Who are we?
CIYMS Cricket Club's Youth Strategy is centred on the ability of cricket as a game to bring together people of all ages and abilities in a fun and safe environment. We are a successful club based in East Belfast winning several trophies in the last few years and having a number of players on representative and international teams. The CI Sixers is our youth section and delivers outstanding cricket experiences to boys and girls aged 5 - 17 years old.
We are a family oriented cricket club
We are a Sport NI 'Club Mark' Accredited Club with a great 'How Can We Help' Culture
We run a weekly Kwik-Cricket programme for 200+ children aged from 5-11
We run weekly junior hardball sessions through the summer for girls and boys from U11 to U17
We have great Indoor & Outdoor facilities for people to come and learn and play the game in a fun and safe environment.
We have five senior men's teams
In 2022 we won the All-Ireland Cup, All-Ireland T20 Cup, NCU Challenge Cup and NCU T20 Trophy
Why are we crowdfunding?
Sport NI has previously helped us establish our girls cricket programme and the time is right to build on these strong foundations.
In 2024 we had -
20 no. under 13 girls playing hardball cricket.
15 no. under 15 girls playing hardball cricket
20 girls participated in 'Daughters & Dads' cricket thanks to our friends at Cricket Australia and the University of Newcastle, New South Wales
Almost 50 no. girls playing 'kwik cricket'
3 no. girls played representative cricket for the Northern Knights
The success of our girls cricket has been inspiring and the buzz and engagement of families around the club was an added bonus. However that is just the start and we want to build on this...
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How we’ll spend the money raised
In 2025 we will:
Establish new under 11 and 17 girls ‘hard ball’ teams to play in local competitions throughout the summer.
Maintain our under 13 & 15 girls ‘hard ball’ teams and push for trophies.
Set-up a new social ladies cricket club - the 'Social Sixers'. Weekly indoor cricket taster sessions to explain basics and fundamentals will be run throughout March 2025. These sessions will form the basis of 'pre-season' before cricket moves outdoors in April 2025.
Re-run the hugely successful ‘Daughters & Dads’ programme that the Sixers piloted in 2024. The programme will run in July and August 2025.
Enhance our facilities to attract more ladies representative games to Belmont. In 2024 we hosted the Dragons v Typhoons in the Evoke Super Series.
Work closely with local primary and secondary schools to facilitate after schools cricket clubs throughout throughout the winter. These sessions will be run on a weekly basis from mid-January to end of March 2025. The sessions will get the kids ready for our established outdoor kwik cricket programme.
Run preseason cricket net and S&C sessions for 6 weeks from mid-February 2025 to end of March 2025. These sessions will be open to under 13, 15 and 17 female cricketers. Opportunities to run specialist coaching sessions will be investigated.
Facilitate Friday night kwik cricket sessions for primary aged girls in January to March 2025. The sessions will compliment the schools clubs and will allow further opportunities in advance of the outdoor cricket season.
Attract more female volunteers to lead and assist with administration and coaching. An introduction to cricket coaching session will be facilitated in March 2025.
Purchase new equipment such as balls, bats and protective gear.
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Community impact
The CI Sixers are located in the heart of east Belfast and we attract players from a range of schools. We understand the massive importance that sport plays in our children's physical and mental health. Cricket is the perfect mix of athleticism, teamwork, strategy and leadership. These skills are embedded in to our programmes and has a much wider impact than on the cricket pitch.
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!