On Wednesday 21st February, members of Ards RFC Youth travelled to the Wellington Park Hotel, Belfast to receive certificates from Ulster Rugby, in recognition of their volunteering at the club.

The initiative under the umbrella name of Millennium Volunteers, has been adopted by Ulster Rugby, GAA and the IFA to promote volunteering within sports.

It is aimed at anyone aged between 14-24 and encourages young people to develop and learn new skills and help promote confidence within themselves.

With each hour that has been volunteered recorded, a milestone is rewarded by way of certification at 50 hours, 100 hours and with 200 hours receiving a certificate of Excellence.

It was with great pride, that within our first year, Ards RFC were represented by 8 youth members at the awards ceremony out of a total of 10 from rugby, with each receiving a 50 hours certificate.

Those recipients were Callum O’Hanlon, Bailey Young, Mitch Young, Brandon McCartan, Jamie Mayne, Ryan Harris, Joel Meharg and Lena Bell. Members of Ulster Branch were in attendance at the ceremony namely Ulster Rugby President Graffin Parke, Ulster Player Craig Gilroy and Ards Rugby’s Ulster Branch rep Neil Workman.

With some of the recipients already on their way to reaching the next milestone in the near future, Ards RFC are dedicated to providing a platform for our young volunteers to achieve qualifications in new skills and nurture their love of rugby, so that they will be able to encourage their younger members to enjoy playing the game as much as they do.