CGNI has delivered sports equipment to Fane Street Primary School in south Belfast ©CGNI

Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland (CGNI) has supported a local school in south Belfast by providing sports equipment as a part of the Game Changers programme, a charity initiative launched by the Commonwealth Sport Foundation in July 2020.

The Foundation, which was established in 2020 by the Commonwealth Games Federation, aims to "ensure that the power of sport is available to everyone across the Commonwealth".

CGNI, led by Dame Mary Peters, delivered sports equipment to Fane Street Primary School, which holds sports day every Friday for its pupils, participating in athletics, badminton, basketball, fencing, judo, lawn bowls and table tennis.

It also unveiled a schedule of sessions delivered by PeacePlayers Northern Ireland, which will teach pupils the fundamentals of basketball, focusing on personal development and peace-building.

Sessions will commence in January 2022, with the new equipment used, and follows on from the Department for Communities' Together: Building United Communities programme, which was collaboratively organised by CGNI and PeacePlayers NI before the COVID-19 pandemic.

As well as taught sessions and new equipment, Fane Street pupils will be given the chance to watch Northern Irish athletes' preparations for the Birmingham 2022 Games, CGNI claims.

Coaching sessions, which will focus on personal development and peace-building, are being organised by PeacePlayers NI ©CGNI
Coaching sessions, which will focus on personal development and peace-building, are being organised by PeacePlayers NI ©CGNI

"It’s been a privilege to offer sporting and personal development opportunities to the pupils at Fane Street as part of the Commonwealth Sport Foundation’s Game Changer programme," said CGNI business and operations manager Conal Heatley. 

"A massive 'thank you' goes to our partners at PeacePlayers NI and to all the coaches within our member sports who have contributed over the last couple of months. 

"The support of the staff and enthusiasm of the children has been inspiring, and a lesson to us all.

"We're already looking forward to restarting early in the New Year."

Fane Street vice-principal Gordon Nicholl added: "We’re very grateful for the wonderful opportunities that Commonwealth Games NI have provided for the school. 

"Our children come from all around the world, with 85 per cent of them having English as an additional language, but this has been a fantastic example of sport overcoming language barriers and being used to bring people together. 

"We look forward to working with the team in 2022."

You can read more about Dame Mary and her rise out of Belfast in today's insidethegames blog.