Ulster Rugby Annual Report 2015 - 2016

Course /Stage

Number of

Number of Attendee Coaches

NEVIN SPENCE CENTRE The Nevin Spence Centre was officially opened by members of the Spence Family and the DCAL Minister Carál Ní Chuilín in August 2015. Including pre-opening test visits, over 7,000 visitors have had the opportunity to experience the centre and associated tours of the Kingspan Stadium. The majority of visitors to date have been from schools with many of the school children taking the opportunity to participate in one of the themed workshops on offer. A number of special evening events have also been hosted at the centre, with the most popular being the ‘An evening with’ series which has given visitors the opportunity to meet with some of their favourite players in a more relaxed setting. Funding through the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister as well as the Public Health Agency, has allowed the centre to reach out to school groups that may not usually have had the opportunity to visit the Kingspan Stadium. These programmes resulted in over 1000 pupils from 40 different schools being given an insight into the game as well as the various aspects of Ulster Rugby which they may not have previously considered. Over the course of the next 12 months the focus will be on increasing visitor numbers targeting both the schools market and more casual tours as well as looking to maximize the opportunity to increase visitor numbers on match nights. Considerable thanks are due to Chris Webster and the domestic rugby staff. As has been evidenced in the report above, they do a tremendous job covering a range of activities and services for the benefit of our clubs and schools. The Ulster Branch is very appreciative of all their efforts and commitment.

Courses

Lep

3 5 4 2

50

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3

152 124

48

Totals

14

374

In addition to the delivery of formal coaching courses, coaches have been supported in their development through staff support and delivery of workshops on various areas of the game. Development staff have worked closely with coaches in the Academy and Professional Game to develop appropriate content. In total staff have supported 1053 contact opportunities with coaches to assist their ongoing development. As a result of working closely with clubs the retention and recruitment of coaches has been identified as an area for further support. Discipline It is pleasing to report that there has been a significant decrease in the number of disciplinary hearings this year, especially as the previous season had reached a 6 year high. Incidents of referee abuse by players and officials have dramatically decreased, with only 2 case having to be dealt with by the Disciplinary Committee this season. There were a small number of further reported cases of referee abuse which clubs dealt with themselves in a more than acceptable manner. Hopefully next season we can fulfil our ambition of having zero cases of referee abuse. As reported elsewhere, the number of youth fixtures is increasing and in light of this growth it is important to recognise the significant decrease in discipline cases involving youth players. Indeed the number of cases heard by the committee involving youth players is at an all-time low. Overall the issuing of red cards related to a range of offences with punching and striking being by far the most common. Sanctions ranged from ‘red card deemed sufficient’ to a 12 week ban. The following table shows the number of red cards issued in recent seasons

15 15

Year

Adult

Youth

Total

2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

42

6

48

30 (9) 44 (7) 28 (6) 25 (4) 41 (7) 29 (1)

17

47 (9) 53 (7) 38 (6) 39 (4) 54 (8) 35 (2)

9

10 14

13 (1)

6 (1)

(Figures in brackets are cases of Referee abuse)