The GAA Handball Schools One-Wall Initiative is easily one of the best promotional and development concepts undertaken by the association, and the recent build of a One-Wall court at the North Coast Integrated College, Coleraine, Co Derry epitomises precisely why!
1) An area not traditionally associated with Handball
Handball in the North Coast of Ireland is pretty much non existent. Often locals do not even know the game exists, so it is so refreshing to see how the One-Wall Initiative can reach out and expose new areas to the game. School Teacher Maura Creelman attended a GAA Handball Teacher Inservice last year, brought the concept back to the school, and now alongside Head of PE Amanada McGarry, are the key drivers behind the promotion of the game in the school, even going as far as arranging another Teacher Inservice for other teachers in the school next week.
2) Cheap to Build
A rough cost of €500-600 in most cases should suffice to purchase the full material to build a wall. Whilst not exactly pocket change, in the grand scheme of building sports facilities, it is a manageable amount of money to raise. The North Coast Integrated College appreciated this and got the 'Friends of NCIC' to fundraise very successfully to cover all costs and thus weren't out a single penny.
3) No specialist contractor required
The indoor One-Wall courts simply requires ten sheets of standard 8ft x 4ft plywood screwed to a flat wall. Any competent joiner/carpenter should be more than capable of erecting a wall. In this case, the NCIC School Caretaker took up the challenge and within a day he had the wall up, and within two further days he had three coast of white paint and signage erected. This eliminated the additional cost of labour.
If you want to get your school/club involved in Handball, please see below for useful resources, or contact National Development Officer Darragh Daly on development.handball@gaa.ie.