Bandon Girls Scoop Top Honours at West Cork Student Enterprise Finals
Sports Equipment Storage Rack Scores at Regional Finals
Two students from Colaiste na Toirbhirte Bandon took the overall prize at the recent West Cork Student Enterprise finals which were held virtually on Thursday 18th March. Hook R Strike is a handcrafted sports equipment holder for the home. More than 350 students from ten participating West Cork schools took part in the annual programme this year. The winning duo will represent the Local Enterprise Office Cork West at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Final on Friday 14th May 2021.
The enterprise education initiative, funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities throughout the country, saw over 29,000 students from just under 500 secondary schools across the country take part in 2020/2021. The programme supports students to create, design and market their own business, all with the hope of reaching the National Final.
Kate O’Connor and Emily Barry have been building their business “Hook R Strike” since last September as part of the Student Enterprise programme. Their aim was to design a multi-purpose customised sports rack which neatly stores a range of sporting equipment for a tidier home. The idea for the business came from their own experiences of having sports gear all over the home which creates clutter and makes finding the equipment in a hurry difficult.
Speaking of their win, Kate O’Connor said, “We are thrilled to take first place in the West Cork finals. We now have lots of work to do as we progress to represent West Cork in the National finals in May. So far our product has been shipped all over Ireland, the UK and the US with well-known celebrities also among our customer base including RTE sports presenters Evanne Ní Chuilinn who said our rack was the best thing she ever bought through Instagram and Jacqui Hurley. Our Hook R Strike sports holders can be purchased through our website hookrstrike.com or via Facebook and Instagram.”
Other prize winners on the day included:
- "The Beara Way", Beara Community School - Innovation Award
- "Western Wood", Ardscoil Pobail Bantry - Sales Award
- “Patched", Sacred Heart Secondary School Clonakilty - Digital Marketing Award
- “Bumblebee Crafts”, Ardscoil Pobail Bantry - Business Plan Award
- The Eco Wash”, MICC Dunmanway - Sustainability Award
- “Guardian Angels”, Schull Community College - Sustainability Award
- "Garran Handcrafts", Skibbereen Community School - Communication Award.
Speaking at the final of the West Cork Student Enterprise Awards, Kevin Curran, Head of Enterprise, Cork County Council’s Local Enterprise Office Cork North and West said, "It is extremely encouraging to see the level of enthusiasm among the students in what has been a very challenging year for them. I highly commend them and their fantastic teachers for all the work they put into the programme. They are testament that there are ways around every obstacle and I hope this learning will stand to them throughout their lives. Our national finalists are excellent ambassadors for the programme and we wish them the very best of luck on Friday 14th, we’ll all be logged on to support them.”
The winning duo will represent the Local Enterprise Office Cork North & West at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Final on Friday 14th May 2021.
