Sport Northern Ireland: Creating Opportunities has provided £5,000 of match funding
Templepatrick CC - The power of social sport
Ballyclare, Antrim and Newtownabbey, United Kingdom
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Aim
To create opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to get involved in social cricket, removing competitive pressures.
WHO ARE WE ? ABOUT OUR CLUB
Templepatrick Cricket Club (est. 1969) is a thriving community club 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 and U13s teams and one of the biggest and best youth systems in the country, there is an opportunity for all abilities at TCC!
We currently have 250 male and female members of all ages and abilities, from 4 years old upwards.
We are very proud of our youth system and are committed to offering opportunities to get children involved in our sport. We 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 have just started a ladies team and girls U15 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 ?
There are many people who are keen to get involved in sport or give new sports a try but are put off by the formal and competitive nature of competitive matches and official fixtures.
We feel this is a barrier to getting people ( young and old, male and female ) engaged in sport and we would like to address it by creating opportunities for people to simply get involved in social, fun cricket. We see this as encouraging young people and adults to play for fun in a no pressure, relaxed environment where enjoyment and participation are the main aims rather than winning.
Here are our plans of the activities that we would like to implement during June to August in 2026.
July & August - A dads and lads / mums and daughters team playing against similar opposition.
We are hoping to attract approximately 40 participants through this initiative and run 2 match sessions over the months of July and August. This activity's aim is to bring families and people together through fun social sport.
July & August - A social team made up of a mixture of young and old beginners, or those who want to get back into the game after years away.
We are hoping to attract approximately 60 participants through this initiative and run 3 match sessions over the months of July and August. This activity's aim is to bring people together through fun social sport and encourage people with their peers to try cricket as a new activity or as an activity they used to play previously.
July - Matches against other similar sports Eg a Cricket Club and a Softball Club.
We are hoping to attract approximately 30 participants through this initiative and host a pilot event in July. This activity's aim is to bring people together through fun social sport and encourage people with their peers to try cricket or softball as new activities that use the same transferable skills. Clubs will play each other at both sports.
August - Cricket Blitz ( Eg P1 to P7 family day )
We are hoping to attract approximately 150 participants through this initiative and host an event in August. We will invite boys and girls from P1 to P7 from other clubs in our Union to all play softball matches against each other in a fun non competitive environment. This activity's aim is to encourage participation through pressure free, social sport and encourage people with their peers to have more involvement in cricket or try cricket as a new activity.
June - Girls Cricket Blitz
We are hoping to attract approximately 80 participants through this initiative and host an event in August. We will invite U13 and U15 aged girls from other clubs in our Union to all play softball matches against each other in a fun non competitive environment. This activity's aim is to encourage participation through pressure free, social sport and encourage people with their peers to have more involvement in cricket or try cricket as a new activity.
July & August - Encourage club youth friendlies with other clubs
Our youth competitive match calendar is so busy that we have little time set aside for additional friendly, social match opportunities for those that don't make team selection or get to play key roles in competitive games. We need to address this and create opportunities for new participants to get game time and take part in key roles. This will not just be the general running of club playing friendlies but will be a key part of creating new opportunities for new young male and female participants. It will also obviously benefit our opposition in the same way. We are hoping to attract approximately 30 participants through this initiative and run 5 youth friendly / social matches over the months of July and August. This activity's aim is to encourage participation through pressure free, social sport and encourage people with their peers to have more involvement in cricket or try cricket as a new activity.
August - Disability cricket taster sessions
We will connect with a local rugby disability group ( Clare Hares ) to offer them cricket as an opportunity to try a new sport. We hope to engage with 15 participants and offer 2 cricket sessions in August. This activity's aim is to encourage inclusive participation and encourage people with their peers to have more involvement in cricket or try cricket as a new activity.
Ultimately we want to remove the barriers that stop people getting involved in sport by reaching out to our community and providing social, fun, sporting opportunities to as much of the community as possible.
How We’ll Spend The Money Raised
During June to August your donations will help us provide -
- Social sporting opportunities for families.
- Social sporting opportunities for various sports clubs to play different sports against each other.
- Host Fun Cricket Blitzes.
- Host friendly matches for children ( for both male and female ).
- Host taster events .
- To cover personnel costs to provide experienced and knowledgeable administrators, umpires, scorekeepers and coaches where required.
- Purchasing a mobile cricket practice net to increase the amount of practice opportunities which allows us to cater for increased facility usage.
Our budget breakdown will be as follows:
Our budget breakdown will be as follows:
Facilitator Fees: £5400
Details: Payment for personnel to lead the various activities such as coaching, umpiring, scorekeeping. This includes compensation for their time, travel, and expertise.
Parents and kids matches = 2 off x 5 hours x 2 people x £30 per hour = £600
Social matches = 3 off x 5 hours x 2 people x £30 per hour = £900
Cricket V Softball = 1 off x 5 hours x 2 people x £30 per hour = £300
Girls Blitz event = 1 off x 4 hours x 3 people x £30 per hour = £360
P1-P7 Blitz event = 1 off x 5 hours x 12 people x £30 per hour = £1800
Youth friendly matches = 5 off x 4 hours x 2 people x £30 per hour = £1200
Disability taster session = 2 off x 2 hours x 2 people x £30 per hour = £240
Grounds / Facility / Officials Fees: £900
Details: Preparation of facilities for usage for additional use on top of current use. This includes pitch maintenance and preparation and compensation for time, travel, and expertise. 30 hours @ £30 per hour
Mobile Cricket Practice Net: £2000
This will allow us another practice facility and space to practice which will be required due to the increased usage at our venue. The mobile practice net can be manoeuvred to different locations for practice and can be used for different types of practice and offers great flexibility..
Total expenditure = £5400 +£900 + £2000 = £8300
COMMUNITY IMPACT
Our project will have an impact on the community by creating new opportunities for more people to GET INVOLVED IN SPORT.
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 people from our community to get involved in cricket, a sport that has traditionally been male-dominated. We are focusing heavily on girls and 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 people ( young and old ) in our community who may never have never played before or have not played in quite a while and are part of the older generation. Through our 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 opportunities to as many people as possible, 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 and sense of community belonging. 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!
Funding method
All or nothing – this project will only receive pledges if it reaches its target of £8,300 by 22nd July 2026 at 9:41am