At the beginning of May, Rebekah Rutherford joined the Northern Ireland Sports Forum (NISF) as the new Member Services Officer. Although she is new to the sports forum, she is not new to the sporting community.
Rebekah has been involved in sports for as long as she can remember. As an energetic child, she got into sports early, trading jumping out of trees for a hockey stick. The structure of practices and competitions gave her direction through school. Hockey wasn’t her only sport of interest; sailing quickly became a family endeavour, first with her sister getting hooked, then her dad. It became a family activity.
Rebekah was the kid who had a sport every day of the week. While attending Glenlola, she competed in both hockey and high jump, earning a few Ulster School Titles. She continues to sail with family after being RYA development squads in her youth. As a family project, she developed Squall Sailing with her brother during COVID. Although she took a break from competitive sport when she went to university, she found her passion again while studying Sport Coaching at Ulster University. She looked at the social media versus elite athletes in like behaviour, intentions, attitudes and participation in physical activity for her dissertation.
Nowadays, Rebekah has gotten into running and recently finished her first marathon. All these experiences have led to an interest in sports participation. She is excited to assist and learn about the ins and outs of the sports sector, and she is ready to help any of the Sports Forum’s members with their questions and needs.
If you have any questions or needs, you can reach Rebekah at: memberservices@nisf.net
