Battalion Blog

2nd Limavady Boys' Brigade Company invites you to Songs of Praise in 2nd Limavady Presbyterian Church on Sunday 13th November 2011 at 7.00pm. Congregational singing will be interspersed with choral items from the Boys’ Brigade, Girls’ Brigade, Church Choir and 1st Dunboe ‘1980s’ Choir. A light supper will be served in the Church Hall after the service. The collection will be in aid of BB Funds and the Church Property Fund

BB Connect empowers, develops and connects young people throughout The Boys’ Brigade in Northern Ireland. We aim to retain, equip and support the young leaders of the Brigade and allow them to help make the decisions which shape the Brigade now and in the future. BB Members and Leaders aged 16-30 Fun & Friendship Challenge & Adventure International Teams & Projects Training opportunities - (unique/exclusive/specifically for BB Connect Members) Opportunity to represent BB Connect at all decision making levels within The Boy’s Brigade More information... 

The Junior Section Northern Ireland Quiz Kids registration is due by Monday 19th of September at Rathmore House. The Competition will be held on Friday 7th October 2011 at 7.30 in Limavady.

Congratulations to the following young men and their officers on the achievement of The Boys' Brigade's premier award - The Queen's Badge, during the 2010-2011 session. Mark Irwin  (1st Balteagh) Stewart Love  (1st Balteagh) Michael Smyth  (1st Balteagh) Christy Gregg  (2nd Coleraine) Gavin Harvey  (2nd Coleraine) Graham Hunter  (2nd Coleraine) Gary Simpson  (2nd Coleraine) Gavin Darragh  (5th Coleraine) Richard McMaster (5th Coleraine) Matthew Graham  (1st Dunboe) Glen Armstrong  (1st Garvagh) Jonathan Clyde  (1st Garvagh) Alan Moore  (1st Garvagh) Michael Torrens (1st Garvagh) Steven Alcorn  (2nd limavady) Iain Archibald  (2nd limavady) David Kingsbury  (2nd limavady) Steven Montgomery  (2nd limavady) Connor Richmond  (2nd limavady) Brandon Sayer  (2nd limavady) David Thompson (2nd limavady) Matthew Brown (1st Tamlaght O’Crilly)  

1st Garvagh Boys Brigade travelled to Donegal on the 5th March 2011 to take on 1st Letterkenny in the Irish National Badminton Finals. The contest consisted of 6 double pairings and Garvagh looked to be in trouble when the hosts took an early 2-1 lead. However the Garvagh Boys were not to be denied and took the next 3 matches to run out 4-2 winners in a marathon 3 hour match which saw the fortunes swing back and forward and which had the spectators on the edge of their seats throughout. The trophy was presented to the Alan Moore by Maurice Wray , the 1st Letterkenny BB Company Captain, who commented on the high standard of badminton from both teams and the excellent level of Sportsmanship throughout the match. Both teams can now look forward to the Boys' Brigade British Finals to be held in London on the 30th of April 2011. With the Coleraine Battalion title and the Irish National title secured , 1st Garvagh hope to add the Northern Ireland title to their list of achievements wh

The divisions for the 2010-2011 Session were:- DIVISION 1 The Division 1 competition was held in the Jim Watt Leisure Centre Garvagh. Each team competed against each other in a round robin event, which saw 1st Garvagh come out the eventual winners with a total of 16points. 1st Ballywatt and 5th Coleraine came in equal second with 10 points. 1st Ballywatt 2nd Coleraine 5th Coleraine 1st Garvagh DIVISION 2 The Division 2 competition was held in the St Patricks Church Hall. Again each team competed against each other in a round robin event, which saw 2nd Limavady come out the eventual winners. 1st Coleraine 1st Drumachose 1st Kilrea 2nd Limavady

23 boys from 5 different Companies took part in the Annual Orienteering Competition held in the grounds of the University of Ulster Coleraine . The competition was held in conjunction with the North West Orienteering Club who had organised 3 separate courses on the University Campus. The Club provided the electronic tags for each boy which allowed full print outs of times at each Check point and Total finish time. Thanks to the Mark Hudson from the North West Orienteering Club for all his help and support during the day. The team event saw each of the 3 team members competing on one of the 3 Courses, with the total cumulative time determining the winner of the team event. 1st Balteagh won the competition with an Impressive total time of 68.82mins for the 3 team members, Michael Smyth of 1st Balteagh coming in with a very fast individual time of 19.41mins to take the Individual Senior award. Wesley McCartney of 1st Coleraine posted the fastest U-15 time of 25mins to take the Individ

Situated just 5 miles from the spectacular North Coast is a purpose built climbing wall set in it’s own area of the Coleraine Scout Hall. Changing facilities showers catering area. Car parking. Height 6m width 12m (approx) 10 routes currently. Direct route traverse and overhang sections. Fully equipped, certified guides and instructors. H&S approved, full insurance provided. Ropes liners and helmets on site. Available to pre book for parties of 10 and over. Evenings and weekends. Excellent kitchen and changing facilities on site. Drinks included. Prepare and serve your own hot or cold refreshments. Costs £50 per 3 hour session for 10 people with full supervision and first aid in attendance. £5 per person for a further 10 to 30 climbers. Discounts available for block or repeat bookings.Contact us on colerainescouting@gmail.com for full information.

A reminder about updated details for this year's Battalion Orienteering competition at the University of Ulster, Coleraine Sports Centre. Time: 1.45 pm sharp  Entry Fee : £ 2.00 per boy Teams : Open Competition. (3 Boys per team). Single entries are also welcome,there will be an award for the Best Individual score as well as the Team award. All entries will be accepted on the day of the Event. Please wear suitable clothing and footwear. Each Company to provide at least one Officer for the competition. Email: coleraine@boys-brigade.org.uk

8 teams from 5 different Companies took part in the Coleraine Battalion Masterteams Competition held in Terrace Row Presbyterian Church Coleraine. With Mr Paul Ballentine in the Quiz Master’s Chair, the boys answered questions on a wide range of topics. After the nine designated rounds, 5th Coleraine were the convincing winners with 1st Garvagh runners-up some 8 points behind. Thanks to all you took part in an enjoyable evening and thanks to Terrance Row Church for hosting the event. Battalion Chaplain Rev Ivan Hunter presented the trophy to the winners – 5th Coleraine. Teams 5th Coleraine a/b/c/d 1st Coleraine 2nd Coleraine 1st Ballywatt 1st Garvagh

11 teams took part in the Junior Section Five -a- Side Competition held at the University of Coleraine. After the completion of the Group stage games, 1st Garvagh, 5th Coleraine, 1st Macosquin and 1st Drumachose qualified for the Semi-Finals. In the first Semi-final, 1st Garvagh and 1st Macosquin played out an entertaining scoreless draw and with the game remaining scoreless after extra time; it was left to penalties to decide the winner. With 1st Garvagh winning the penalty shoot-out by 2 – 1. In the second Semi-final 1st Drumachose beat 5th Coleraine by 1-0. The Final between 1st Garvagh and 1st Drumachose was a tense affair with few scoring chances at either end and the game looked to be edging towards a penalty shoot-out; however with 30seconds left on the clock Griffin Philipson scored with a fine low shot to seal the victory for 1st Garvagh. Thanks to all the teams who took part, thanks to Mr Robert Black for refereeing and to Mr Lex Smith who organized the Draw and the sm

Entries for this year's Masterteam competition must be received by John McFadden (1st Garvagh) by Saturday 22nd January 2011. Masterteam 2011 Date : Thursday 27th January 2011. Time : 7.30 pm sharp. Entry Fee : Free Teams : Open Competition ( 4 Boys per team). Each Company to provide at least one Officer for the competition. Competition Organiser : John McFadden via coleraine@boys-brigade.org.uk

The Coleraine & District Battalion Company Section 5-a-side Football competition took place in December at the University of Ulster at Coleraine. Junior: U-15 Section 16 teams took part in the Junior U-15 Competition, which was divided into 4 groups and after the completion of the Group stage games, 1st Garvagh, 5th Coleraine, 1st Kilrea and 1st Coleraine qualified for the Semi-Finals as group winners. In the first Semi-final, 1st Garvagh edged out 5th Coleraine by 1-0, Ryan Hargy scoring for Garvagh but Jamie Cunningham the Garvagh goalkeeper had to make a series of fine saves to keep Coleraine out. In the second Semi-final with 5 secs left on the clock 1st Coleraine goal scored the only goal of the game to knock out 1st Kilrea. The Final between 1st Garvagh and 5th Coleraine was a tense affair with few scoring chances and finished 0-0 after full time with 1st Garvagh winning the resulting Penalty Shoot-Out by 3-1. Senior: U-18 Section 10 teams took part in the Senior C