North Coast Handball New Opportunities for 2026

Aim

Creating a new female section and a 10 week older adults programme to grow handball on the North Coast and open the sport to more people.

Who are we?

Formed in 2023, we are the only handball club in the North Coast of Ireland. We are proud to bring the sport of handball to the North Coast since forming in 2023, an area where there is no existing tradition of the game. Despite these challenges, we have successfully grown a strong membership of 60+ adults who come together up to four times a week for social handball sessions.

Last season we successfully delivered a "Handball for All" new initiative which introduced the sport of handball to diverse communities on the North Coast, specifically targeting young people, and taster sessions for women & girls. Since then we have been able to create a new youth section to our Club thanks to the Crowdfunding and Sport NI funding support.

Our group is cross-community, reflecting the inclusive nature of the sport. Our members come together not just for the love of the game but also for the social aspects, to learn a new sport, and for the sense of community that our Club brings.

We don’t currently own our own facilities, so we rent a local hall to accommodate our weekly sessions. However, through the dedication and support of our volunteers and self-funding to date, we have been able to fund a full-size handball wall, a key piece of infrastructure that has allowed us to enhance the quality of our training and programmes. 

Our ambition is to continue growing the club, and we see the development of a dedicated programme for older people as the next step now in 2026.

As we continue to expand, we are determined to grow handball’s presence here in the North Coast. With the nearest clubs located in Tyrone and Belfast, we see ourselves as leading the way for the sport on the North Coast, committed to building a foundation that will inspire future generations to embrace handball.

Why are we crowdfunding?

We are crowdfunding to launch a new 10 week handball programme early 2026 up to March, designed specifically for 20 older people on the North Coast. In an area with limited opportunities for older adults to take part in structured physical activity, this project will remove barriers, support people to stay active, and create a welcoming space where they can build confidence, community and wellbeing through sport.

Crowdfunding will also enable us to develop a new section of our Club- A competitive women's and girls' Club formed by March 2026. This will build on our taster female sessions delivered via our successful Crowdfunded project last year, which has now put us in a great position to form a new girls' club here at North Coast Handball.

These are new and additional initiatives for our club, and a new section within our Club formally (woman/girls) created to address a clear gap in local provision of handball for our older and female community. It is designed to reach a group that Sport NI identifies as under represented in sport and physical activity, namely older people and girls.

The older persons programme will run 3 times per week 2 hours each session up to end of March 2026. The girls club will be formed by March 2026.

Our aim is to level the playing field by giving 20+ older adults a meaningful entry point into an accessible, low impact sport that can be adapted for all fitness levels. By introducing handball to people who have not previously engaged with the sport, we will widen participation and help more people benefit from regular activity.

We are also levelling the playing field by formally creating a new female section within our Club, building on our social handball programme for girls in the past and our taster sessions from last years Crowdfunder.

The Creating Opportunities programme focuses on supporting new projects that connect communities and enable more people to take part in sport. Our project directly contributes to this goal. The programme encourages clubs like ours to develop innovative approaches that attract new audiences and address inequalities in access to sport. Our initiative does exactly that by offering older people a supported pathway into activity, and girls into competitive handball, led by trained volunteers and delivered in an inclusive environment.

Crowdfunding will allow us to cover the essential costs required to deliver this new programme and girls club section, including hall hire, equipment, coaching and programme delivery.

By supporting this crowdfunder, donors will help us establish a sustainable, community focused programme that promotes connection, physical activity and wellbeing among older people and allow us to create a new competitive girls section in our Club. 

This project will bring new people into sport for the first time, strengthen community ties, and support the long term growth of handball on the North Coast.

How we’ll spend the money raised

We want to raise £10,000. If we raise £5,000 Sport NI will contribute £5,000. All funds raised will go towards the following:

• Coaching costs
• Facility Hire
• Challenger 1 Handballs
• Clear Googles
• Light cotton glove liners
• Owen Padded gloves
• Refreshments

Community impact

Our 10-week older persons programme and creating a new competitive girls section within our Club will deliver meaningful benefits not only for older participants and girls but for the wider North Coast community. As the only handball club in the region, we play a central role in growing a minority sport and creating new, inclusive pathways into physical activity. This project strengthens that role by opening the doors to a group that is often under represented in sport and community life.

By providing a supportive, beginner friendly environment, we will help older people and girls build confidence, improve wellbeing, and stay connected at a time when many face social isolation. Increased activity levels support both physical and mental health, while the social element of each session helps create new networks and strengthens community cohesion. These benefits extend beyond the programme itself, as participants become more engaged in local community life and feel a greater sense of belonging.

The project also contributes to long term club sustainability. By creating a new girls section we will be diversifying who we reach and how we deliver our sport, we strengthen our volunteer base, increase awareness of handball, and create a more resilient club structure that reflects the full diversity of the North Coast.

Supporting this crowdfunder helps us deliver real community impact—promoting health, connection, and opportunity through sport.

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!

Funding method

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