The five projects to be shortlisted for the sports category of The National Lottery’s Good Causes Awards have been named and include clubs from the GAA, Football, tennis, diving and a local sports partnership.

The awards celebrate and honour the inspirational work carried out by hundreds of volunteers, coaches, care givers and other individuals across Ireland, and the organisations they represent. Sport is one of seven categories alongside Health and Wellbeing, Heritage, Arts and Culture, Community, Youth, and the Irish Language.

The winners will be announced at a Gala Awards dinner in Autumn 2022.

The five shortlisted sporting projects are:

Clare Local Sports Partnership CLG – Clare

Clare Local Sports Partnership CLG are leading the way to develop inclusivity within their club to cater for everyone. They provide opportunities for all children with a disability in Co. Clare to attend weekly Physical Activity sessions and a sports summer camp similar to their mainstream contemporaries. Good Causes funds from Sport Ireland allowed Clare GAA to run a pilot disability-specific (Autism) Cúl camp for children and hope to work with other national bodies and run further disability-specific camps in 2023.

Dundalk Sub Aqua Search & Rescue – Louth

Established in 2001, Dundalk Sub Aqua Club has become one of the largest diving clubs in Ireland and a valuable resource in local search and rescue operations. The SAR unit is a voluntary organisation which supports and collaborates with the State’s emergency services in the search, rescue and recovery of persons lost or in danger in marine or inland waters environments. Through Good Causes funding, it allowed the team to purchase a new Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB). The new RIB allows the SAR unit to operate in more demanding sea conditions.

Nobber GAA – Meath

Since receiving Good Causes funding via Sports Capital Programme, Nobber GAA Club has been able to build a modern clubhouse facility which has made a huge impact on the entire community. The updated facilities include dressing rooms, a meeting room, a club gym, referees’ room, showers, and toilets. The additional dressing rooms ensured that the club was equipped to cater for the new ladies’ team. The clubhouse offers an excellent viewpoint on match days as it is situated parallel to the main pitch.

Park Rangers AFC – Female Focus Campaign – Waterford

Park Rangers AFC is a rural club made up of 434 members, 77 voluntary coaches and 31 teams. The club has a 32% female participation rate as well as the only Football 4 All club which caters for children with sensory, intellectual, and physical requirements. Good Causes funding was used as part of The Female Focus Campaign to provide adequate toilets for female participation. In addition, the Female Focus Campaign addressed a key barrier to female participation in sport – the Menstrual Cycle. Park Rangers AFC is the first amateur club in Ireland to provide ongoing training workshops to members and coaches on the menstrual cycle and provide free sanitary products in toilets and in our first aid kits.

Shankill Tennis Club – Dublin

Shankill Tennis Club is a leading community tennis club who are passionate about tennis and have worked tirelessly to make the game accessible to everyone, providing low-cost access to tennis for disadvantaged communities. This amazing club provides all players including those with disabilities to learn and enjoy tennis, the club needed an indoor centre. Good Causes funding enabled the club to build this new centre, and to secure the specialist equipment necessary for disability tennis.

The total prize fund for the Good Causes Awards is €130,000 and each of the 35 finalists will win €1,000. At the awards ceremony in October, each of the seven category winners will receive €10,000 and the overall Good Cause of the Year will take home an additional €25,000.

Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on all National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts, heritage, and the Irish Language.

In total more than €6 Billion has been raised for Good Causes since the National Lottery was established 34 years ago. In 2021 alone, €289 million was raised for local Good Causes in communities across Ireland.

“Funding for the Good Causes fund has a huge impact on communities all over Ireland,” said National Lottery CEO Andrew Algeo.

“Last year, Benefacts established that 34 per cent of all charitable giving in Ireland in 2021 was attributable via the National Lottery.”

 

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