5th Ballymena St Columba's Cubs

27/05/2026

NI Cub Jamboree 110 is in the bag and what a blast the cubs had over 3 days at Crawfordsburn Scout Centre.

Adventure was the name of the game with two full days packed with activities plus the weather was amazing 🤩

Truly an experience of a lifetime with over 500 cubs onsite, this is one camp which will be hard to forget.

23/02/2026

Scout leaders from across the district have just spent a fantastic weekend in the Mournes preparing for their upcoming hill walking assessment.
Navigating at night & camping and hiking in pretty high winds - all whilst under the watchful eye of their instructors.
The call to adventure isn’t for everyone, but the rewards are truly great for those who dare. Scouts NI 🤩👍

04/02/2026

30/01/2026

28/01/2026

A fantastic evening spent with nearly all of our cubs learning the fast paced game of Squash courtesy of Ballymena Squash Club 😃- some great skills on display that evening & a massive thankyou to everyone involved.

On Thursday 15 January Ballymena Squash Club welcomed St 5th Ballymena St Columba's Cubs to the courts in Seven Towers Leisure Centre:) for a Squash Taster. 25 cubs descended the stairs after cheering Stephen Smyth and Hugo Carlin on from the viewing balcony as they finished their match on court 2. I don't think I've ever heard so much excitement in the squash annex before 🤔.

Thanks to the cub leaders Nic Dallat, Mia McCarthy and Rebecca Clarke (included in the photo) and Helen Weir for supporting the evening and to David Pearson (Ballymena Squash club) for his ongoing support in the delivery of these crucial taster sessions for the future of the sport in the area.

Last night we had 12 members enter the arenas (courts 1 and 2) including a new entry by Adam Paul, a promising looking talent with an infectious smile.

Top 10 attenders of all time now stand as follows:
56 - Geoff Smyth
47 - Hugo Carlin
46 - Stephen Smyth
46 - Robert Meban
44 - Tobias Kolb
42 - Sam Jackson
38 - Leslie Gordon
36 - Cliff Spiers
30 - Jonathan Workman
28 - Nigel Devine

Top 10 attenders for 2026 so far:
4 - Geoff Smyth
4 - Cliff Spiers
4 - Ric Gamble
3 - Nigel Devine
3 - Ben McKane Motion Physiotherapy
3 - Jonny Carty
3 - Alison Nicholl
2 - Hugo Carlin
2 - Stephen Smyth
2 - Tobias Kolb

We take a break from League fixtures this week, but they resume again next Tuesday.

We look forward to welcoming 3rd Ballymena West Church Cubs for a taster on Friday 6 February and Moorefields BB on Friday 20th February.

25/10/2025

As a group, we offer our deepest thoughts and prayers to Steve, Evan, Robin, and Leo at this very sad time following the passing of their beloved wife and mother, Pauline.

The Andrews family have been an important part of our Scout Group for many years, and Pauline was one of our greatest supporters. She was always among the first to sign the boys up for events, a friendly face at every quiz or fundraiser, and a constant source of encouragement to us all.

She will be greatly missed by everyone in our Scouting family.

Andrews Pauline Sarah (nee Browne) 22nd October 2025, peacefully, at Hospital, late of 7 Rathlin Drive, Ballymena. Much loved wife of Steve, devoted and loving mother of Evan, Robin and Leo, beloved daughter of Jim and Phyllis Browne, Ballyquin Road, Dungiven, devoted sister of Audrey, Helen, Janice, Philip and Judith and a dear sister-in-law and aunt. Funeral service in St Columba’s Church on Monday 27th October at 12 noon, interment afterwards Ballymena Cemetery. Family flowers only please, donations in lieu, if desired, may be sent to James Henry Funeral Services 100 Broughshane Street, Ballymena BT43 6EE for the Macmillan Unit, Antrim Area Hospital (please make cheques payable to N.H.S.C.T Charitable Trust Fund). Family and friends are welcome to call at 7 Rathlin Drive, Ballymena 3pm to 9pm on Friday 24th, Saturday 25th October and Sunday 26th October.
Lovingly remembered by her husband, sons, family and family circle.
“Greatly loved and now greatly missed”

23/10/2025

A fabulous time was had this evening as we saw 10 (yes 10 😮) new cubs were invested into 5th Ballymena.

An outstanding bunch of young people who have already fitted in perfectly to our section.

The future of Scouting in Ballymena is bright indeed 🤩

13/10/2025

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02/10/2025

Ice breakers and team challenge games got the year up and running last week before focusing on children’s mental health.

We are starting early to give cubs the tools to manage their emotional well-being, thinking about what makes us happy and sad and then what to do about it.

02/10/2025

This year we have seen a surge in Cub numbers and tonight we had almost 30 in the hall for the first time.

We started with a classic game of conkers then split to work on our communication, cooking and gaming skills.

Fabulous to see so many Cubs learning new skills & great to have a new team of volunteers to guide them. 👍