Roy Monteith took over the Hon Sec. job from Willie Young a number of years ago. They were big shoes to fill, but Roy has taken to his duties with great gusto and determination and over the past three years not only has he has fulfilled his role as Secretary, he has also administered the applications for the Ulster Branch Club recognition Scheme.

During the 2005-2006 season the Ulster Branch (IRFU) introduced a 3-stage Club Recognition Scheme which was in reality a financial incentive to encourage Clubs to improve their administration i.e. the way in which a club is organized and run on a day to day basis.  A club must obtain the Bronze Award before applying for the Silver Award and the Silver Award before they are eligible to apply for the Gold Award.

To obtain the Bronze Award a club must have reviewed its current committee structures within the past 5 years, have a Child Protection Policy Statement in place, have an Equity Statement in place and ratified by committee and attended Ulster Branch Club Seminars during the year.

To obtain the Silver Award a club must add to the Bronze by appointing a Volunteer Co-ordinator, have job descriptions for all positions of responsibility within the Club, have at least 2 people on Council who have been there for less than 3 years, completed and returned the Club Return Pro-forma and individual applications for POCVA for those persons deemed relevant, have a 5 year Strategic Plan in place, have Child Protection Procedures in place, must have complied with the requirements of the Player Registration System (including Youth and Mini) and have attended Ulster Branch Club Seminars.

For the Gold Award the Club must have in addition, separate individuals filling the main positions (e.g. Chairman, President, Vice-president, Secretary, Treasurer, PRO, Match Secretary etc)) within the Club, have documented training procedures in place for volunteers, have a documented Volunteer Recognition

system in place, must have held meetings within the last 3 months with at least 3 Ulster Branch officers, have organized Child Protection Training, have Club Accounts assessed by IRFU (Ulster Branch) and satisfy criteria laid down, all Club teams must have participated in 85% of league matches during the previous season, have a marketing plan with specific objectives, have returned all team sheets in respect of all matches to the Branch within 5 days of the match being played and have attended Ulster Branch Club Seminars.

Ballynahinch RFC obtained the Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards during the first year they were on offer. They were one of 13 clubs to attain the Bronze award in the first season, one of 7 clubs to attain the silver award last season and one of 4 clubs to attain the gold award this season.

Congratulations to Roy and all who assisted him in preparing the various submissions.