ULSTER Hockey will welcome Olympic athlete Sally Gunnell OBE to Belfast this Autumn as special guest and keynote speaker at its Club 1896 Gala Lunch.
Set to take place at Titanic Belfast on Friday 20th September, the Club 1896 Gala Lunch is the main fixture in a programme of events that the networking forum has delivered this year.
Formed to bring the worlds of sport and business together to create valuable partnerships and ultimately drive the development and profile of hockey in Northern Ireland, Club 1896 events feature inspirational athletes, leaders and entrepreneurs.
The Gala Lunch is built around the theme of ‘inspiring greatness’ – something that accomplished athlete Sally Gunnell will undoubtedly deliver. The only female to hold four major track titles concurrently – Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth, Sally will share stories from her incredible athletics career and insight into lessons she learned throughout that journey. Since her retirement from sport, Sally has enjoyed an impressive career in television and has written four books on health and wellness.
The event will also feature a panel discussion between local business leaders and successful sportspeople, exploring how they have managed challenges throughout their career and obstacles they have overcome. Panellists confirmed include Director of Women’s Football at the Irish Football Association and Chair of the Female Sports Forum Angela Platt; Managing Partner of Arthur Cox Lynsey Mallon and international hockey star Eugene Magee.
Chief Executive of Ulster Hockey Marc Scott comments: “It is wonderful to have secured the brilliant Sally Gunnell as our keynote speaker at this year’s Club 1896 Gala Lunch. A truly iconic athlete, Sally will no doubt inspire everyone in the room with her insights into the discipline required in elite level between sport and everything she achieved since.
“We also look forward to welcoming a fantastic panel of speakers to discuss common themes that cross over business and sport like tenacity, resilience, ambition and drive.
“The whole concept of this event and Club 1896 in general is to bring together people from business and sport to share common ground, to form new partnerships and ultimately work more cohesively for combined good. By creating high quality events like this we hope to spread the message far and wide that sport needs the support of the commercial world – and that business benefits greatly from supporting sport.”
Tickets for the Ulster Hockey Club 1896 Gala Lunch at Titanic Belfast supported by Arthur Cox are available via Eventbrite (search Ulster Hockey Club 1896) or contact Ulster Hockey for details.
