Sport Northern Ireland: Creating Opportunities has provided £5,000 of match funding
Carrickmore Handball Club Open Court Initiative
Omagh, Fermanagh and Omagh, United Kingdom
Aim
New Inclusive handball programme improving access for rural residents with accessibility needs/disabilities in Carrickmore to play handball
Who are we?
Carrickmore Handball Club is located at Termon Road, Carrickmore, Co Tyrone, BT79 9JR. The club is located 12 miles from Omagh town and is situated on the Termon Road in the centre of the village. Our club facilities include 1 x 40x20 Court and 1 x One-Wall Court, a viewing gallery and car parking facilities.
We are currently in the process of a major capital development project, which will see new handball alley, car park and squash courts in Carrickmore. We are due to complete this mid 2026, with phase 1 already nearing completion.
Our club was established in 1989 and caters for all age groups within our rural community, and we have 50+ members and 20 volunteers. Our handballing alley plays host to many juvenile and senior handballing matches throughout the year, and visitors attend from across the island of Ireland. Most notably, we host the highly prestigious Paddy Grogan (PG) Memorial which attracts a wide crowd from the community and further afield. Carrickmore Handball Club has been an integral part of our rural community since its inception in 1989.
The club’s facilities provide those able to avail of them physical and mental well-being, however, we do struggle to encourage girls into the sport of Handball, and which is often due to the rural and social isolation experienced by girls locally.
Many rural residents who have never tried sports like Handball before struggle to feel comfortable in attending sports such as Handball, but who would love to partake in the sport.
Why are we crowdfunding?
We are raising £10,000 to deliver a new and additional participation project focused on improving access to handball for rural residents with accessibility needs.
Our project will run right up to March this year 2026. We will deliver 60+ hours of direct programme delivery. Each week, up to 25 people with accessibility needs / disabilities will try out handball for the first time, basic skills, fundamentals, fun and fitness through handball and light competition.
While our club has grown strongly in recent years, many people in our rural area continue to face barriers to participation, including limited confidence, accessibility challenges, lack of tailored sessions and few entry level opportunities to try the sport in a supported environment. At present, our existing sessions are not suitable for everyone, meaning some community members remain excluded from taking part.
This project will allow us to introduce a dedicated accessibility programme for the first time. We will link with Starbreakers in Carrickmore which is a charity supporting people with learning disabilities.
Sessions will be adapted to meet different needs, delivered in a supportive environment and led by trained facilitators to ensure participants feel safe, welcomed and included.
Alongside this, we will deliver a structured “Come and Try” programme aimed at adults and older people living in and around rural Carrickmore who may not have previously engaged in handball or physical activity. These sessions will focus on enjoyment, social connection and gradual progression rather than competition.
Funding is required to cover qualified coaching, equipment, facility hire, marketing of the programme and refreshments.
Sport NI Creating Opportunities
This project strongly aligns with the Creating Opportunities programme by directly supporting its core aim of levelling the playing field and enabling more people to take part in sport and physical activity across Northern Ireland.
The project is new and additional and is specifically designed to engage people who are traditionally underrepresented in sport, particularly rural residents and individuals with accessibility needs. These groups often face multiple barriers, including transport challenges, lack of suitable programmes and limited local opportunities. By delivering tailored sessions within the local community, the project removes these barriers and creates realistic access to participation.
Creating Opportunities prioritises innovative approaches that help people return to activity or engage for the first time. Our dedicated accessibility programme and structured Come and Try sessions provide an entry point for participants who may lack confidence, have limited prior experience or feel excluded from mainstream club activity.
The project also supports the programme objective of connecting communities. Sessions will encourage social interaction, reduce isolation and help participants build relationships through shared activity, particularly benefitting older people and rural residents.
In addition, the programme supports clubs to grow membership and build resilience. By widening our participant base and developing inclusive delivery models, Carrickmore Handball Club will strengthen its long term sustainability while embedding inclusion as a core part of future club development.
This project reflects the Creating Opportunities focus on inclusion, innovation and meaningful participation.
How we’ll spend the money raised
All funds raised will go directly to delivering this project. For example, if we raise £10,000 (which Sport NI will add £5,000) then it all will cover the following:
Specific costs will be:
Coaching Costs x 2 coaches: 60 hours delivery to end of March 2026 @ £35 per hour per coach= £4,200
Facility Hire: 60 hours to end of March 2026 : £40 per hour= £2,400
Handball Equipment £2,500: Dark Blue Handballs x 50= £450; 20 Challenger 1 Handballs= £120; 40x20 adult balls x 20=£160; Googles clear x 40= £480; 40 x Own Padded Gloves= £1,040; Light Cotton liner gloves x 40= £120; Jumbo Cones set x 4= £130
Refreshments: £500 for 40+ participants for entire programme.
Marketing Budget: £400
Community impact
Carrickmore Handball Club goes beyond delivering sport. We act as an important community hub for people living across the rural Carrickmore area, providing opportunities for physical activity, social connection and inclusion for all ages.
In recent years, the club has successfully crowdfunded to expand participation, including delivering a well received intergenerational programme that brought older and younger people together through sport, and then also a girls in handball initiative. These projects demonstrated the demand locally for inclusive, accessible and community focused activity.
This new project builds directly on that progress. Our current focus is on improving access to handball for rural residents with accessibility needs, alongside delivering inclusive Come and Try sessions for people who may never have engaged in handball or structured physical activity before.
The club provides a safe and welcoming environment where participants can take part at their own pace, build confidence and develop social connections. As a rural community, many residents experience isolation, limited transport and few local opportunities to stay active. Our programmes help address these challenges by providing local, affordable and supported activity.
Beyond sport, our facilities are used for community events, wellbeing activities and local initiatives that bring people together. These activities are particularly important in a rural area where access to services and social outlets can be limited.
By supporting this project, funders are investing not only in handball, but in improved health, reduced isolation and stronger community connections across Carrickmore.
How you can play your part
There are four 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. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!
This project successfully funded on 14th March 2026