Ballymun and Poppintree Sports

North West Area Sport & Leisure Services Quarterly Report September 2010

Poppintree Community Sports Centre

Poppintree Community Sports Centre is located on Balbutcher Lane North in Poppintree. The centre consists of a large scale sports facility which includes a full size sports hall, youth studio, dance studio, fight studio, meeting room, playground and all weather floodlit playing area. The centre is also home to the Dublin City Council Area Housing Office, Poppintree Community Forum, Poppintree Youth Project, Poppintree Early Education Centre, Ballymun Boxing Club, St. Pappins Boxing Club and the administration office of the Sports Across Ireland group.

Sports Centre

The sports centre is staffed and operated by Dublin City Council alongside the participants of the local community employment scheme. The centre currently has 10 full time staff and 14 Community Employment Scheme participants. We offer facility and service provision to the local and broader community. Groups and organisations can hire our facilities at peak, off peak, private and community rates. We currently have a considerable number of bookings for our autumn schedule although there are still a number of vacancies for all parts of the building. We will shortly be embarking on a large scale promotion campaign for the centre. As part of our service provision we are offering after school clubs, night time clubs, sports camps, fitness classes, self defence classes, bingo and a variety of other classes and activities to children and adults in the local and broader community.

The local community employment scheme continues to play a vital part in the operations and programming of the centre. There is a dedicated community employment office which houses the supervisor and administrator, and the participants work alongside the full time staff and take their directions and line management from the manager of the centre.

A summer project and summer programme ran successfully from the centre this summer. It ran for six weeks consisting of daily trips and outings as well as centre based games and activities. It catered for approximately 200 children drawn from the settled and traveller communities.

We currently have a variety of ongoing end user groups using the centre.
They consist of active age group, basketball teams, football groups, martial art groups, dance groups, self defence groups, youth groups and community development groups. From September the sports development officer, F.A.I. officer, boxing officer and the sport and recreation officer will all be based or operate from the building and will also offer a range of activities and programmes.

Opening Times

The centre will operate from 9.00am to 10.30pm. Monday to Thursday and 9.00am to 6.00pm on Fridays. On Saturdays it will be open from 9.30am to 5.30pm .The centre will not open on Sundays except for special events and high demand. The contact number for the centre is 2223985 and the manager is HUGH KILBRIDE 0868150762.

Boxing Centre

The dedicated boxing centre is shared by two local clubs who operate on alternative days and nights. Ballymun Boxing Club and St. Pappins Boxing Club. It has its own dedicated entrance and alarm systems as well as boxing studio, kitchen, dressing rooms and showers, viewing gallery, office and storage areas. It currently operates from 5.00pm to 10.00pm Monday to Friday and varying hours on weekends. The clubs provide their own coaches and leaders and are responsible for the upkeep and control of the boxing centre.

Youth Centre

The dedicated youth centre is operated by the Poppintree Youth Project.
They have their own professional management and staff which is largely funded by City of Dublin Youth Services Board (C.D.Y.S.B). The centre has its own dedicated entrance and alarm systems as well as kitchen, toilets, woodwork/activity room, I.T. room, art room activity area and large storage area. The project also has an administration office in the main building.
They offer services every day of the week up to 10.30pm and at varying times at the weekend. The project largely caters for young people between the ages of 10 and 21 as well as other dedicated groups. The contact number for the Poppintree Youth Project is 8624580 and the project manager is Fran McVeigh 0851100240.

Poppintree Early Education Centre

The early learning centre also has its own dedicated entrance and alarm systems. Managed and run by professional staff it operates Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.00pm each day. It has dedicated playrooms, activity rooms, canteen, changing rooms, sleep rooms, administration and manager’s office, storage areas and outdoor play area. It caters for babies, toddlers and pre school children drawn from the local and broader community.

Dublin City Council Housing and Community Office

The housing and community offices have their own dedicated entrance and alarm systems. This is the only part of the old building that remained intact. The Dublin City Council housing office is open from 9.30am to 1.00pm Monday to Friday. This unit also houses the local Poppintree Forum Office. The members of the forum have access to these offices on demand.
The conference room is used by the forum and is also available to local groups for meeting or training purposes.

Sports Across Ireland

This group provides sporting programmes and assistance to local schools, youth groups and community groups. They offer ongoing coaching and programmes throughout the year primarily through the medium of basketball and football. They have an administration office in the main building where their three staff work from and they also work with the centre management in relation to rolling out some of their programmes from and within the centre.
Contact: Dan Tabb 0863814226.

Development Officers

From September the development officers for sport, football, boxing and sport and recreation will operate from offices in the main building. They will also provide a range of activities and programmes in the centre for young people and adults.

Sport Development Officer: Eileen Gleeson – 086 8150821 Sport & Recreation Officer: Antonia Martin – 087 1254709 Boxing Officer: Tommy Ahern – 222 3981 FAI Officer: Jamie Wilson – 086 0472135

Community Employment Project

The community employment project for many years were responsible for the running and upkeep of the old centre. They have now moved into the new building and continue to be an integral part of the operations in the new building. The sponsor group of the project are responsible for the management of the project and its day to day operations are the responsibility of the project supervisor. The participants on the project work alongside the full time staff in carrying out their daily duties and with the agreement of the sponsor group take their instructions and line management from the manager of the centre. The project has their own dedicated office in the building, from which the supervisor and administrator work from.

Ballymun Leisure Centre

Ballymun Leisure Centre is located on Main Street, Ballymun, Dublin 11.
The centre manager is Philip White.

The following facilities and services are currently available in Ballymun Leisure Centre:

25 Metre 4 Lane Pool Fully Equipped Gym
Play Pool for Children Fitness Assessments
2 Slides Teen Gym
Lane Swimming Spinning Classes
Family Swimming Step Classes
Swimming Programme Abs Busters
Children’s Swimming Classes Bums & Tums
Adult Swimming Classes Spin & Pump
Free Senior Citizens Begin to Spin
Sauna Summer Camp
Steam Room Unemployed Discounts
Aqua Aerobics

Opening Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 7.00 to 22.00
Friday : 7.00 to 21.00
Saturday: 10.00 to 16.00
Sunday: 10.00 to 16.00
Phone: 8623508

Children’s Swimming Programme
The swimming programmes are well attended. We are currently revamping these programmes and this will come into operation when the schools reopen

Adult Swimming Programme
These cater for a mixed group of learners and improver group. There is a high success rate with the adults. These programmes continue throughout the year.

Schools
A total of 18 schools attend the centre for their swimming programme.

Groups
There are 4 special needs groups also attending the centre.
There are 12 sports groups attending the centre.
There are 13 youth groups attending the centre.

Summer Projects
We have 10 summer projects using the centre this year for swimming.

Kids Summer Camp Group
A small number of children attended the summer camp this year.

Aerobic Classes
There are 14 classes ongoing at the centre these are operating at a medium attendance level from Monday to Friday.

Birthday Parties
We have had over 20 birthday parties in the centre in the past 8 months these consist of pool time and a room for games and treats provided by the families. This is a healthy inexpensive way of having a party for children.

General
The class time table will be reviewed in September to enable as many people as possible to take part in the classes. We are making the teen gym more available to the teens who would like to attend. We offer pay as you go on all the services offered in the centre.