Ulster Rugby Annual Report 2015 - 2016

Since April 2015, Ulster Rugby has recruited 102 new volunteers across 12 programmes. The ongoing support of volunteers across the province has been delivered through a range of Club Development workshops. Topics covered include Safeguarding; — — Volunteer Succession Planning; — — Ground staff Training (in partnership with Greenmount College); — — How to Make Things Happen in Your Rugby Club; — — How to Best Operate as a CASC or Charity and Maximise your Income Through Gift Aid; Player Recruitment and Retention; — — Facility Development. In addition, development staff hosted training for new Honorary Secretaries and facilitated an Honorary Secretary Forum in Kingspan followed by 3 Regional Forums. Through these workshops and direct support to club volunteers, development staff have engaged with close to 350 volunteers from 26 clubs. Whilst the content of these workshops is always praised by those attending, by far the biggest challenge remains in getting more volunteers from more clubs to engage with these training opportunities. The Ulster Branch also introduced 3 new awards to recognise the contribution that volunteers make to the game. The Ulster Rugby Unsung Hero Award went to Arthur James of Larne RFC, the Ulster Rugby Club and Community Volunteer Award went to Brian McNally of Innishowen RFC and the Ulster Rugby Inspiring Young Volunteer Award went to Áine Doran from Randalstown RFC. The recipients were invited as guests to the Leinster game at Kingspan Stadium and were presented with their awards by the President during the pre-match function. Funding and Initiatives The Domestic Game continues to receive funding from a number of different sources to assist with the delivery of various programmes in line with our overall objectives for the game in Ulster. The IRFU, through an annual service level agreement, continues to be the single largest funder of the domestic game. This funding supports a significant number of development officers who are distributed across the province. This funding is supplemented by the following bodies who also directly support the employment of dedicated development staff:- — — Sport Northern Ireland – ‘Performance Focus’ programme which supports 2 posts within the Domestic Game and 2 posts with the Ulster Rugby Academy. — — Department for Social Development - “Sport, A Home for Lifelong Volunteering” (April 2015 – March 2016), now in its fourth year has been a significant success for Ulster Rugby.  The aim of the project is to design and deliver volunteer, club and community development programmes across the three largest governing bodies of sport in Northern Ireland. In addition, other funds have been accessed throughout the year to support the delivery of specific projects.

These have included:-  — — Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure - “Promoting Equality, Tackling Poverty and Social Exclusion” (January – March 2016). The overall purpose of this project was to increase participation in rugby union among females and people with disabilities.  Key achievements of the programme included: » » 5 community gyms installed – Ballynahinch RFC, Enniskillen RFC, Carrickfergus RFC, City of Derry RFC and Grosvenor Community Centre » » 12 new female (U12) teams established » » 214 new female club players » » 1645 overall participants engaged in activity » » 1375 female participants engaged in activity » » 270 disability participants engaged » » 21 new disability club players — — OFMDFM “Try Rugby Values” (January – March 2016) . The aim of the programme was to engage with young people from diverse backgrounds within marginalised communities and bring them together in a series of activities that would promote good relations, respect and exclusivity. 694 Key Stage 3 pupils across 27 different schools from the Extended Schools Programme took part in the cross- community activity which included schools from different backgrounds linking together and taking a tour of the Kingspan Stadium, a visit to the Nevin Spence Centre and participation in a curriculum based good relations workshop. — — Public Health Agency “Health and Well-being Pilot Week” (February/March 2016). Kingspan Stadium played host to a community health and well-being week for non-traditional rugby schools, focussed at Key Stage 3 pupils.  270 young people attended the project, benefiting from presentations and activities focused on nutrition, physical health and positive mental health.  — — Public Health Agency “Get Fit with Ulster Rugby Bootcamps” (January – March 2016). 123 females across 4 rugby clubs participated in a physical activity programme offering opportunities for females to increase awareness of good nutrition, In December, Ulster Rugby, the Irish FA and Ulster GAA launched the ‘Sport Uniting Communities Strategic Framework’ document. The partnership between the 3 largest sporting governing bodies recognises the collective objectives across areas such as community development, good relations, club and volunteer development and acknowledges the strategic value and impact of working together.  With support from the Public Health Agency, Ulster Rugby launched its first ever Health and Wellbeing Strategy entitled ‘Rugby at the Heart of the Community’ . Ulster Rugby recognises the significant health benefits associated with participation and involvement in Rugby Union. Ulster Rugby is committed develop physical health, connect with other participants from a range of backgrounds and develop links with their local rugby club.

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