Rugby Club ISSUE 87 | Page 12

Cork Constitution FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/RUGBYCLUBMAG “I first joined Cork Constitution FC “Connetts” as a six year old, in the late sixties. I was walked up to the Club by my older brother Don, and joined by my younger brother James a year later. At that time the “Connetts” was run by two great rugby men, Mr Ned O Connor and Mr Fred Casey. These men gave us all a love of the game and Club. The ethos of the game was embedded at this early stage, and which is still the case with the current Connette coaches. The club have over 500 players in our underage section and are looked after by an army of volunteer coaches. Great credit must be given to these volunteers who give of their time freely and educate the players with the ethos of the great game of rugby, traditions like, respect and manners. We try to encourage this ethos and sense of community throughout the club so the parents of our juvenile players are always made to feel welcome in the club, coffee, scones, and newspapers are available every Saturday morning, again managed by another set of volunteers. We are at the top of Irish rugby, and the Club Volunteer is what keeps us there. My current administration role in the club is Chairman of the Events Committee. Lucky enough the Club invested in a new Club House, Changing Rooms, and Gym facility in the last six years. The club realised that we needed to do this development to improve players facilities, but also to make the Club House more attractive for all our members. The thought at the time was upgrading the players facilities was paramount, and the club house was important but not as important as the players facilities. However, we realised that both players and members were equally as important and now the club house has been constructed to a very high standard and the membership are using the club house for family and business functions. 12 Issue 87 Cork Constitution has a large membership and a large amount of volunteers who give of their time, it is lovely to have events where our volunteers can relax in a modern and comfortable environment. The very high standard of the Club house has also attracted local business to use the facility for meetings and corporate days out. Cork Constitution FC have juvenile teams commencing at Un7s to Un13s, youth teams from U14s to U18s and four adult teams. The volunteers, coaches, and parents involvement is enormous and great credit must go to these people who make Cork Constitution tick. Everyone is enjoying some down time after a very successful year, before we get the heads down and prepare for next season. Our senior team have their heads down preparing for next season already. We work hard for our successes, and can’t rest on our laurels. Overall it was an exciting year for the Club, however next season is in our eyesight already, and we are looking forward to the new challenges this will bring, and the new heights we want to get to. Both on and off the pitch the club has had a fantastic year. Of course our senior team is the flag ship of our club and deserve all the credit for such a fantastic season, however all the teams below them also won trophies and were involved right up to the last week of the season. Indeed our U14 and U18 teams both won their cup and league competitions, our future is in safe hands. Cork Constitution is a family Club, and like previous years we were conscious of giving a warm welcome to all visitors and this will continue into the future. Whether you join Cork Constitution FC as a six-year-old, join after school/college or come from outside the city, the ethos of the game is part of