Sport Northern Ireland: Creating Opportunities provided £3,991 of match funding
Teemore Shamrocks "Level the Playing Field"
Enniskillen, Fermanagh and Omagh, United Kingdom
Donate with Gift Aid
Make your donation go further
Aim
Encouraging more girls to take part in sport, stay involved and build confidence through our new "Level the Playing Field" project.
Who Are We?
Anyone who knows Teemore Shamrocks knows we're about much more than football.
For over 120 years, our club has been part of everyday life in Teemore. It's where children learn new skills, where neighbours meet for a chat on the sidelines, where volunteers give up their evenings because they care about the club, and where generations of local families have proudly worn the green and white.
Being based in a rural border community means there aren't always lots of opportunities for young people close to home. That's why we've always tried to do more than organise football. We regularly bring people together through activities like our Ireland Lights Up Walk, our Free Family Farm First Aid Workshop and other community events that encourage people to get active, improve their wellbeing and feel connected to where they live.
Over the years we've delivered a range of community projects, but we're always asking ourselves one question – what does our community need next?
For us, the answer is simple. We want to do more for women and girls.
Why Are We Crowdfunding?
We are crowdfunding to help more girls get involved in Gaelic Games and to get more women involved in coaching at Teemore Shamrocks through our “Level the Playing Field” programme.
We’ll run a 12-week Gaelic Games programme for 40 girls from Teemore and the surrounding rural area. Some will have played before and maybe drifted away from the game, while others could be picking up a Gaelic football for the first time. It doesn’t matter which – everyone will be welcome.
There will be two 2-hour sessions each week for 12 weeks, led by two qualified club Gaelic Games coaches. That gives us 24 sessions and 96 hours of coaching.
Weeks 1–4 – Getting on the ball
For the first eight sessions, we’ll start with the basics. The girls will practise soloing, fist passing, bouncing and carrying the ball, kicking, catching and shooting for points and goals.
We’ll keep it fun as well, with penalty competitions, shooting challenges, relay races and games like Duck, Duck, Goose. This will be especially important in the first few weeks when some of the girls might not know anyone else or might be trying Gaelic football for the first time.
We’ll use the agility ladders, hurdles and marker cones for different stations, working on footwork, balance, speed and coordination. We’ll make sure everyone gets plenty of time on the ball and plenty of chances to practise.
Weeks 5–8 – Building skills and playing more football
Once everyone has had a few weeks to settle in, we’ll start using those skills more in games. We’ll keep practising soloing, fist passing, kicking and scoring, while also working on defending, marking, finding space and supporting teammates.
There’ll be passing challenges, shooting competitions, agility races, possession games and small-sided Gaelic football matches.
With 40 girls taking part, we don’t want anyone standing at the side waiting for a turn. We’ll split the girls into smaller groups and rotate them around different stations so there’s always something going on. As they become more confident, we’ll gradually spend more of the sessions playing football.
Weeks 9–12 – Putting it all into practice
For the final eight sessions, we’ll play more small-sided games and friendly matches, while still keeping some of the skills, shooting and agility work from the earlier weeks.
The girls will get to try different positions and use their passing, soloing, movement, defending and scoring in games. It won’t matter whether they were complete beginners in Week 1 or had played before – everyone will get game time and a chance to be involved.
Towards the end of the 12 weeks, we’ll talk to the girls about what comes next. We don’t want them to enjoy the programme and then have nowhere to go afterwards. Anyone who wants to keep playing will be encouraged to stay involved with Teemore.
Getting more women involved in coaching
Across the 12 weeks, four female volunteers will also complete Foundation Coaching Awards.
They’ll work alongside our two club coaches during the programme, helping with the different stations, games and activities and getting the chance to put what they learn into practice. We’d then have four more qualified female coaches at Teemore who can help with our girls’ teams and other club activities.
We also want to reach girls who aren’t already connected to Teemore.
Alongside the main programme, we’ll deliver 18 after-school coaching sessions across local rural primary schools. We’ll bring some of the same football skills, games and challenges into the schools and give girls the chance to try Gaelic football somewhere they already feel comfortable.
Hopefully, this will introduce us to girls who might never have thought about coming along to Teemore before. If they enjoy the school sessions, we’ll encourage them to come down to the club and give it a go.
The money raised will pay for 96 hours of club coaching, 18 school outreach sessions, new footballs and training equipment, portable training goals, four female Foundation Coaching Awards and promotion of the programme.
We want to see 40 girls out on the pitch enjoying Gaelic football, girls who had stopped playing giving it another go, new girls trying it for the first time and more women getting involved in coaching at Teemore Shamrocks.
How Teemore Shamrocks Will Level The Playing Field
For us, “Level the Playing Field” is about giving more girls around Teemore a chance to get involved in Gaelic football and giving more women the chance to get involved in coaching.
Over the 12 weeks, 40 girls will take part in two 2-hour sessions every week, giving them 24 sessions in total. We want to reach girls who have never played Gaelic football before, but also girls who might have played when they were younger and have since stopped. This isn't extra training for one of our existing teams. It's a new programme specifically aimed at getting girls into, or back into, the game. That fits well with Sport NI's focus on new and additional opportunities for groups who have traditionally been underrepresented in sport.
We also know we can't just wait for girls to come through the gates at Teemore. That's why we'll deliver 18 after-school coaching sessions in local rural primary schools. We'll bring footballs and equipment into the schools and give girls the chance to try things like soloing, fist passing, catching, kicking and shooting through games and challenges. If they enjoy it, we'll encourage them to come along to Teemore and take part in the main programme. This helps us reach beyond our current players and families, which Sport NI specifically encourages clubs to do through Creating Opportunities.
We want to make a difference on the coaching side too. Four female volunteers will complete Foundation Coaching Awards during the project and get the chance to work alongside our two qualified club coaches. They'll help with the different stations, games and activities throughout the 12 weeks, giving them real experience of coaching the girls. At the end of the project, Teemore will have four more qualified female coaches who can continue helping with our girls' teams. This supports Sport NI's aim of getting underrepresented groups involved not just in playing sport, but in coaching and other active roles as well.
So when we talk about levelling the playing field, we mean something very practical: 40 girls getting the chance to play regularly for 12 weeks, girls who have stopped playing getting a way back into the game, complete beginners getting the chance to try Gaelic football, more girls being reached through our local schools and four women becoming qualified coaches at Teemore.
That's what we want this project to leave behind. More girls playing and more women coaching at Teemore Shamrocks.
How We’ll Spend The Money Raised
All funds raised will go towards delivering our new "Level the Playing Field" programme.
- 2 Qualified Club Gaelic Games Coaches × 4 hours per week × 12 weeks = 96 coaching hours @ £30 per hour = £2,880
- 18 After-School Coaching Sessions delivered across local rural primary schools @ £60 per session = £1,080
- Project Equipment – 25 O'Neills footballs (£375); 40 training bibs (£120); 60 marker cones (£90); 12 agility hurdles (£180); 8 agility ladders (£160); coaching bags, first aid kit and training equipment (£225) = £1,150
- New Portable Training Goals/Nets = £210
- 4 Foundation Coaching Awards for female volunteers @ £125 each = £500
- Programme Promotion – posters, leaflets and targeted social media advertising = £320
Total Project Cost = £6,140
Sport NI requested = £3,990
Crowdfunder/community contribution = £2,150
The equipment purchased through the project will remain with the club, allowing us to continue delivering opportunities for women and girls long after the initial 12-week programme has finished.
Community Impact
For us, success won't be measured by league tables or trophies.
It'll be measured by seeing more girls coming through the gates on a training night, more women getting involved around the club and more families feeling that Teemore Shamrocks is a place where everyone belongs.
Over the 12 weeks, women and girls will have the chance to learn new skills, build confidence, make new friends and enjoy the physical, mental and social benefits that being part of a team can bring.
We hope this project encourages more girls to stay involved with our club as they get older. Some will continue playing. Others might decide to coach an underage team, volunteer at club events or simply become lifelong members of the Teemore community. Every one of those roles is important.
The impact won't stop when the programme finishes. The equipment, coaching skills and friendships developed through the project will remain within our club, helping us continue to welcome more women and girls for years to come.
If, a few years from now, more girls are still proudly wearing a Teemore jersey because of this project, we'll know every bit of effort has been worthwhile.
How You Can Play Your Part
There are four simple ways you can help us reach our target and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Every donation, big or small, brings us one step closer to creating more opportunities for women and girls in our community.
2. Spread the word. Share our Crowdfunder with your family, friends and on social media. The more people who hear about our project, the more support we can build.
3. Offer a reward. If you're a local business, why not donate a reward for our supporters? We'll give your business a shout-out!
4. Fundraise with us. Fancy doing something to help? Organise a sponsored walk, coffee morning or quiz night and let us know through the 'Contact Project' button. It only takes a few minutes to set up, doesn't require any bank details and is just a bit of fun!
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 11th November 2026 at 9:54pm