North Down CC Women & Girls Community Cricket Hub

Aim

To create new opportunities for women and girls to participate in cricket through structured participation and volunteer programmes.

Who are we?

North Down Cricket Club est 1857 is one of the oldest sports clubs in Ireland / UK.
We are a club based in Comber a small town just outside Belfast and have an illustrious past with a focus upon the future.

We are a diverse club with a strong and growing youth section linked to local schools and made up of members from all sections of the community.

Our club is welcoming and driven by an unmistakable amateur and volunteer ethos and a central part in the local community providing physical and mental well-being opportunities through sport.

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Why are we crowdfunding?

Building on the success of our 2025  ‘Into Cricket’ programme, this project represents the next phase of development. While last year focused on introducing women and girls to cricket, the 2026 Women & Girls Community Cricket Hub is designed to retain participants, establish structured age-group pathways, and support the development of female volunteers and leaders to sustain and grow participation.

The project addresses key barriers that have traditionally limited participation and progression for women and girls in cricket, including reduced confidence in mixed-gender environments after age 11, limited access to winter facilities, cost of equipment, and a lack of visible female role models within the sport.

This programme is not a continuation of existing club activity. It operates outside the traditional cricket season, uses indoor venues  and targets new participants, lapsed players and new volunteers who are not currently engaged in regular club provision.

By combining participation sessions, school outreach and volunteer development within a single programme, the project operates as a community cricket hub, offering multiple entry points into the sport for players, volunteers and future leaders.

Alongside participation activity, the project will establish a clear volunteer development pathway, with a particular focus on supporting female coaches through mentoring, qualifications and safeguarding training. This supports Sport NI’s aim of enabling under-represented groups to play an active role within clubs, not only as participants but as leaders.

The delivery of this programme will be completed by 31st March 2026.

How we’ll spend the money raised

The funding will be used in the following ways:-

• Venue hire
• Purchase of specialist equipment
• Coaching delivery
• Volunteer development

Community impact

This project will:

• Increase participation among women and girls
• Create new playing pathways
• Strengthen school‑club links
• Reduce barriers such as cost, confidence and lack of equipment
• Empower volunteers, especially women, to lead within the club
• Build long‑term sustainability for youth and female cricket
• Strengthen our community presence, supporting health, inclusion and wellbeing

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