For Volunteers Week 2020 (1 – 7 June), organised as a partnership between Volunteer Now in Northern Ireland alongside NCVO, Volunteer Scotland and Wales Council for Voluntary Action, Ulster Rugby will be showcasing some of our outstanding rugby volunteers and highlighting the great work carried out by these individuals across the province.
Rachel Smith: Queen's University Belfast Ladies' Treasurer
My role as treasurer is to manage the club account throughout the year, by maintaining the integrity and accurate recording of the club's financial position. Decisions on expenditure are made through the committee, and then I liaise with the finance office in the students' union to ensure all funds are spent appropriately. By regularly reporting on the club's financial position, I recommend actions on financial matters to the committee. I’m responsible for the collection of membership money and its prompt lodgement into the club account along with any other cash or cheques, for example money collected for buses. I keep up to date records on transactions whilst paying bills on behalf of the club and ensuring the payment of coaches and any competition fees. As a committee member, I have also represented the club at other events; for example, at the cup draw held at Kingspan Stadium.I have been a player at the club for many years, volunteering at the freshers' fair that the university holds amongst other events, but I wanted to get more involved in what goes on behind the scenes and to do my bit for my club. I love seeing the club grow and develop, bringing in new players.As a university side, every season we get new players that have maybe never even seen rugby so seeing them learn the game and begin to love rugby is really rewarding. The new players we get every season have to learn the basics of rugby from nothing. We run freshers' taster sessions for the first part of the season which are really enjoyable and give the coaches and more experienced players involved an opportunity to really focus on the basic skills required for rugby in a fun, encouraging environment. There is a real community feel within the club and this stems from a close-knit committee team who all work together and assist in each other's roles when needed.