QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY, Belfast will compete at the 20th FEXCO Asian Games in Shanghai next month.
The games, the largest Gaelic games tournament in the world outside of Ireland, take place in the Chinese city from October 23-25 and Queen’s have announced they will send a delegation of staff and international students to the Far East.
The teams participating in the games, encompassing 23 clubs representing 13 countries across Asia, will battle it out at the Shanghai Community Sports Club. The Queen’s squad is comprised of seven different nationalities - China, Malaysia, Thailand, USA, Portugal, Iran and Germany and, in partnership with Queen’s International Recruitment, they will act as ambassadors during a number of scheduled visits to schools and universities in Shanghai.
Impressively, the team of students are new to the game and have only been training since April this year. All-Ireland winner and Queen’s GAA development officer Aidan O’Rourke is coaching the team along with current Armagh ladies' football and Queen’s players Fionnuala McKenna and Caroline O’Hanlon.
“Working with the students has been a pleasure over the past few months. I’ve been involved in many teams over the years but, I have to say, these students have embraced the competitive and team ethos associated with the game more than most,” said O’Rourke.
“Considering the language barriers and the fact they are new to the sport, their skill levels have dramatically improved as a result of their application and the strong bond they have built with each other."
“The visit is aligned with Queen’s ongoing commitment to internationalisation and the key aim of increasing student mobility,” said director of Queen’s marketing, communications and internationalisation Isabel Jennings.
“Events and initiatives such as the Asian Games provide opportunities for our students to unlock their full potential in a global context. It is our hope that the Queen’s team will have an exceptional experience whilst representing the university at the games and we congratulate those students who have made the team and wish them well for the event.”
The project is supported by Queen’s University Sport, the Queen’s Annual Fund, Motiv8, Queen’s International Office and Invest NI.
