All Saints GAC Gym Equipment Project

Aim

All Saints GAC has provided Gaelic games in Ballymena for the last 50 years. We aim to create a Gym & Community Hub to mark this anniversary

• We are All Saints GAC, a GAA club that has been serving the sporting and cultural needs of our community in Ballymena since 1975. We are a club of 600+ members and over 450 of our members are juveniles aged 4yrs - 18yrs. We cater for all 4 GAA codes (Gaelic football for male & female/ camogie and hurling). Throughout the year we provide a variety of activities for our adult members including participation in Gaelic games and a wide variety of social activities. 

We prioritise the involvement of our youth membership within our club and strive to engage them in activity that will support them in becoming life long club members with all of the benefits that will bring to their lives. Our youth activities include several coaching camps including a summer Cul Camp and family fun weekend, a wide variety of social events and activities and of course - fulfilling our central role - providing our juvenile members with the opportunity to receive quality coaching and opportunities to participate in playing Gaelic games in a safe and nurturing environment led by qualified and dedicated coaches.

Irish culture is central to our work and we promote this through participation in both Scor & Scor na Nog. This includes opportunities to participate in dance, song, verse, recitation and traditional Irish music classes including bodhran & tin whistle.  

While provision of Gaelic games is at the core of our annual programme of activities we are a club rooted in our community and therefore we provide a wide range of activities to support that community. We work throughout the year to support local charities such as SVP, Aware & Women's Aid to name several. In doing so we assist them in their important work meeting the needs of our community. Our community outreach work extends to supporting the physical & mental health of our town. Each year we organise our Saints & Slimmers Health & Well-Being programme which sees up to 150 local people participate in a 6 week programme of exercise, mental well-being activities and social connections. Now in its 10th year this programme has gone from strength to strength and has become a staple part of community life each January. Our new gym and aerobic work out area being funded by this appeal will facilitate and enhance this programme even more.      

As we celebrate our Golden Anniversary this year (1975-2005) we have embarked on a major capital development project to both mark the occasion and to meet the growing demands of our membership. Costing £650k our project will be completed in 2 phases.

Phase 1: This will see a floodlit 3g juvenile training area, ball wall and new Community Hub building completed at our Slemish Park site. This phase of our capital project is almost finished and completion is expected at the end of December 2025.

Phase 2:  This will see a fully equipped gym developed within the new Community Hub facility for our 650+ players and members. The gym will comprise weight/ squat racks and a range of cardio equipment to meet the needs of both the current GAA player and the club member who wishes to keep fit and active. The gym will be enhanced by provision of an adjacent 10m x 15m aerobic work out area. This will ensure that the gym will be able to cater for exercise classes for both club members and local people including the parents of juvenile players. This will support our ongoing work to develop family links beyond the pitch within All Saints GAC. Activities such as pilates, step aerobics and yoga will be facilitated in this space. The total cost of the gym flooring, provision of equipment and the aerobic work out area is £50k. It is this development that our Crowdfunder appeal is supporting.    

By supporting our project you will be assisting our efforts to bring our ambitious plans to reality and provide the best facilities possible for our current and future membership and wider community. Furthermore, by donating you will enable us to access the maximum level of match funding available through the Sportni Olympic Legacy Fund. This will see Sportni providing 65% of the total cost of the project leaving us the sum of £17.5k to raise. 

Your donation will help to provide state of the art gym equipment capable of supporting up to 30 people per session in the gym area. It will provide a specialised sports floor in the aerobic area enabling another 30 people to participate at the same time. The impact of this development for our club and community can be measured in several ways. They are:

1. An increased ability to meet the training needs of our players & members in a modern and welcoming facility:

2. Provision of facilities capable of supporting and sustaining lifelong involvement in health & fitness activity for our wider club community:

3. An ability to cater for the needs of our wider community within our Community Hub facility including provision of adult fitness classes and promotion of both increased social involvement and cohesion.  

How Can You Play Your Part In Reaching Our Goal?

There are three simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Support with a Reward. If you are a local business and can offer a reward to those who donate we would love to hear from you. You could maybe offer a discount for purchase/ services or a voucher. 

Our thanks...

We wish to take this opportunity to thank you for your support for our project. As the club's 50th celebration year moves towards its conclusion All Saints GAC is a club proud of its history, secure in its role in the community and actively planning for the future needs of all. By supporting us you are both a part of that history & a partner in writing the next chapter!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made