First University Fitness Games hosted by ATU in Letterkenny

Atlantic Technological University (ATU) will host its first-ever University Fitness Games this Saturday, January 27th, at the university's Letterkenny campus.

Three level students from universities across the island of Ireland compete to see who is the fittest student in Ireland. This is the first targeted event of its kind and is expected to grow from strength to strength in the coming years.

ATU Donegal Head of Sport Michael Murphy said: “We are delighted to be hosting this event at the Ann Dunlan Sports Center in Letterkenny. “ This event is aimed at students of all types of abilities and at all fitness levels within the third level sector. I would strongly encourage students to consider this challenge.”

The event is led by ATU Donegal's sports academic team and sports students. Neil Barrett, Sports Lecturer at ATU Donegal, outlined the scale and structure of the event as ATU seeks to profile and target the rapidly growing 'Fitness Industry' market sector.

The event currently has 120 individual competitors registered, including the Adapted Athlete category. Competitors take part in his 60-minute workout that tests their strength, power, endurance, and speed. Commenting on the spirit of the competition, Michael Margay, Dean of ATU Donegal's Faculty of Management, said: “This event is not just for elite athletes. It is aimed at everyone who wants to test their fitness level while taking part in a day of fun and hopefully meeting new friends. We are delighted to be launching our first seed event in the tertiary level sector.”

Director General of the Department of Tourism and Sport Nicolas Dunnion gave special thanks to the event's corporate sponsors, BLKBox equipment sponsors, iRadio media sponsors and O'Reilly's sports apparel sponsors. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the No Barriers Foundation for providing equipment and personnel on the day.

This event is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. We hope you will come to ATU Donegal's Ann Dunlan for what is expected to be a spectacular event that is different from the usual sporting events held in the region.