Belfast VCSE Sectoral Advisory Panel and Citywide Network

From 9th December 2019 Belfast City Council will be inviting all VCSE organisations and groups in the city to nominate candidates for selection to a Sectoral Advisory Panel (closing date 31 Jan 2020). The panel will comprise approximately 15 members drawn from organisations and groups in Belfast’s VCSE sectors who will be expected to advocate…Continue reading this article →

Hockey Coach Scores Win at Sport NI SportMaker Awards

Hockey Coach Greg Thompson has been named Club Performance Coach of the Year in recognition of his achievements over the past 12 months with Pegasus Hockey Club. The club’s collective trophy haul includes the Denman Ulster Shield, winning the EY Hockey League and claiming the EY Champions Trophy at the end of the season. In…Continue reading this article →

Nelson Lindsay, Head Swimming Coach to Bethany Firth named High Performance Coach of the Year at Sport NI Awards

Nelson Lindsay, coach to history-making Paralympic gold medallist Bethany Firth, has been awarded the title of High Performance Coach of the Year by Sport Northern Ireland at its 2019 SportMaker Awards. Nelson has been coach to 23-year-old swimmer Bethany for more than a decade and has overseen her meteoric rise to the top of the…Continue reading this article →

Gymnastics Volunteer swings to victory at Sport NI Awards

A young volunteer with Ballysillan Gymnastics Club has been honoured for her contribution to local sport at the 2019 Sport Northern Ireland SportMaker Awards. Lucy Wallace, who volunteers as a young leader, was named Volunteer of the Year for her outstanding contribution to the development of sport. Having recently won the Diana Award in 2018…Continue reading this article →

Red Belt Challenge Project Honoured at Sport NI Awards

A Portaferry-based Judo Project that has been instrumental in helping young children play sport and integrate together in a positive, safe environment, has been named Project of the Year at the Sport Northern Ireland’s 2019 SportMaker Awards. The Red Belt Challenge is a six week free Judo programme run by Peggy Magee in partnership with…Continue reading this article →

BMX Cycling Coach Lands Prestigious Sport NI Award

Belfast’s BMX Club Coach Jonathan Reid has been announced as the winner of the Children’s Coach of the Year prize at Sport NI’s 2019 SportMaker Awards. Jonathan developed the FUNdamentals Programme for BMX Ireland, producing a detailed set of guidelines to ensure that all clubs in Ireland deliver a consistent programme which really puts the…Continue reading this article →

Northern Ireland’s first walking conference champions the ‘Power of Walking’

The Public Health Agency, Sport NI and Outdoor Recreation NI on Wednesday 14th November hosted a ‘Power of Walking’ conference in Queen’s Riddle Hall Belfast, to demonstrate how achieving a stronger culture of walking has the power to offer enormous benefits for the local population in Northern Ireland. The conference was opened by the Chief…Continue reading this article →

Bethany Firth Supports Toyota Parasport Fund

Bethany Firth, Paralympic swimming gold medallist, is supporting the launch of the Toyota Parasport Fund in Northern Ireland. Toyota are working with ParalympicsGB, Sport NI and Mencap NI to improve the quality and quantity of sports and activities available to people with a disability in Northern Ireland through the Toyota Parasport Fund. The Toyota Parasport…Continue reading this article →

Crumlin community netball coach recognised at Sport NI Awards

A Crumlin community netball coach has been honoured for her tireless work to get local women active and involved in sport, after being named Community Coach of the Year at the 2019 Sport NI SportMaker Awards. Joanne McElkerney formed a brand new netball club in the local area which now has a membership base of…Continue reading this article →

Disability Coach has a greater purpose than just sport and winning

A Belfast-based football coach working with children with special needs has been named Disability Coach of the Year at the 2019 Sport Northern Ireland SportMaker Awards. Michael McShane is the Orchardville Disability Football Manager and, through his work, recognised that there was a keen interest in the sport from members, so he set up and…Continue reading this article →