21
ULSTER
RUGBY
ULSTER RUGBY OPENS DCAL-FUNDED
COMMUNITY GYMS PROVINCE-WIDE
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.
“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.”
COMMUNITY
GYM
Over the past year Ulster Rugby has installed equipment
into 12 community gyms, with another three due to be
completed in the coming months.
