Ulster Rugby vs Edinburgh

ULSTER RUGBY OPENS DCAL-FUNDED COMMUNITY GYMS PROVINCE-WIDE

Over the past year Ulster Rugby has installed equipment into 12 community gyms, with another three due to be completed in the coming months.

COMMUNITY GYM

“One of our primary organisational goals is to enhance opportunities for physical activity among all age groups and I believe the installation of both indoor and outdoor equipment at the 15 locations is a key factor in allowing us to increase opportunities for people to engage with fitness and rugby sessions. “I’d like to thank the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure for their continued support in helping us expand rugby in both traditional and non-traditional areas.” The support from DCAL has also enabled Ulster Rugby to provide greater fitness and conditioning support to schools and rugby clubs. Chris added: “The Fitness Development stream within Ulster Rugby started off as me on my own and now we have five staff which is fantastic. We’re driving new initiatives all the time to try to get people moving and enjoying being active. A recent example was the four week female bootcamps which we ran at four clubs across the Province as a pilot scheme. It was a huge success and that is the kind of thing we’ll be looking to develop more in the future.”

The facilities, funded to the tune of £340,000 by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) through the ‘Promoting Equality, Tackling Poverty and Social Exclusion through Sport’ programme, have been opened at community groups, schools and rugby clubs across the Province. Parkhall Integrated College, Ballybeen Mens Motivational Group, Strabane Academy, Shaw’s Bridge Associataion and Rainey Old Boys RFC are among the organisations to have benefited from the installation of equipment. Ulster Rugby is also working closely with the venues to up-skill volunteer fitness coaches to ensure the project is sustainable. The gyms, which include equipment that’s suitable for males and females of all ages, will be opened up for community use. The man coordinating the initiative, Ulster Rugby’s Fitness Education Manager, Chris Shields, is pleased with the progress being made: “We’re delighted to be able to contribute to the provision of top class facilities to communites right across Ulster.

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ULSTER RUGBY