Yachts and Sports

Today I went to a conference on diversity in Belfast sports hosted by Ocean Youth Trust Ireland an organization which takes groups of young people and trains them in boating skills, but more importantly gives youth an environment in which they can learn more about themselves and people they might consider to be "different", the obvious divide here being Catholic/Protestant, but also other races, religions, etc. Not only did I learn about the organization, but I was able to make some very important contacts in the Irish Football Association and Peace Players which will be immensely helpful in furthering my independent study research (summary for those who don't know: I'm currently doing a 4 week long research project based in Belfast on the role of sports in communities). On top of all of this I acquired a research adviser, Ben Craig, who put on the whole conference and is incredibly knowledgeable in all things sport-related in Belfast. At the end of the day there was the launching of a new fleet of boats for Ocean Youth Trust Ireland which was presided over by the Lord Mayor of Belfast. Needless to say I had a very busy and eventful day and am looking forward to making even more connections and having more interviews!