Following on from Ulster Rugby's Volunteers' Week celebrations, we will be continuing to profile some of the outstanding rugby volunteers and highlight the tremendous work carried out by them.

In this week's profile we will focus on Aine Doran, Public Relations Officer for the Youth section of Randalstown RFC.

Aine, a 21-year-old student at QUB, has been involved with Randalstown RFC for the past two years, as a result of supporting her younger brother who has played for the club for a number of years.

As PRO, Aine attends the club's monthly committee meetings and ensures all club games, fundraising, social and other events are well publicised in local media and in particular through the local newspaper for whom she provides weekly club notes. Aine also ensures the club website and social media channels are used as much as possible to keep players and parents informed of activities and developments within the Youth and Ladies sections of the club.

Aine is a keen rugby player herself, and plays for the club's Senior Ladies team, where she also fulfils the roles of Team Manager and Assistant Coach. So when she isn't focused on playing, Aine will also be managing the organisation of teams, referees, medical provision and organising training sessions.

In addition to all this, Aine is also the Team Manager for the Randalstown boys U18 team and coach of the club's Mini Rugby (P1 & P2) section.

While some may think devoting so much time to volunteering would be too much, Aine is keen to stress that she also gets a lot in return:

"I love that through my volunteering I can be a part of helping young people get involved with the sport they love and have the best experiences possible. I've enjoyed some fantastic experiences in my short time volunteering, in particular from seeing the growth in confidence of our U18 girls after they played their first game. It gave me an immense feeling of pride."

As Aine notes, there is a great emphasis of volunteering at Randalstown RFC and it is paying great dividends for the club:

"Randalstown Rugby Club has a great family and community atmosphere to it. All the sections of the club - Minis, Youth, Seniors and Ladies - work together to get the best out of the club. The club is player orientated, with the focus of every volunteer being to help people play and enjoy rugby. Volunteers and players support each other through both the good and challenging times."

Aine is pictured with IRFU Ulster Branch President Bobby Stewart, receiving her Ulster Rugby Inspiring Young Volunteer Award for 2015-16.

If you would like to get involved in volunteering at your local club or would like to be featured in our Volunteer Focus series please contact Kerry Spence, Ulster Rugby Volunteer and Policy Development Officer on volunteer@ulsterrugby.com

Volunteer Focus: Aine Doran (Randalstown RFC)

Related Articles

Club partners