Lansdowne
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every member is important to us and we will continue to work hard to maintain our facilities , coaching standards and off field support to continue to be as successful as we are and want to be .
RC : Would you consider yours to be a community club ?
KW : Yes . The club is firmly rooted in the local community . We have over 380 local families involved at the minis and youths section . The senior and junior teams are made up of many local players , and the membership consists of a large number of the local community who have had a lifetime association with Club .
We work closely with the Leinster Branch Community Relation officers ’ and with Dublin City Council Sports Development Officers ’ to promote rugby in the local schools and community . We provide the use of facilities and coaches to local schools to further assist in developing the sport within the local community . The club also secured use of local Dublin City Council pitches to expand the visible reach of the game into the local community .
RC : What do you believe could be some of the biggest challenges the club may face over the next 5 years ?
SC : The professional game at Provincial , Pro 12 , National and European level has undoubtedly improved the popularity of the game . The numbers playing at Under Age / Youth and Minis levels are on the increase as a consequence . However there is no doubt that at Senior levels the numbers playing into their late 20 ’ s and 30 ’ s is under pressure .
Few if any Clubs are fielding the number of Junior teams that were prevalent 10 to 15 years ago . The fitness regimes required to play the game proficiently and competing social / familial demands have combined to curtail playing careers and consequent Membership numbers .
If you don ’ t have Members you don ’ t have a Club ! Consequently it is important for clubs , including Lansdowne , to develop activities Rugby ,
Fitness or otherwise related that binds subscription paying Members actively to the Club in a post playing environment .
Another increasingly environment Regulation and Health and Safety . The standards rightly expected in significant issue is the management of Clubs which rely heavily on Volunteerism in an
exacting of
Player Welfare etc . demand a professional approach by those giving of their time and expertise on a volunteer basis . The next five years are likely to see continued demands of the Club in that regard .
It is also to be hoped that the commitment and support of the IRFU to the Club game and Rugby Clubs in general will continue if not be extended . That will secure the roles played by the Clubs in supporting the Professional game and the development of the game in the wider Community .
RC : What are the club ’ s ambitions for the next 5 years ?
SC : In five years Lansdowne will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its foundation in 1872 . As a Club it has operated at the forefront of Club Rugby throughout those years . The Club ’ s contribution to the Provincial and National game has been outstanding and it is now additionally forging a significant role in the Under Age game . We would have ambitions to add to the silverware won in season 2016 / 17 and previously and record additional wins in the All Ireland League , at 20 ’ s and Junior / Youth and Mini levels . The Club will continue to prioritise the development of Rugby at all levels providing a pathway from Under Age and through recruitment to the Under 20 ’ s and onward to the Senior XV and Junior squads .
We have traditionally been seen as very welcoming to players arriving in Dublin to pursue careers or attend third level education establishments . Lansdowne invests heavily and rightly in its Coaching and Rugby Management and the coming five years will see that continue to ensure that players aspiring to develop their rugby careers and skills see the Club as an obvious destination .
The Club ’ s founder Henry Dunlop was by all accounts a highly enterprising individual and all we could hope for is that after the passage of 150 years he would be immensely proud of the manner in which the Club has and continues to develop .
26 Issue 71