Ulster Rugby - Annual Report 2017-18

submit a report of their conclusions, including any recommendations, to the Rugby Committee by the end of the season. — (iii) Volunteering – Operationalize the recommendations brought forward by the Volunteering working party in 2016/2017. This group worked to deliver volunteer succession planning workshops, in collaboration with staff, to build future capacity within Clubs and Schools. It also sought to decrease the burden on existing volunteers. Rugby Projects (Health & Well-being) Player welfare continues to be a significant issue within the game. In May 2016, the Ulster Branch established a ‘safety of the game committee’ to oversee player welfare in Ulster. The committee was made up of staff from across the organisation as well as representatives from the Club and School games. Over the course of the last twenty-four months the Ulster Branch has produced a Provincial Player Welfare Plan. This has linked various national and provincial initiatives to ensure that activities are delivered and communicated in a co-ordinated way. The plan is also closely aligned to the existing IRFU coach and referee education pathways. The number and range of activities, as well as the number of participants, is listed in the table below: Area of Focus Activity No. of Courses No. of Participants Concussion IRFU Coaching 12 291

necessary for the Ulster Branch to undertake a full review prior to the completion of that of the IRFU. THE DOMESTIC GAME Domestic Rugby The 2017/18 season has been an eventful one across the province in the Domestic Game. It has been a ground-breaking year in Women’s rugby, with the provincial landscape growing rapidly as a legacy of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, while Mini rugby across the province continues to flourish. Schools rugby remains strong, with thirty four Schools playing each weekend, providing a quality environment for young men to learn the game. Challenges remain in both Youth rugby and in the adult male game, but a strong network of Club officials work tirelessly to meet these challenges head on. An enormous breadth of work has been undertaken within the Domestic game in Ulster, led by the many volunteers in Clubs and Schools who have worked side by side with Domestic Rugby Staff in order to provide countless opportunities within the game. Rugby Committee At the start of the season the Rugby Committee established three working parties. Their tasks were to consider and make recommendations for 2018/19 around three key strategic areas which had been identified. These were (i) Adult competition Structures, (ii) Volunteering and (iii) Age grade rugby. Each of the working parties included a combination of Ulster Rugby staff, members of the Rugby Committee and volunteers from Clubs and Schools. Summaries of their terms of reference and recommendation are as follows. — (i) Adult Competition Structures – Consider the existing playing structures for rugby in Ulster and provide recommendations to the Rugby Committee regarding any necessary changes or adaptations to allow for greater access to the game. The group identified a number of areas on which they chose to focus. These included the interfaces between the Championship and Provincial Leagues and between the Provincial and Regional Leagues. Additionally consideration was given to the promotion of game variations such as X7’s and U20s, the current regulations around the reinstatement of players and the format of Regional Cup competitions. — (ii) Age Grade rugby – Examine the infrastructure for age grade rugby in Ulster and provide recommendations to the Rugby Committee regarding any necessary changes or adaptations to improve the experience of age grade rugby for young participants. The group agreed that a large- scale consultation was required. Key stakeholders across the wider rugby family were invited to submit their thoughts. Input to this consultation process was therefore received from Club officials, teachers, Branch staff, coaches, administrators, parents and players to help build a comprehensive picture for the future development of age grade rugby. This information was then considered by independent consultants ‘Inside Track’, who were engaged to

Courses – online modules Concussion Seminars

4 4

106 84

Concussion SAFE Rugby Courses

Medical Conference

1

45

Medical Professionals (club & school doctors and physios)

In line with Ulster Rugby’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy, ‘Rugby at the Heart of the Community’ and as a result of a number of successful funding applications, the following Health and Wellbeing initiatives were rolled out across the province: — ‘UR Game’ - Five Groups undertook a prolonged period of rugby based physical activity sessions across numerous sites within the Greater Belfast area (Hydebank College, three x East /West Belfast and Tullycarnet). Each programme linked back to a proximal Rugby Club. — ‘Walking Rugby’ groups comprising males and females of sixty years plus engaged in weekly sessions at Lough Moss Leisure Centre and Leisure-

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