Westmeath’s Fittest Company 2014
On April 26, 2014 on a breezy, showery day Maurice Looby Fitness, in conjunction with Irish Autism Action, held the inaugural competition to find “Westmeath's Fittest Company”. The good weather didn't turn up, but the contestants certainly did! 120 participants made up from 20 different company teams in Westmeath braved the elements in Columb Army Barracks, Mullingar to put 12 weeks of training to the test.
And the winner was….
Irish Autism Action! A grand total of €11,578 was collected by the 20 teams of 6 members – not bad for a first attempt!?!
Over the course of the 12 weeks training, prior to the event, the companies were hard at work raising as much money as possible for this very worthy charity. Based in Multyfarnham, IAA receive no government funding, and are, therefore, totally reliant on fundraising to provide much needed assistance to families living with autism.
The competition on the day was tough, with Mergon International, Castlepollard running out eventual winners, closely followed by K.I.D.S. Care Killucan. The 12 weeks of training (also held in Columb Barracks on one evening each week) saw the contestants, trained by Maurice Looby, practice for a range of events such as the Bleep Test, Bench Press, Basketball and Sit ups among others.
However, a competition within a competition was also running for the entire 12 weeks…While Mergon took the Trophy and the title of Westmeaths Fittest Company home to Castlepollard, Tesco Kinnegad were adamant from the beginning that they were taking the prize for the Company to raise the most money! There was also a prize for the individual to raise the most, and perhaps not surprisingly, this was also won by Tesco, Kinnegad. Monica Baker raised a fantastic €1733, while the the team as a whole raised €2,378.59. Very worthy of honourable mention must go to Thomas Flynn & Sons, The Downs who raised €1461, and Egans Garage, Rathconnell, who raised €1,520. Tesco Kinnegads “Community Champion” Jacinta Nurney perhaps best summed up the spirit of the event: “We may not win the title of Fittest Company – we don't really mind about that, but we're going to win the title of best fundraisers!”
Having said that Tesco, Kinnegad like all the other companies reported significant improvements in their teams overall fitness and general sense of well-being during and after the 12 weeks of training. Feedback from the event has been very positive, with Eamon Brady from Whelehans Pharmacy, Mullingar perhaps best summing it up:
“Myself and my staff at Whelehans found the Westmeath's Fittest Company experience really rewarding. Apart from an excellent opportunity to get fit and try new exercise regimes you never got to try before, it was an excellent opportunity for team building and we found it great for staff morale. It was very professionally run by Maurice, Lucy and their team, yet the whole event (the training sessions and the competition) was run in a very friendly and fun manner. I would recommend any Company to take the challenge!”
We cant wait for next years event.
