Olympic Legacy Fund has provided £13,052 of match funding
Enclosed viewing shelter for Cloughey Tennis Club
Newtownards, Ards and North Down, United Kingdom
Aim
To allow parents, children and other spectators to watch tennis activities out of the cold wind and rain!
Who are we?
We are a friendly, local tennis club committed to providing tennis facilities on the Lower Ards Peninsula for all ages, abilities, and diversities.
Why are we crowdfunding?
We need an enclosed shelter immediately adjacent to the courts, so that parents, their children and other spectators can watch on-court activities such as football and tennis whilst being protected from wind, rain, cold and fast-moving balls. Currently, we use gazebos that only provide shelter from rain but do not shield from the cold and wind or protect against balls. They are also frequently destroyed in high winds where we have to fund replacements on a regular basis, which is not the best use of our limited funds.
A courtside viewing shelter would allow:
- Better child protection
Allowing parents to observe their children during training and coaching sessions, even in inclement weather.
- Better health and Safety compliance
Enhancing the safe use of the current viewing area by protecting spectators from fast-moving balls.
- Sports development
We have found that increasing spectatorship by parents of children participating in sport can lead to an increased parental involvement, and a sense of ownership. This has also proved to increase the likelihood of children and young people participating in tennis and often leads to parents becoming joining us as members themselves.
- Improved facilities for the elderly
Tennis is a sport that can be played into old age. We attract many elderly and retired players which they have reported helps them to stay well, keep fit as well as enjoying the social aspect of club membership, so it is therefore essential to have a place were one can wait between games, gather, keep dry and socialise in a sheltered facility. Many of our older tennis players are also keen to watch league and other activities but, cold and wind are a severe discomfort and can prevent them from doing so.
Olympic Legacy Fund
We have proposed this crowd project to the Olympic Legacy Fund - a £1million pound investment programme, delivered by Sport NI. The fund aims to improve the quality of club and community sports facilities, encouraging people to engage in sport and physical activity.
If our project is successful, Sport NI will make a 65% contribution to our crowdfunding campaign, while the remaining 35% must be raised by you - our crowd. Please help us make this 35% target.
How we’ll spend the money raised
We hope to raise funding £20 080 for an enclosed viewing shelter that can be located adjacent to the courts, as per the below drawings.
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!
This project successfully funded on 4th April 2026