15 September 2004
Simon Mc Dowell ( Belfast Harlequins), Ulster’s Number 1 Referee, is listed on the International Rugby Board Panel C
Simon has been allocated the following appointments by the IRB : 13 Nov - England v Canada - TMO Simon Mc Dowell
20 Nov - Scotland v Australia - Touch Judge Simon McDowell
26 Nov - Wales v Japan – TMO Simon McDowell
27 Nov - France v New Zealand - Touch Judge Simon McDowell
5 Feb - France v Scotland - TMO Simon Mc Dowell
26 Feb - Scotland v Italy - TMO Simon McDowell
19 Mar - England v Scotland - Touch Judge Simon McDowell 14 September 2004 Memo to rugby fans: your club needs you (Article from Belfast Telegraph by Gavin Mairs) 14 September 2004 One of the nasty side effects of professionalism has been the haemorrhaging of volunteers from club rugby, for decades the backbone of the grassroots game. Since the game turned pro back in August 1995, clubs have found it increasingly difficult to both retain and recruit the very people without whom clubs could not exist. People with rugby in their blood, who go the extra mile just for the love of the game. Many, who have toiled behind the scenes for years, have been turned off by seeing young players come into their clubs and demand money to play, before waiting for a better deal to come along. For some the erosion of a club spirit has left them disillusioned. Others, given the ever-expanding leisure industry, have just found something else to do. It is no exaggeration to say that some junior clubs in Ulster are now held together by one-man bands. There are also genuine fears that once the present generation of club stalwarts enters retirement, not enough of the new generation of professional or semi-professional players will have the same club loyalty or desire to commit to voluntary positions once they have hung their boots up. So, to combat this alarming trend, the Ulster Branch today launched a pioneering campaign to invigorate the recruitment and retention of club volunteers and administrators. Spearheaded by Mark Holland, the Branch's community volunteer development manager, the aim of the campaign - the first of its kind in Ireland - is to pinpoint the weaknesses in each club and provide new structures and ideas on targeting the right people for the right job - and hanging on to them. Holland, a devoted volunteer at Ballyclare Rugby club, has spent the last year preparing a working document to help clubs lay the foundation for a new future. "From being out at clubs, you very quickly release that getting volunteers is one of the biggest issues facing them," said Holland. "All of them are struggling in some way, in different areas. Every club is different. "There are a number out there who are really, really struggling. "I was at a club the other night and basically there is one guy in his 60s who does everything. He is chairman, he is secretary, he cuts the grass, he does absolutely everything. "If people in that club don't wake up and realise what is going on, then the club will soon not exist. "If we don't get new blood into clubs and develop new structures, then in five, 10, 15 years time, then some clubs are going to disappear. "And if you look at the crowds we get a Ravenhill for an Ulster match, a lot of people just support Ulster now and don't support their local clubs. "What we are saying to those guys is this- after you have finished playing or while you are still playing, put something back into your club. Your club needs you. "If we don't have a solid base to our pyramid, then the Ulster team can't perform as there won't be the players coming through." The working document, entitled 'Recruiting, Managing and Retaining Volunteers' will be sent to all of Ulster's 56 clubs and a series of seminars explaining the campaign is to be held across the province. "The first bit is all about seeing where the club is, hopefully it will give the clubs a picture of their current situation in terms of revenues, coaches, committee structures. "Rather than just looking at recruiting guys, we need to start with looking at current structures. A lot of the club structures were put in place 30, 40 or 50 years ago and are not necessarily relevant today and can be tweaked. "This also enables us to do is identify where the clubs need to recruit people and who they need to recruit." Holland points to recent restructuring of the Ballymena and Ballynahinch clubs as examples of good practice, which while neither will be applicable to all clubs, offer the opportunities to cherry pick. "In the document, I have suggested three structures; one for a small club, one for a medium club and one for a large club. These cover every base so clubs can take from them what is applicable to them." Holland also recommends that clubs appoint a volunteer co-ordinator to oversee the whole process of identifying gaps and then writing role descriptions for each positions so that volunteers know exactly what their commitments are and whether they have the right attributes. "It helps target recruitment at specific people and the club can be honest with them about what the job will involve," added Holland, who has also included ideas for recruitment sources and ideas for rewarding volunteers to help to retain them. While it probably is a few years overdue, this initiative is a positive and welcome step. Your club needs you. Top | 
