Templepatrick CC - Come & Give Cricket A Go

Aim: We aim to offer cricket at our ground to as much of our community as possible, bring organisations and give opportunities to try cricket.

WHO ARE WE ? ABOUT OUR CLUB

Templepatrick Cricket Club (est. 1969) is a thriving community club with excellent practice and playing facilities based at The Cloughan in Ballyclare, Co Antrim. 

We play in the NCU Leagues in Northern Ireland and have a reputation for providing the very best coaching and facilities for our members. With four competitive senior men's teams, a recently added ladies team and girls U15s team and one of the biggest and best youth systems in the country, there is an opportunity for all abilities at TCC! 

We currently have 240 male and female  members of all ages and abilities, from 4 years old upwards.

Our Youth System

We are very proud of our youth system and are committed to offering opportunities to get children involved in our sport. We wish to continue to cater for boys and girls from aged 4 upwards and have multiple boys teams at U9, U11, U13, U15 and U17 level who compete in league and cup competitions, as well as friendlies. We also now have just started a girls U15 team with aims to start girls U11 and U13s teams. We pride ourselves on ensuring that all our members get an opportunity to practise, play, contribute and most importantly, have fun enjoying sport!

WHY ARE WE CROWDFUNDING ?

We have just outreached to our community in early 2025 and made new connections with community groups and schools in our area and offered cricket as a new sport to many participants as well as their community leaders. We now wish to encourage as many community groups and schools as possible to now come to our ground and get involved in further cricket opportunities.

We therefore wish to engage with the following groups in our community.

Girls and Ladies Cricket Sessions ( new initiative in May to August 2025 )

We want to specifically engage with girls and ladies organisations and offer cricket sessions at our ground. 

• Female based organisations playing against each other ( Eg  Girls Brigade and Girl Guide groups etc )

• Bringing girls from local schools to our ground to play in girls specific sessions and matches.

• Host Under 11, Under 13 and Under 15 girls cricket blitzes to bring girls together to enjoy playing against each other. We will invite other clubs to bring along similar groups to all play against each other at the same levels with a family style atmosphere.

• Increase girls and ladies coaching and playing opportunities

Disability Cricket ( new initiatives in May to August 2025 )

We want to offer “cricket sessions” to local disability organisations at our ground such as - 

• Clare Hares -  a local disability community sports group

• Thornfield House Special School 

Engaging with Other Community Groups ( new initiatives in May to August 2025 )

We want to engage with and offer “cricket sessions and matches at our ground” to other local groups such as - 

• Boys and Girls Brigade Groups

• Scout and Girl Guide Groups 

• Other Local Community Groups

After Schools Sessions in Primary Schools  ( new initiatives in May & June 2025 )

While we have a solid schools program and provide sessions and support teachers at quite a few schools in our area we want to further this. We want to offer school sessions in our non traditional cricket playing primary schools. These sessions would be outside of the school curriculum time and offer additional extra curricular activities to the pupils in a sport that they have not previously had opportunity to be involved with. We wish to offer - 

• Taster sessions to primary schools

• Increase Primary school coaching and playing opportunities

• Host a primary schools skills coaching day

• Host a primary schools cricket competition

Bring the community to our ground  ( new initiatives in May to August 2025 )

We wish to increase the number of relaxed,  social, fun, non-competitive orientated cricket that is played at our ground. Initiatives will include - 

• A  P1 to P7 Cricket Blitz / family day

• Adult Social matches / Social 6 asides

• Summer camps ( Girls camps /  It's Wicket / Smash It )

The ultimate aim of this project is to now get as many people as possible to COME to our ground and to GIVE CRICKET A GO by reaching out to our community and providing quality cricket and sporting opportunities to as much of the community as possible.

How We’ll Spend The Money Raised

Your donations will help us provide - 

• Coaching and match opportunities for “after school sports” and cricket in primary and post primary schools.

• Coaching and match opportunities for girls and ladies cricket and introduction to the sport.

• Coaching and match opportunities for disability groups.

• Coaching and match opportunities for local community groups. 

• Facility / transport  hire where required to provide access to opportunities.

• For quality coaching costs to run numerous sessions to cater for the variety of playing levels that individuals will have.

• Purchasing the required balls and other coaching and playing equipment to make sure we can deliver all our sessions to the required standard.

• Coach education opportunities to progress coach capacity and knowledge and also offer coach education courses to community leaders.

Our budget breakdown will be as follows:

Coaching / Facilitator Fees: £8700

Details: Payment for qualified coaches to lead the various activities such as community coaching and afterschool club coaching. This includes compensation for their time, travel, and expertise. 290 coaching hours @ £30 per hour

Equipment and Materials: £1070

Details: Purchase of necessary equipment and resources for the programmes to run effectively and deliver the activities. Essential equipment such as coaching and playing equipment, tennis and cricket balls.

£350 - Ball purchases ( 30 Bowling machine balls @£5 each , 25 practice balls @ £8  each )

£350 - Coaching  equipment purchases (200 Tennis balls @ £1 each, 20 kwik cricket balls @£5 each, 10 Batting tees @£5 each )

£360 - Girls youth equipment (3 youth helmets @ £40 each, 3 youth bats  @ £50 each, 3 pairs batter gloves @ £30 each )

Coach Education: £400

Details: Costs for coach education to progress our volunteer coach capacity and knowledge to allow us to run the required programmes within the community to ensure maximum participation.

Total expenditure = £8700 +£1070 + £400 = £10170

COMMUNITY IMPACT

Our project  will have an impact on the community by creating new opportunities for more people to COME AND GIVE CRICKET A GO. 

We believe it aligns with the objectives of Sport NI's "Creating Opportunities" programme and contributes to community development:

1. Inclusivity and Accessibility for Girls in Sport

An aim of our project is to encourage more girls to get involved in cricket, a sport that has traditionally been male-dominated. By providing an entry point specifically for girls, we are addressing one of Sport NI's target groups - Women and Girls, an underrepresented group in many sports. This aligns perfectly with Sport NI's goal of "levelling the playing field" and creating more inclusive sporting environments for everyone.

2. Engaging New Participants and Developing Skills

Our programme will introduce cricket to young people in our community who may have never played before. Through our after school outreach sessions and engaging with a variety of community groups, we aim to create a fun atmosphere for newcomers. This will help participants develop new skills, build confidence, and foster a sense of belonging, which directly supports Sport NI's objective of increasing participation in sport.

3. Long-Term Sustainability 

We aim to establish a love for sport and encourage people to get involved with club sport ensuring the impact of our project extends beyond the initial introduction. We will provide ongoing opportunities for people to stay active. This will help grow our club membership, which is a key outcome Sport NI seeks through its funding programme.

4. Community Building and Strengthening Social Ties

By reaching out to local schools and engaging with community groups, we believe this project will help strengthen ties between Templepatrick CC and the community. By making cricket more accessible and offering extracurricular activities, we aim to bring together diverse groups of people on a cross-community basis, helping to build a stronger sense of community around the shared love of cricket.

5. Encouraging a Healthier, More Active Lifestyle

We recognise the physical health benefits of sport, especially for girls and young people in general. Through this programme, we aim to promote a healthier, more active lifestyle for our participants, which aligns with Sport NI’s goal of increasing physical activity and helping communities recover from the effects of inactivity.

HOW CAN YOU 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!