Athlone opens its arms to Community Games finals

Athlone opened its arms to the HSE Community Games finals yesterday (Tuesday) with the official launch of the games in the town. The event kicks off on the weekend of May 22nd to 24th in Athlone IT, the first of three weekends of activity which are expected to bring over 30,000 visitors thronging to Athlone. Over 8,000 children alone will participate in various activities over the three weekends of competition in sports and cultural activities as diverse as running, gymnastics, football to model-making and painting. It"s the culmination of a year of qualifying events held throughout every nook and cranny of Ireland involving over 500,000 participants and 20,000 volunteers. Westmeath star footballer Dessie Dolan was on hand along with mascot Oltan the Owl and local children to officially launch the HSE Community Games National Finals at its new host venue in Athlone Institute of Technology yesterday (Tuesday). Already, local hotels have joined forces to showcase their attractions to the visiting public with an innovative brochure. Speaking at the official press launch on Tuesday last, President of HSE Community Games, Miceal Curley commented that 2009 is especially significant as the organisation move to their new venue, adding that the first class facilities available at AIT will bring Community Games in to a new era. The other weekends take place in August.