The IRFU Youth Volunteering Award is now live and can be accessed via its GAINLINE Education platform. First announced on International Youth Day 2021, the award is an initiative of the IRFU Youth Council and aims to equip youth players with the skills needed to become a valued volunteer within their rugby club. Announced on August 12^th, International Youth Day, the aim of the programme is to provide those aged 16-24 with the opportunity to be recognised for their volunteering work within their club, school, or university. The award is completed through online modules and a number of practical hours completed within a rugby club. Participating volunteers will require an IRFU GAINLINE account to access the course content. This can be set up by following the link below: LINK TO IRFU YOUTH VOLUNTEERING AWARD: https://bit.ly/IRFU-Youth-Volunteer There are three tiers to the IRFU Youth Volunteering Award.

• Bronze – Complete two core modules and one development module
• Silver – Complete two of the remaining core modules and one of the remaining developmental modules
• Gold – Complete remainder of core & developmental modules and accumulate 12 hours of practical hours.

The full list of Youth Volunteering Award modules are: Core Modules - Coaching, Refereeing, Athletic Development, Performance Analysis, Medical & Player Welfare, Public Relations. Developmental Modules - Anti-Bullying, Anti-Doping, Formats Of The Game. After completion of the gold tier, participants are awarded a certificate & award pack and a booklet of resources/templates.

Click here to choose your modules and  start on your youth volunteer journey. 

To contact the IRFU Youth Council or to report any issues with the process, email here.   The members of the IRFU Youth Council are: Leinster: Eve Higgins, Sarah Darker, Alice O’Dowd, Molly Boyne, Niamh de Paor. Munster: Meadhbh Lewis, Conor Fitzpatrick, Tommy Holohan, Jillian O’Toole, John Shaw, Hugh Guest. Connacht: Cameron Brill, Ivana Kiripati, Joe Leddy, Sean Lenehan. Ulster: Jack Hampton, Emily Millar, Johnothan Reid, Lia McKenzie, Conor Henry.