arms give in and I really don’t want to drop into that swimming pool!

26. This is the result  Absolutely soaked after my big drop into that pool behind me! Wet and mucky . . . The best way to be in the cadets and after that assault course I got to fly in an RAF sea-king helicopter

27. Louise Baker • My chosen sports are Gaelic and Soccer. • In Gaelic I have got on to the Down U-16 team and the Down minor team for two successful years. In these two years I have been in the starting 15 which is a crest achievement as there is a lot of talent in County Down when it comes to Gaelic football. Whist playing for the minors I have reached 2 Ulster finals in which we won the minor Ulster B championship and have become runners up in the Ulster A championship the following year.

28. Both of these I have played a big part in. • The course that I am doing in the very thing for me as I enjoy most sports. The course covers a lot of things which are quiet interesting, for example, Sports Nutrition and The Body in Action. I find that there are certain units that I can relate to my own sports. I play for the local Gaelic team called RGU Downpatrick.

29. In the college they have a numbers of sporting teams and I have represented the college in the Gaelic team for the past two years. This year we have entered a ladies soccer team in which I have been given the honour of being the team captain. So far we have played one competition and we came out overall winners, so we’re Northern Ireland champions.

30. I play soccer for a team called Tollymore Ladies. I enjoy this as the standard of football is better than the team I used to play for and the craic that we have as a team both on and off the pitch is “some craic”.