Sports & Recreation Clubs A
fter a hard day’s work, civil servants in Belfast have a wealth of sport and leisure activities on their very own grounds at their disposal in order to wind down.
Northern Ireland’s Parliament Buildings
are based at the Stormont Estate in East Belfast, which is also home to The Pavilion, where all the sports facilities and grounds are located.
It is also the headquarters of the Northern
Ireland Civil Service Sports Association (NICSSA) which is the largest public sector sport and leisure organisation in Ireland. The Belfast venue offers its members a choice of facilities via a health club, and a number of sports grounds for tennis, hockey, football, rugby and cricket. The grounds are also open to outside clubs and teams who wish to avail of the pitches and sports facilities. There are forty-five acres of sports
grounds within The Pavilion which, with the variety of sports on offer, take some looking after.
The man with the unenviable task of
taking care of the facility is Grounds Manager Philip McCormick, who has spent the past nineteen years knocking them into shape. For Philip, the job is a labour of love as he has worked at the grounds since being taken on as a summer helper all those years ago.
As it’s his ‘first’ job, he takes the day to
day running all in his stride. With a small team to help him, Philip must ensure the daily chores run like clockwork and that the transition from one sporting season to another is smooth. This in itself can be a real challenge, depending on the weather, ground conditions and if there are any public events being hosted there. But he has it all covered and the place runs like a well oiled machine.
“It has been a super nineteen years
working here since being taken on as a summer helper. I have to really thank my father William, who got me started in this industry, and my first boss, Tommy Hamilton, for giving me such a great opportunity here.” “The variety of sporting activities available
here means there are some transitional periods that we need to plan for; between the rugby and cricket seasons, for example. Then we have the third generation pitches, which have FIFA approved synthetic grass surfaces featuring the latest monofilament fibre. These pitches are suitable for a variety of sports and can cater for large groups, depending on the activity and age-group.” Philip continues; “All pitches are fully
enclosed with netting to ensure that the ball remains in play at all times. There are six five-a-side pitches and one seven-a-side pitch at PlayBall. They are always very popular and booked well in advance.”
PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 I 47
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