Ballyclare RFC Community Hub & Academy

Aim

To create a Multi Purpose Outdoor Community Hub at The Cloughan & to support our newly formed Academy Side and underage teams.

Why an Outdoor Community Hub?

Ballyclare RFC is a Community Focused Rugby Club – as with many rural areas the rugby club is a focal point for the community.  As a result of Covid-19 many members and supporters have lost out on the social interaction that comes with being able to attend the club and the regular events hosted in the clubhouse.  

This new project aims to create a covered outdoor recreation area – new paving slabs are to be laid on a current green area the front of the clubhouse and a steel framed structure measuring 10m x 10m is to be erected in the centre.  

Who will benefit?

This covered area will have a multitude of uses:

• Providing shelter for mini rugby parents and players ; an area that they can fundraise through selling tea & coffee, kit and accept new registrations.
• An outdoor summer social area ; right beside the cricket square where Templepatrick CC play on Saturday afternoons, and where we hope Ballyclare Ladies HC will return in the not too distant future.
• A safe outdoor area for local groups and clubs to meet in a socially distanced manner
• An area to host social events & fundraisers for anyone in the community
• A focal point for hosting festivals
• A covered, outdoor dance and fitness class area

Ballyclare RFC Academy

We want to expand our offering to those who have just left school, or graduated from Youth rugby and have not been able to play much rugby in the last 18 months.

Our Academy - primarily aimed at 18-21 Year Olds will aim to:

• Bridge the gap between Underage and Adult Rugby - and provide an opportunity to stay involved in the sport whilst playing with their peers. 
• Provide coaches who specialise in young player development
• Provide the opportunity to play competitive matches against players of a similar age and ability outside of the traditional Saturday afternoon window that has been identified as a barrier to participation for younger players.
• Provide the opportunity to enjoy the social and physical benefit of continuing to play rugby, and be part of a club, post school. 

This is initially a 7 Month Programme running from October until April that will consist of a series of friendly matches followed by a series of competitive league and cup games. 

Funding raised through this campaign will be allocated towards coaching fees, facility hire, transport costs, equipment purchase and an end of season awards event in the new Community Hub. 

Ballyclare RFC Youth

The impact of Covid-19 has also led to challenges for our Youth Teams to travel to away matches.  Some weekends the u14s, u16s and u18s have to travel to 3 unique venues which has increased the associated transport costs - we require some extra funding to be able to cover this increase in transport costs for this season.

Mini Rugby

Ballyclare RFC Mini Rugby section has returned stronger than ever, with more children turning out on Saturday mornings than ever before - this increase in numbers has put a stress on our equipment levels and coaches, so we need to train more coaches, and  buy more balls, pads, cones and cylinders to help our mini section thrive and grow.

Community Events

In addition to the physical structure, we wish to run Community Events - such as Dance and Fitness classes, Community BBQs and Children's Sports Days. It also provides an opportunity to enhance our Annual Mini Rugby Festival and make it the biggest and best in Ireland, and to host more events like the Wooden Spoon International Tag Rugby Festival

There are long term plans to create a Community Sports Hub at The Cloughan and anticipate the number of users will only increase in the coming years.

Funding Already Secured

Moy Park Community Fund - £12,450

https://moypark.com/community-support/community-support-projects/ballyclare-rfc

Ballyclare RFC p7s 19-20 - £7,269 donation to Community Hub project & £3,000 donation to local food bank.

https://www.newtownabbeytoday.co.uk/news/people/ballyclare-mini-rugby-tour-cancellation-has-charity-silver-lining-3242347 

This project successfully funded on 17th December 2021