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Gaelic footballers can learn from Goodyear Tyres 

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By Brian Foley from Activate Fitness

In the early 1980s, Goodyear tyres were responsible for fitting tyres to a few high-performance cars, mostly, the Chevrolet Corvette.

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The tyre’s roots were based on Formula One racing - the elite of the elite in racing car performance. The tyre’s design was very different from most passenger car tyres and it was an overnight victory with devotees of performance cars. The tyre featured a low profile side wall, large tread blocks for good dry traction grip, a very stiff sidewall and a nylon cap over the steel belts to hold the tyre together at high speeds. The tyre received a unique sidewall rating and it was designated with a 'V' which meant the tyre had been safely tested in the laboratory to stay together at speeds as high as 149mph. This is the first time the high-performance tyre was made in America.

This tyre was an instant hit even though it was costly - even by today’s standards. It was not uncommon for them to cost over $200 each when generic, average tyres weren’t ever more than $50 each. Since then, however, the high-performance tyre has made its way onto almost every modern car. This is because automobile manufacturers found that high-performance tyres helped cars handle better, corner better, stop better, steer better, were safer and worked well with anti-lock brake technology. During this time tyre manufacturers began to produce a multitude of intermediate high-performance tyres known as “touring” tyres which were designed to accede to high-performance demands and lessen ride and wear issues. Within a few years, there was an entire list of high-performance tyre categories which include ultra-high performance, performance, touring, cosmetic performance, touring performance, etc. As technology advanced, automobile manufacturers began to equip nearly everything with a performance tyre - even on work vans - because of one simple reason: they help sell cars because they are attractive and because of the benefits they add to the steering and braking of the car.

In the same way performance tyres slowly made their way from F1 performance cars to the everyday driver, strength and conditioning has made its way down from Olympians and elite athletes to the amateur and emerging athlete. More than ever before, young, emerging and amateur athletes are buying into the idea of a high-performance training programme, even if they aren’t yet at an elite level of competition. Over time, emerging athletes realised that:

“What got me here, won’t get me there”

This fundamental shift in thinking has meant that a choice and habit - to take strength and conditioning training seriously - that used to be exclusive to Olympians and elite athletes, is now becoming the norm.

For you as an athlete, that means that your competition is getting better too. They are running faster, feeling stronger, and expressing more power when they throw, shoot, kick, run and jump. If you aren’t taking your gym training seriously, it’s the equivalent of riding on bald tyres… it’s only a matter of time before you crash.

So, no matter what type of athlete you are - there is almost always a place for a quality strength and conditioning programme to keep you injury-free, feeling strong and demonstrating power and athleticism.

You could always ignore the warning signs - but ignore them long enough, and your dreams will be stopped dead in their tracks when you’ve run out of tread and crashed on the side of the road.

Activate’s annual pre-season programme is about to get underway and starts in the coming weeks. If you are an athlete and are looking to improve over the winter, this is the programme for you. It's designed by a master in S&C, a qualified coach who has also competed at high level themselves. It is overseen by a masters qualified S&C coach who has over 15 years experience in the field and who has worked in professional sports.

To find out more visit our website www.activate.ie or email us at hello@activate.ie.

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Charity Fly Fishing event launched

It’s that time of the year again when anglers take to the waters of Lough Lein, Killarney, to raise funds for local charities. The Lough Lein Anglers’ Association are hosting […]

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It’s that time of the year again when anglers take to the waters of Lough Lein, Killarney, to raise funds for local charities.

The Lough Lein Anglers’ Association are hosting ‘The Charity’ Fly Fishing competition for the 35th time on Sunday, April 23.

The main sponsor of the event is Lee Strand Co-op, Tralee and the outing is part of a great local angling tradition run by one of the
longest established fishing clubs in Ireland.

To date, it has generated a massive €275,000 for local charities and two more charities are set to benefit this year.
The Kerry Branch of The Irish Kidney Association and The Kerry Branch of Down Syndrome Ireland will both receive welcome donations from the event.

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Benefit-In-Kind tax rules overturned for company cars

By John Healy of Healy Insurances Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has announced a temporary change for company-owned vehicles following a backlash from drivers whose Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) taxes increased substantially […]

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By John Healy of Healy Insurances

Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has announced a temporary change for company-owned vehicles following a backlash from drivers whose Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) taxes increased substantially in January.

While the move to a CO2 based Benefit-In-Kind system, which incentivises the use of Electric Vehicles and lower emission cars, a significant number of employees with vehicles in the typical emissions range experienced large increases in their income tax liabilities since the start of 2023.

To address the issue, the Finance Minister has introduced a relief of €10,000 to be applied to the Original Market Value (OMV) of cars in Category A-D in order to reduce the amount of Benefit-In-Kind payable (this is not applicable to cars in Category E).

In effect, this means that, for the purposes of calculating BIK liability, employers may reduce the OMV by €10,000. This treatment will also apply to all vans and electric vehicles. For electric vehicles, the OMV deduction of €10,000 will be in addition to the existing relief of €35,000 that is currently available for EVs, meaning that the total relief for 2023 will be €45,000.

The upper limit in the highest mileage band is amended by way of a 4,000km reduction, so that the highest mileage band is now entered into at 48,001km.

These temporary measures will be retrospectively applied from 1 January 2023 and will remain in place until 31 December 2023. It is proposed to introduce the measures at Committee Stage of the Finance Bill 2023.

From an insurance perspective, if a vehicle is owned by a company then the motor policy in place must be in the company name and have full business use cover known as Class 2 cover. It is customary that the policy is on an open driving basis, usually aged 25 to 70. The cost for a company owned car policy can be higher than privately owned vehicles.

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