Hockey-loving Coleraine pupils hit the icy seas for 12 days to raise money for a new pitch
- 5 months ago
They say if you want something badly enough, you'll do anything to get it...
And 12 brave Coleraine Grammar School Year 8 hockey players, and two not so willing teachers, are proving this to be the case this Christmas.
The group are undertaking the ‘12 dips of Christmas’ by going into the icy waters of Portstewart and Portrush beaches over the festive period to raise funds for a new £1million hockey pitch at the Castlerock Road school.
The fundraiser was the brainchild of pupil Sarah McCaughey from Portstewart who convinced her hockey-loving teammates to join her.
She explained: “We are a group of Year 8's who just love hockey and we wanted to raise money for new sports facilities and hockey pitch at Coleraine Grammar School.
"So my friends and I chose to do a 12 days of Christmas sea dip because we wanted something fun that we could do over the holidays together and would be a real challenge.
“As there are 13 of us we can cover each of the 12 days over the Christmas period as a team - although some of us are hoping to do more than one sea dip!!!
“We’ve all been in the sea before as we live close by but this will be the first time we would be running in all together as a team and especially at this time of year as it is so cold.
“At the moment we train at Rugby Avenue hockey pitch and have to get the bus there. It will be amazing to have a brand-new hockey pitch over at the new Castlerock road site when Coleraine Grammar School will be on one site.”
The girls kick started their 12 sea dips today (Friday) in the blustery weather and were joined by Coleraine Grammar School teachers and hockey coaches Peter Semple and Thomas Cartmill.
And 12 brave Coleraine Grammar School Year 8 hockey players, and two not so willing teachers, are proving this to be the case this Christmas.
The group are undertaking the ‘12 dips of Christmas’ by going into the icy waters of Portstewart and Portrush beaches over the festive period to raise funds for a new £1million hockey pitch at the Castlerock Road school.
The fundraiser was the brainchild of pupil Sarah McCaughey from Portstewart who convinced her hockey-loving teammates to join her.
She explained: “We are a group of Year 8's who just love hockey and we wanted to raise money for new sports facilities and hockey pitch at Coleraine Grammar School.
"So my friends and I chose to do a 12 days of Christmas sea dip because we wanted something fun that we could do over the holidays together and would be a real challenge.
“As there are 13 of us we can cover each of the 12 days over the Christmas period as a team - although some of us are hoping to do more than one sea dip!!!
“We’ve all been in the sea before as we live close by but this will be the first time we would be running in all together as a team and especially at this time of year as it is so cold.
“At the moment we train at Rugby Avenue hockey pitch and have to get the bus there. It will be amazing to have a brand-new hockey pitch over at the new Castlerock road site when Coleraine Grammar School will be on one site.”
The girls kick started their 12 sea dips today (Friday) in the blustery weather and were joined by Coleraine Grammar School teachers and hockey coaches Peter Semple and Thomas Cartmill.