Tag Archives: Game of Three Halves

by | January 9, 2013 · 3:25 pm

PPI-NI is Back to Business

PPI-NI's Darryl Petticrew coaches several participants at Jingle Ball 2012.

PPI-NI’s Darryl Petticrew coaches several participants at Jingle Ball 2012.

This week, we hear from PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland‘s (PPI-NI) Leadership Development Program Coordinator, Darryl Petticrew.  

With the launch of the Belfast Interface Games, our Spring Jam and Jingle Ball tournaments, emotional departures, new arrivals, visits from NBA players, and a lot of smiling faces, PPI-NI had a very exciting 2012. I have been involved with the organization since 2007, and I have watched our participants grow up through the program, become teenagers and come full circle by acting as mentors and junior coaches for the program.

We are going into 2013 with a lot of enthusiasm. We cannot waste any time, as we immediately jump back into programming. Over the next few months we have a number of exciting things going on with PPI-NI, from getting our twinning programs started, working on technical assistance projects, exploring new ideas with the Game of Three Halves, and prepping for Spring Jam and the Belfast Interface Games. We certainly don’t have to look very far to see the need for our work, as the civic unrest continues in Belfast in regards to legislation about posting the Union Flag at City Hall. While protests continue around a contentious symbol, PPI-NI see this as an opportunity to explore identity and promote the diversity of Belfast through our programs.

2013 looks like its going to shape up as another great year for PPI-NI, but the work we do would not be possible without support. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who makes a contribution to our work. There is no gesture too small and together, one small step at a time, we can help promote positive change and work toward a more peaceful global community.

From everyone at PPI in Northern Ireland, Happy New Year!

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by | September 5, 2012 · 2:58 pm

Megan Lynch on her First Month with PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland

Megan Lynch, from Albany, New York, joined PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland (PPI-NI) at the beginning of August. Here, she reflects about her first month on site.

Megan Lynch stands next to a taller guest, Alex Lopez, at the Belfast Interface Games.

This week marks my first month here at PPI-NI. Already it has begun to feel natural to wake up to the morning bustle in Belfast. Rain or (hopefully) shine, it is always great to get into the office to start off the day. Since arriving, I’ve been plenty busy with the Belfast Interface Games (BIG) in early August, a weekend training residential, and scattered classroom visits to set up twinnings in schools.

A view of the Irish Sea, across from a recent PPI-NI residential location.

Apart from learning to drive on the left side of the road and learning how to navigate Belfast, getting the lingo down was right up there on my “to-do” list. One of my prized possessions in the office is a handy “PPI-NI Dictionary” given to me by local Project Coordinator, Joanne Fitzpatrick. I have taken to quizzing people on entries such as “Sit Down Clown,” “Sectarianism” and “Not On My Team.” Designed as a tool for coaches, the dictionary breaks down key local terms.

The week before last, Darryl Petticrew, Chris Schumerth, and I coached at a Game of Three Halves (rugby, soccer, and Gaelic football) camp where we rounded out the group by delivering basketball and community relations sessions. PPI global board member Keith Horn and his two sons, Mike and Brian, jumped right into the action on their visit. The kids absolutely adored the Horns and peppered them with questions such as “Are you on Team USA?” or “What’s it like in America?”

In one game, Brian joined in so the kids could play a game of 5-on-5. After a few minutes, one of the kids asked Brian, “How can you be so good?” Brian then jokingly replied: “I’m American.” Having attended a community relations station earlier, the boy retorted: “Hey, that’s discrimination!” We all laughed, pleased to see that they were taking our discussions to heart. Throughout the week we discussed diversity, prejudice and stereotypes, which gave the kids an opportunity to see how sport can either reinforce or mitigate prejudice and stereotypes.

On the last day, PPI-NI board Chairperson Trevor Ringland congratulated the campers on a great week. Speaking an Olympic torch in hand, he told the campers that what matters most is being a good teammate and doing your best. It was a great way to end the summer and transition into the twinning season.

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by | May 30, 2012 · 1:00 am

Not Your Average Day In the Park

Participants pratice their soccer skills in Alexandra Park, one of the three sports that make up the Game of Three Halves.

This week’s blog was written by PPI-NI Local Coordinator, Tony McGaharan, who led last Saturday’s Game of Three Halves event in Alexandra Park. The event was coordinated in partnership with Groundwork NI and was supported by the Fulbright scholarship program.

On Saturday, May 26, the PPI-NI team took to the park for a ‘Game of Three Halves’ event with a twist. Coaches from the IFA, Ulster Rugby, GAA and PPI-NI gathered together in North Belfast’s Alexandra Park, the only park in western Europe to be divided by a peace wall, for an afternoon of cross-community fun. Originally erected in 1994, this interface has been a contested space and a flashpoint for sectarian conflict. It wasn’t until September of last year that a new gate was created, allowing park-goers to wander freely from one end to the other.

The PPI-NI Staff head through the peace wall for the Game of Three Halves event.

On the morning of the event, we drove towards the park only to be diverted by a number of police officers lined in front of two armored vehicles blocking the road. A pipe bomb was found earlier that morning and military bomb disposal experts were on site.

We eventually found an entrance to the park, using an alternative route, and as we walked through the gate of the peace wall, there was a strong sense among our team that this was exactly where we need to be.

Arriving at the caged five-aside field, the park was desolate. The only sounds were coming from the group of coaches huddled around each other in one corner of the field.  As we waited for the young people to arrive, I noticed another police truck driving towards us along the street parallel to the pitch where we stood. I was certain that we were about to be evacuated, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

PPI-NI Fellow Meghan Houlihan leads a community relations discussion about stereotypes in sport.

Out from the back of the vehicle flooded ten children with the supervising police officer carrying two cases of bottle water. The sergeant had driven the young people from the opposite side of the park to the other. It was obvious that these children were in foreign territory; the chance to ride in the back of a police truck was the only way that they were ever going to make it across the divide.

As more and more young people drifted into the area, our program was in full swing. There were three stations of Rugby, Gaelic and Soccer. A group of the Fulbright scholars joined in and helped encourage the younger participants.

Participants compete in a fun-filled rugby match.

We then led a Community Relations activity, which challenged the group to reflect on the concept of prejudices and stereotypes within sport. The day concluded with the young people competing in a game of three halves; Rugby, Gaelic and Soccer.

The context of a pipe bomb in one of the nearby streets, the peace line dividing one of Belfast’s most beautiful parks, and the transportation of a group of children in an armored police truck, created an even greater awareness of the important role that sport can play in uniting young people.

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by | January 18, 2012 · 3:09 pm

PPI – Northern Ireland’s Top 10 of 2011

10 – A New Start

PPI-NI recently moved their office from a busy university area of Belfast to the busy Lisburn Road area. Like the New Year, this signifies a new beginning for PPI-NI, with a new staff team and lots of exciting ideas for the future, it seems like the new office has refreshed the organization.

9 – PPI-NI vs. Belfast City Council Wildcats

On a Tuesday evening, what better to do than play a friendly game of basketball with our good old City Council workers. A new dynamic to our relationship with Belfast City Council, gives us the opportunity to let our hair down, enjoy basketball and show off the skills of our VERY talented staff.

8 – Young Enterprise Northern Ireland (YENI) Partnership

Another exciting partnership established in 2011 was with YENI. A conversation between PPI-NI Managing Director, Gareth Harper and YENI Chief Executive Carol Fitzsimons, has resulted in a successful relationship between the two organizations.

7 – All Girls Cross Community League

For the first time in PPI-NI history, we ran an all girl Cross Community League (CCL) for our senior girls. Focusing on our girls aged 14-17 allowed CCL to impact 40 participants from the North Belfast area in a five-week programme. The programme was an unbelievable success and we now look forward to running our all boy CCL in February.

6 – Two New Schools!

Last term we started a new twinning with St. Kevin’s P.S (based in the Falls area of Belfast) and Glenwood P.S (Based in the Shankill area of Belfast).

5 – Game of Three Halves (GO3H)

This is another exciting initiative that PPI-NI has been involved with, and 2011 was the year it all started to take shape. Check out our previous blog entries for more information!

4- Super Twinnings!

An event where we bring together four schools from two separate Twinning’s, to play in a mini tournament and create a sense of identity amongst the Twinning partners.

3 – Breaking the 200 Mark at Jingle Ball 2011

This year was the first time in PPI-NI history that we had over 200 participants at our Jingle Ball tournament. A true testament to all the hard work that our staff put into the programme.

2 – Gifts from President and First Lady Obama

Receiving six Mac laptops from the President and First Lady as part of the Royal Charitable Gift Fund was amazing. This gift is a great help to Coordinators and International Fellows in the daily running of the programme.

1 – The Prince William and Catherine Middleton, Royal Charitable Gift Fund

To be a part of this fund is and honor and to be recognized for all the efforts that PPI-NI puts into its core mission is overwhelming. All staff, board members and friends off PPI-NI are very thankful for contributions like this one, that help develop and improve our programme.

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by | January 4, 2012 · 2:36 pm

Game of Three Halves at Belfast’s Hydebank Young Offenders Centre


Last semester, PPI-NI hosted the Game of Three Halves with 23 youth offenders at the Hydebank Wood correctional facility in south Belfast. Teaming up with the Irish Football Association, Ulster Rugby, and the Ulster Gaelic Athletic Association, PeacePlayers spent the day facilitating community relations discussions while two teams of teenaged boys played soccer, rugby, and gaelic football. When asked for feedback about the event, one of the participants said:

“Making contacts with outside clubs may help people stay out of trouble. Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day and I would love to do it again.”

The partnership between PPI-NI and Hydebank was forged with the help of PPI-NI Board Chairman Trevor Ringland. The Game of Three Halves at the correctional facility was a great opportunity for PPI-NI to speak about how to maintain peace in the sectarian neighborhoods from which many of the boys come. PPI-NI continues to expand its peacebuilding efforts in Northern Ireland and the Game of Three Halves at Hydebank exemplifies this initiative.

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by | December 14, 2011 · 2:34 pm

The Game of Three Halves Festivities

This winter's Game of Three Halves Groups

Over the past week PPI-NI has worked with 180 young people from across Northern Ireland and Ireland, delivering The Game of Three Halves (GO3H). In partnership with The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), The Irish Football Association (IFA) and Ulster Rugby, PPI-NI has finished the December run of GO3H events as part of a new programme with Young Enterprise Northern Ireland (YENI).

Coach Darryl teaches Community Relations lessons.

The GO3H is an exciting initiative that gives young people, in particular, the opportunity to try a sport that they may not have been able to play in the past. The promotion of diversity through sport is at the heart of PPI-NI, and this gives us the chance to show young people that sport is open to all, no matter what age, gender, religion or race you are.

Over the past two weeks we have worked on three GO3H events in Omagh, challenging the young people’s perceptions of sport in Northern Ireland. They get a chance to learn some skills, play matches against each other but also have a separate space to discuss the significance of what the day is all about, and breakdown barriers preventing them from participating in all sports.

Each group provides a new perspective on sport in Northern Ireland, and the sharing of opinions and ideas about sport for good is what the GO3H is all about.

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by | August 17, 2011 · 1:27 pm

Partner Spotlight: Good Relations Between Irish Football Association and PPI-NI

Today, we give you a closer look at the Irish Football Association, one of PeacePlayers International’s partner organizations for the Game of Three Halves. 

A recent IFA game, Northern Ireland vs. Faroe Islands, held at Windsor Park in Belfast.

The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body in the soccer world of Northern Ireland; its main responsibilities include overseeing association-level soccer in the six counties. In addition to its role within the soccer community, IFA is well known and respected for its community relations work and commitment to curbing sectarianism that is often found in sports within Northern Ireland.

Recently, PPI-NI partnered up with IFA, in addition to Ulster Rugby and the Ulster Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), to deliver the first-ever Game of Three Halves at Ballysillan Leisure Centre in north Belfast. IFA has been an integral part of the development of the game, which aims to bring together children from both sides of the divide in Northern Ireland to experience sports that have been historically separated.

Michael Boyd, Head of Community Relations for IFA, says:

“The IFA’s partnership with PeacePlayers, the Ulster GAA and Ulster Rugby via the Game of Three Halves is a very positive development which is supporting all the partners to further use sport as a hook to promote good relations in Northern Ireland, challenging sectarianism and racism. Through this partnership, we are all reaching further than ever to promote respect for diversity and create sustainable links to foster new friendships that otherwise would simply not be possible.”

PPI-NI International Fellow Meghan Houlihan supports IFA by rooting for the Northern Ireland national team at a recent Euro 2012 qualifying game.

Last week, the Northern Ireland national team took on the Faroe Islands in a Euro 2012 qualifying game. Many thanks to IFA for inviting PPI-NI to attend! International Fellows Shannon Brown and Meghan Houlihan braved the stormy night to watch Northern Ireland win 4-0. The highlight of the evening wasn’t the awesome cheers, the four goals, or the sold-out crowd’s energy: the best part of the night was seeing the signs supporting anti-sectarianism around the field. Slogans like “Love football, hate bigotry,” and “Football for all: giving sectarianism the boot” could be seen from all over Windsor Park’s stadium.

Kudos to IFA for their involvement in promoting peace in Northern Ireland! Keep an eye on PPI-NI’s blog posts in the coming weeks to learn more about the Game of Three Halves and the involvement of Ulster Rugby and Ulster GAA.

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by | August 3, 2011 · 1:14 pm

Summer Downtime?

This week brings a summer update from PPI-NI’s Managing Director, Gareth Harper:

PPI-NI Managing Director Gareth Harper.

Traditionally the summer months (July and August) for the PeacePlayers program in Northern Ireland have represented a quieter period.  Mirroring the academic calendar, our annual Twinning, Cross-Community League and Leadership Development programs, are pretty much all wound up by the end of June. You’d be forgiven then for thinking that the team here in Belfast would be less busy over the summer months…  think again!

With the schools closed and our kids enjoying the ‘glorious Northern Ireland summer weather,’ the PPI-NI team have been busy planning and preparing for the new program year.

Curricula have been revised and visas renewed, budgets agreed and new appeals for funding support submitted.  Our accounts have been independently audited and our programmes externally evaluated.  We have made new friends and established exciting new collaborative opportunities.  Further, our Open College Network courses and accrediting status were awarded a clean bill of health by the external verifier.  New coaches have been recruited and induction and training sessions have been planned.  We have facilitated ‘Super Twinning‘s’ and ‘Summer Schemes’ and thrown in the inaugural Game of Three Halves for good measure.

Summer downtime… ha!   Here’s looking forward to September and some quieter times ahead; not likely, but sure it’d be no fun if it were any other way.

Sweet to the beat.

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by | July 20, 2011 · 1:58 pm

PPI-NI Rocks the Whiterock Summer Scheme

Rory O'Neil and Whiterock kids strike a pose.

The successful Game of Three Halves event on July 6th brought a busy 2010-2011 programme year to a close. All of our primary school twinnings, cross-community leagues, coaches’ trainings, and residentials have ended until the fall, when we will resume regular programme activity.

Joanne Fitzpatrick and a Whiterock girl have fun during their summer scheme.

However, PPI-NI doesn’t just sit around our office staring at the wall waiting for September.  A lot of the community centres with which PPI-NI works in its Cross-Community League and Leadership Development Programme host summer schemes for the youth in their area. Whiterock Leisure Centre in West Belfast is currently running a summer scheme and asked if PeacePlayers could provide a few coaches to teach their kids the game of basketball…we couldn’t refuse.

This past week, International Fellow Rory O’Neil and Local Coordinator Joanne Fitzpatrick spent several days running kids through PPI-NI drills and games at Whiterock Leisure Centre. Games teaching kids defense, dribbling, passing, and everyone’s favorite, shooting, were enjoyed by 40 kids as young as 5 and as old 16 years old.

The Whiterock kids practice their favorite activity: shooting!

PPI-NI’s relationship with Whiterock goes back several years and one can clearly see the close relationship we have developed with the Centre, its staff, and the kids by looking at their representation throughout our programmes. Participants young and old from Whiterock attended this year’s CCL program in both the Fall and Spring sessions. In fact, the high scorer of the Fall CCL was Sean Paul ‘S.P.’ Thompson from Whiterock!  At every PPI-NI tournament, dozens of kids from Whiterock attend, not only as participants, but also as junior coaches and volunteers. Perhaps most importantly, every tournament, Whiterock Leader Sean ‘Topper’ Thompson (S.P.’s father) brings along his DJ equipment and keeps the tournament rocking all afternoon.

Thank you Whiterock for inviting us to take part in your summer scheme and thank you for being such great supporters of PeacePlayers International-Northern Ireland!

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by | July 13, 2011 · 7:42 am

PPI-NI North Belfast Schools Collaborate at Game of Three Halves

On Wednesday, July 6th, 2011, PeacePlayers International-Northern Ireland partnered with the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the Irish Football Association (IFA) and Ulster Rugby for the North Belfast Game of Three Halves at Ballysillian Leisure Centre.

Pupils from PPI-NI's North Belfast School playing gaelic football, soccer and rugby.

This event gave young people from both of the major traditions in North Belfast the opportunity to participate in the three most popular sports in Northern Ireland, some of which they may or may not have played before. All of the participating organizations and PPI-NI designed the event to create a safe and inclusive environment for the young people to play Gaelic Football, Soccer and Rugby, as well as participate in PPI-NI teambuilding and community relations activities.

Leadership Development Program Coordinator, Darryl Petticrew, led the participants in two community relations discussions. The first was Thoughts Passing and Perfect Teammate Qualities. The second CR discussion, Perfect Teammate Qualities(as shown in the above picture), asked the participants what their ideal qualities of a soccer player, rugby player, gaelic player and a basketball player would be.

Leadership Development Programme Coordinator Darryl Petticrew led PPI-NI's Community Relations discussion, Perfect Teammate Qualities.

Participants had to discuss which was more important if they were friendly or tall, a good-shooter or a good teammate or whether religion played an important role. The North Belfast children posed some interesting questions and learned a lot from each other.

Game of Three Halves participants were joined by some local celebrities on the day, including US Consul General, Kamala S. Lakhdhi, who took some time to meet some of the children and the coaches of the three sports. One of the North Belfast pupils had a profound question to ask the US Consul General: “Do you eat hamburgers?”. The answer was extremely important as it was a debated point during the First Thoughts discussion, as many of the participants supported the stereotype of “ALL American’s eat hamburgers”.

Game of Three Halves participants pictures with US Consul General, Kamala S. Lakhdhi.

The day was rounded up with a presentation ceremony for the winners of the Spirit and Hustle Awards, compered (hosted) by PPI-NI Chairman and Irish rugby legend, Trevor Ringland. The awards were presented by local sports personalities from Cliftonville FC, Ulster Rugby and Antrim GAA.

The unique dynamic served as a celebration of sport in Northern Ireland and helped develop positive relations between all of the young people involved, most of whom participate in PPI-NI’s Twinning Program.

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