Sports Minister Officially Opens Belfast Royal Academy's New State-of-the-Art Hockey Pitch
The Sports Minister and former Belfast Royal Academy pupil, Nelson McCausland today officially launched the school’s new £550,000 state-of-the-art synthetic hockey pitch at Roughfort Road, Mallusk.
The construction of the sand-dressed hockey pitch was co-funded by the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (DCAL) through Sport Northern Ireland who contributed £245,000 towards the project. This project provides the north Belfast school with the latest facilities accredited by the Federation of International Hockey.
As well as providing the new hockey pitch and five existing high specification rugby pitches, the school has invested almost £10,000 in upgrading its athletics facilities and £100,000 in constructing a new sand-based soccer pitch, with a large training area.
The school has plans to floodlight the newly constructed synthetic hockey pitch, to construct a second floodlit synthetic hockey pitch and a third-generation pitch, and to upgrade the existing pavilion with a seminar room for tactical training should monies become available.
Headmaster Moore Dickson said: “This new facility has been an aspiration of the school for many years and underlines our commitment to providing pupils and the local community with elite sporting facilities aimed at increasing sports participation and the development of sporting potential.
“Over the next few years, we hope to secure the necessary funding to develop a multi-million pound Centre of Sporting Excellence which incorporates top class facilities to accommodate a range of sports, including hockey, rugby, soccer, gaelic football, cricket and athletics, allowing the school to further embed itself within the sporting fabric of the local community.”
Significant funding for this sporting facility was secured from Sport Northern Ireland and Chairman Dominic Walsh, speaking at the launch, reinforced the importance of support for such a facility: “Sport Northern Ireland is dedicated to developing people in sport, especially young people, and in providing facilities for people of every age group and ability to be able to participate, enjoy and perform sport and physical activity. By providing support for the development of facilities such as this state-of-the-art hockey pitch, Sport Northern Ireland aims to facilitate lifelong enjoyment and success in sport”.
To celebrate the official opening of the new sand-dressed synthetic hockey pitch, the Belfast Royal Academy Girls’ 1st XI hockey team competed against the Ulster U16s hockey team in a friendly challenge match.
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