Here is a round-up of some of the recent Club and Community activities from across the Province...
SONI Community Rugby Champions awards to honour Club Volunteers
The first SONI Community Rugby Champions Award is set to be handed out at tonight’s Ulster Rugby Awards Dinner, with four shortlisted finalists aiming to take home a £1000 bursary for their club. Each runner-up will also receive £500.
Whittled down from a long list of worthy contenders are Grace Davitt of Cooke Women RFC, Ballymoney’s Katie Speers, Stephen Nutt from Ards and Willie Gribben of Portadown.
Grace Davitt is Head Coach of Cooke RFC and quotes her influence on the personal development of her players among her most enjoyable aspects of coaching: “You see these players develop into teenagers then young adults and then parents, it's great to think that you may have influenced them to make the right decisions in their life and instil in them skills including like teamwork, camaraderie, resilience, respect, pride, discipline, a work ethic and the ability to interact with others.”
Like many of our grassroots volunteers, Katie Speers wears a number of hats when it comes to her roles within the club, including minis coach, head of fundraising and first aid officer: “As I have matured, my vision for the club has also grown, encouraging me to fulfil the various roles I hold. The success of the events I have previously co -ordinated has given me an appetite to organise more, drawing new faces into the club.”
Stephen Nutt is currently Director of Rugby at Ards RFC, and he also takes great satisfaction from watching how rugby can positively impact his local community: “Community rugby is what I'm all about, it's great to be able to do something positive with young players and see them progress from mini rugby to youth or school's rugby then to adult rugby.”
Willie Gribben is the founder and Chairman of Portadown Panthers, the club’s Learning Disability Tag Rugby team: “My inspiration comes from seeing people enjoy themselves, achieve things that they felt that they could never achieve and seeing growth in their self-esteem and confidence.”
Keep an eye on ulsterrugby.com for details of the inaugural SONI Community Rugby Champion, plus details of all the winners from the Ulster Rugby awards.
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Ballynahinch RFC - Kids in Sport Day
Ballynahinch Rugby Club's Ballymacarn Park echoed to the excited sounds of children having the time of their lives on Saturday 7th May as they took part in a series of special coaching sessions across three disciplines.
Senior Club officials including Chairman Philip Gregg and incoming President James Kerr joined experienced coaches from rugby, Gaelic football and golf for the Saturday morning event.
James, who coordinated the detailed planning of all the various sectors of the training, said it was wonderful to see so many primary school children from across the community enjoying themselves and being so enthusiastic in their willingness to experience new sports.
He explained that thanks to grant funding from the office of First and Deputy First Minister Ballynahinch Rugby Club was planning a summer training camp for older boys and girls as part of the Club in the Community initiative.
"Today we got the 'minis' together as part of our Club in the Community credentials. We have had a long term relationship with Drumaness GAA Club and we have close links with Spa Golf Club and that is something which we are keen to develop in the future," he said.
As the young sports stars relaxed with refreshments provided in the Clubhouse James revealed a return fixture would be held at Drumaness in September.
"This has been a great success and we are grateful to all the coaches and of course to the parents who brought the children along today - the enjoyment the kids got from it made it all worthwhile," he said.
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Club Physiotherapist required at Ballymoney RFC
Ballymoney RFC currently field four senior men’s teams and a ladies’ team - the 1st XV will compete in Ulster Branch Qualifying Section 3 next season. The club also have a vibrant youth section competing successfully at Under 18, Under 16 and Under 14 level, as well as mini / maxi’s.
Ballymoney RFC is currently recruiting for the position of Club Physiotherapist for the 2016-17 season.
Key Responsibilities:
• Provide accurate diagnosis and oversee treatment and rehabilitation of all club players.
• Formulate, co-ordinate and supervise rehabilitation programmes for allocated players.
• Liaise with the coaching staff regarding the progress of all injured players to ensure accurate injury information can be disseminated.
• Provide training and match day Physiotherapy cover to the senior squad, including away fixtures.
• To lead on developing injury prevention strategies based on current research and literature.
• To organize the medical equipment required.
• To carry out any other duties that may be required by management and are within the post-holders capabilities.
The Club Physiotherapist will report directly to the Head of Game Development and will work closely with the coaching staff.
The successful candidate will have access to a Physiotherapy room within the clubhouse that will be available to them for use with private clients, alongside their club duties.
The suitable individual will ideally meet the following specifications:
• Must be a fully qualified Physiotherapist (MCSP and HPC registered).
• Ideally have an interest in rugby football.
• Flexible availability (evening & weekends).
• Access to transport.
The remuneration package for this position will reflect the skills and experience of the successful candidate.
To apply or for more information please email your CV or questions to Club Secretary, John Hunter at johnhuntr@hotmail.com
The closing date for applications is Friday 27 May 2016 at 5.00pm.
SONI Community Rugby Champions awards to honour Club Volunteers
The first SONI Community Rugby Champions Award is set to be handed out at tonight’s Ulster Rugby Awards Dinner, with four shortlisted finalists aiming to take home a £1000 bursary for their club. Each runner-up will also receive £500.
Whittled down from a long list of worthy contenders are Grace Davitt of Cooke Women RFC, Ballymoney’s Katie Speers, Stephen Nutt from Ards and Willie Gribben of Portadown.
Grace Davitt is Head Coach of Cooke RFC and quotes her influence on the personal development of her players among her most enjoyable aspects of coaching: “You see these players develop into teenagers then young adults and then parents, it's great to think that you may have influenced them to make the right decisions in their life and instil in them skills including like teamwork, camaraderie, resilience, respect, pride, discipline, a work ethic and the ability to interact with others.”
Like many of our grassroots volunteers, Katie Speers wears a number of hats when it comes to her roles within the club, including minis coach, head of fundraising and first aid officer: “As I have matured, my vision for the club has also grown, encouraging me to fulfil the various roles I hold. The success of the events I have previously co -ordinated has given me an appetite to organise more, drawing new faces into the club.”
Stephen Nutt is currently Director of Rugby at Ards RFC, and he also takes great satisfaction from watching how rugby can positively impact his local community: “Community rugby is what I'm all about, it's great to be able to do something positive with young players and see them progress from mini rugby to youth or school's rugby then to adult rugby.”
Willie Gribben is the founder and Chairman of Portadown Panthers, the club’s Learning Disability Tag Rugby team: “My inspiration comes from seeing people enjoy themselves, achieve things that they felt that they could never achieve and seeing growth in their self-esteem and confidence.”
Keep an eye on ulsterrugby.com for details of the inaugural SONI Community Rugby Champion, plus details of all the winners from the Ulster Rugby awards.
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Ballynahinch RFC - Kids in Sport Day
Ballynahinch Rugby Club's Ballymacarn Park echoed to the excited sounds of children having the time of their lives on Saturday 7th May as they took part in a series of special coaching sessions across three disciplines.
Senior Club officials including Chairman Philip Gregg and incoming President James Kerr joined experienced coaches from rugby, Gaelic football and golf for the Saturday morning event.
James, who coordinated the detailed planning of all the various sectors of the training, said it was wonderful to see so many primary school children from across the community enjoying themselves and being so enthusiastic in their willingness to experience new sports.
He explained that thanks to grant funding from the office of First and Deputy First Minister Ballynahinch Rugby Club was planning a summer training camp for older boys and girls as part of the Club in the Community initiative.
"Today we got the 'minis' together as part of our Club in the Community credentials. We have had a long term relationship with Drumaness GAA Club and we have close links with Spa Golf Club and that is something which we are keen to develop in the future," he said.
As the young sports stars relaxed with refreshments provided in the Clubhouse James revealed a return fixture would be held at Drumaness in September.
"This has been a great success and we are grateful to all the coaches and of course to the parents who brought the children along today - the enjoyment the kids got from it made it all worthwhile," he said.
---
Club Physiotherapist required at Ballymoney RFC
Ballymoney RFC currently field four senior men’s teams and a ladies’ team - the 1st XV will compete in Ulster Branch Qualifying Section 3 next season. The club also have a vibrant youth section competing successfully at Under 18, Under 16 and Under 14 level, as well as mini / maxi’s.
Ballymoney RFC is currently recruiting for the position of Club Physiotherapist for the 2016-17 season.
Key Responsibilities:
• Provide accurate diagnosis and oversee treatment and rehabilitation of all club players.
• Formulate, co-ordinate and supervise rehabilitation programmes for allocated players.
• Liaise with the coaching staff regarding the progress of all injured players to ensure accurate injury information can be disseminated.
• Provide training and match day Physiotherapy cover to the senior squad, including away fixtures.
• To lead on developing injury prevention strategies based on current research and literature.
• To organize the medical equipment required.
• To carry out any other duties that may be required by management and are within the post-holders capabilities.
The Club Physiotherapist will report directly to the Head of Game Development and will work closely with the coaching staff.
The successful candidate will have access to a Physiotherapy room within the clubhouse that will be available to them for use with private clients, alongside their club duties.
The suitable individual will ideally meet the following specifications:
• Must be a fully qualified Physiotherapist (MCSP and HPC registered).
• Ideally have an interest in rugby football.
• Flexible availability (evening & weekends).
• Access to transport.
The remuneration package for this position will reflect the skills and experience of the successful candidate.
To apply or for more information please email your CV or questions to Club Secretary, John Hunter at johnhuntr@hotmail.com
The closing date for applications is Friday 27 May 2016 at 5.00pm.