U17 Boys Nations Tournament

On Friday 24th June we had 16 boys and 4 coaches travelling to take part in the annual U17 Boys Nations Football Tournament.  Over the next few days they faced representative teams from Boys & Girls Clubs of Scotland and Boys & Girls Clubs of Wales, as well as a local team, Kilwinning Sports Club, who replaced the English representative team last minute.  Two cups were contested for, firstly the Nations Cup that was between all four teams, and secondly the Gaelic Cup where only the matches between Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales counted.

The team was made up of players from St. Oliver Plunkett, North Belfast United, New Mossley Youth Club, Aquinas, Rosario, Woodvale, St. Mary’s and Trojans.
The weekend started well on the Saturday with a 2-2 draw against Kilwinning, with Kai Hefferon and Jack McAlinden getting goals, and Jack McAlinden also picking up the Man of the Match award.

Sunday’s game in Scotland was another tight game, with Scotland narrowly stealing a 1-0 win.  The final game against Wales on Monday morning was always going to be tough, with injuries and fatigue playing a big factor, and despite some good individual performances and goals from Conal Burnett and Jack McAlinden, the final whistle saw Wales win 10-2 to claim both the Nations and the Gaelic Cups.

On the Sunday evening all the boys and coaches attended a presentation dinner, where each of the boys received a medal for their participation in the tournament as well as an International Honours Cap, which was thoroughly deserved by all the players after their hard work in training and competition over the past few months.

A huge thank you goes to all the clubs for lending us their players for the competition, as well as all the boys for attending training over the last few months, and their parents/coaches for helping them to do so.  Also, thanks to our coaching team for training the boys and making sure everything went as well as possible over the weekend.  Finally, thank you to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Scotland for hosting us, and Kilwinning Sports Club and Boys & Girls Clubs of Wales for helping to make it such a good experience for all.

TrustFord Soap Box Derby

This year we hosted our first Soap Box Derby at the Hillsborough Oyster Festival, support by Trust Ford.

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Trust Ford sponsored our Soap Box derby with a brand new minibus for the Best Overall Team.

The day saw over 40 teams of young people come along to race their custom-made Soap Boxes down the hill.  We were joined by Guy Martin and representatives from Trust Ford who helped with the judging.

The team from Edengrove Presbyterian Church won the Best Overall Team, and walked away with a brand new minibus, donated by Trust Ford.

We were joined by Guy Martin, who helped with the judging and gave the young people some tips on how to race their soap boxes
We were joined by Guy Martin, who helped with the judging and gave the young people some tips on racing their soap boxes.

The other category winners, who each won £500.00 were:

  • Best Innovation
    Mill Strand Primary School
  • Best Design
    Share Discovery Village
  • Best Technical Effort
    St Bernards Primary School
  • Race Winner
    Bleary Young Farmers Club

Click here to see photos from the event

CYP Volunteer Opportunity

Interested in volunteering? CYP is holding an introductory residential for young people aged 14-19 years old and are interested in becoming volunteers or members of our existing CYP Youth Conference Group.

When and where?

25th-28th August @ Cloughmor Extreme, Rostrevor

What does it involve?

Outdoor adventure and team building activities

Exploring community relations and current issues affecting young people

Training and skills development

Who can participate?

Young people aged 14-19

Young people of all ability who have a keen interest in further volunteering opportunities

Young people from all across NI

 

CYP will cover all reasonable costs (transport, food, accommodation, activities), and will require parental consent for any young people under the age of 18.

For further information or if you are keen to get involved please contact Ciara on 9066 3321, email ciara.kearney@cypni.net, or simply contact us via Facebook.