You may have noticed our wall in the gym covered with ducks drawn in chalk. The gymnasts have also asked questions about the rubber duckies that oversee the gym above the vault area.
In June 2015 long time Sugarloaf Gymnastics member Georgia Murphy, aged 13, died following a terrible asthma attack.
When school broke up at the end of May, Georgia made a wish list of 21 things she would like to do during summer 2015. One of them was to decorate her neighbourhood with chalk art. At her funeral on 26th June, we were all encouraged to take a piece of chalk and draw a picture to fulfill this wish. It was decided that we should draw a picture of a duck (as it was her nickname) and if possible to donate €2 by texting BREATH to 50300 in aid of asthma research. Ducks of all sizes and colours appeared around the world, creating the fantastic #DucksforGeorgia campaign started by Georgia’s family. The campaign is still ongoing in her memory – see Ducks for Georgia on Facebook.
This Christmas we are aiming to highlight Asthma and the importance of anyone who has asthma to have an inhaler with them at all times, especially if participating in a sport such as gymnastics and for the team at Sugarloaf to be made aware of the condition as well as continuing to support the #DucksforGeorgia campaign.
We would like to encourage gymnasts and their parents/guardians to support this campaign and celebrate Georgia’s life by decorating a duck for our Christmas tree and making a donation to the Asthma Society of Ireland in aid of Asthma research. Sugarloaf Gymnastics will match the donations received as part of the campaign.
What to do
- Take a duck from the pink box on windowsill or make your own
- Decorate it how you like & write your name on it
- Hang it on the tree,if possible please make a donation in the blue Asthma Society box on the windowsill
- Take a picture and post it to the Ducks for Georgia Facebook page
The Asthma Society of Ireland have also provided us with plenty of information on asthma which is available for parents and guardian to take from the gym.
Related news: New Sugarloaf Spirit Award created in honour and rememberance of Georgia Murphy
