The group who campaigned for Derry's inclusion in Ireland's 2023 Rugby World Cup bid have expressed concern saying that the city continues to be over-looked by those running rugby in Ulster.

Ulster Rugby and the Ulster Branch of the IRFU organise an annual programme of rugby 'Summer Camps' throughout the province. The camps are being held in 22 locations this year, including Letterkenny and Cavan, and are aimed at boys and girls of all abilities.

Four different types of camps are being held, as follows:

- Junior Camps - Boys and girls aged 6-11yrs old (various locations).

- Girls Camps - 10-16yr old females (Belfast and Clogher).

- School of Excellence Camps : Experienced 11-16yr old boys and girls (various locations).

- Special Needs Camps (Belfast and Portadown)

Steve Bradley from the Derry for 2023 campaign contacted Ulster Rugby to express his pleasure at the situation.

Mr Bradley said: "Despite Derry being the province's second largest city and having hosted camps in previous years,the organisation has chosen to exclude the city from its venue list this year.

"As a result, the Derry City and Strabane District Council area is the only one of Northern Ireland's eleven councils not to feature ANY of Ulster Rugby's 2017 summer camps, whilst small towns like Ballymoney, Clogher and Virgina in Cavan have been included.

"With the nearest camps to Derry being held in Coleraine and Letterkenny, young people from the city who want to attend face a round trip of up to 60 miles every day to access the 5-day long camps. Promising youth players who wish to access the Schools of Excellence face a 140mile daily trip to Belfast or Portadown. Whilst any females who want to attend a girls-only summer camp, or local families hoping to access the Special Needs events, face a daily round trip of 105 miles to Clogher or 140 miles to Belfast.

“The Summer Camp programme is Ulster Rugby's key annual event for promoting and strengthening the game amongst young people right across Ulster. Derry is the province's second biggest city, yet Ulster Rugby have decided to exclude it from this year's programme. And of the 22 different locations which they have decided to use, 7 are in Greater Belfast whilst even small towns like Ballymoney and Clogher are included.

“It's unacceptable for our council area to be the only one in Northern Ireland that doesn't contain any summer camps this year. Ulster's second biggest city should automatically be included in this important programme - each and every year - in the same way that places like Belfast are.

“This latest snub from the Ulster Branch comes in the wake of their failure to make the case within the IRFU for Derry to be included in Ireland's Rugby World Cup bid. Unfortunately it appears that Ulster Rugby has a blind sport when it comes to our city.

“Derry has a strong pedigree in producing sports stars, from Jason Smyth to James McClean. There is huge potential to grow the game of rugby here, and the city could provide future players for Ulster and Ireland. But only if our young people are given the opportunity to learn and develop in the sport. Children from the most economically disadvantaged city in the UK should not have to travel up to 140 miles a day to access rugby training that so many smaller towns and villages are having provided for them on their doorstep.

“We are therefore calling on Ulster Rugby to give a clear commitment that Derry will be automatically included as a location in all future summer camp programmes. We are also  calling on the Subway food chain, who sponsor the camps and have three outlets in Derry, to make it clear to Ulster Rugby that they expect their customers in the city to not be excluded again in future. Nothing less will be acceptable for Ulster's second city.”

Responding to Mr Bradley's comments Chris Webster, Domestric Rugby Manager at the Irish Rugby Football Union (Ulster Branch) said: "We have been running a successful programme of summer camps for a significant number of years across the Province.

"This year is the first time in 5 years that we haven’t held an Ulster Rugby summer camp in City of Derry RFC. With 52 affiliated clubs and over 300 affiliated schools it is impossible for us to host a camp at every club and school and regularly we will take a decision to rotate venues every couple of years.

"There are also a number of other factors that we take into consideration when choosing camp venues. This includes number of previous participants and whether the club is hosting any of its own activities.

"In the previous 4 years, the camp at City of Derry has tended to be one of our smaller camps in terms of number of participants (on average 35 participants per year). In addition, the club also hosted its own summer camp last season which was a great success with over 50 children participating.

"The club has again decided to run its own summer camp between the 3rd and 7th July and taking this into consideration we decided not to run a competing camp. We are supporting City of Derry through the provision of equipment etc. Development and promotion of Rugby in Derry/Londonderry In terms of the development and promotion of the game in Ulster the province is divided into 4 regions with each region having an equal split of affiliated clubs and schools. Derry/Londonderry is covered by the North Region. In each region, there is a dedicated team of 2 full time rugby development staff who are supported by a number of part time seasonal development officers.

"During season 2016/17, City of Derry RFC had the support of a Club Community Rugby Officer whose role was to work with the primary and secondary schools in the city to promote rugby and create links to the club. It is anticipated that this position will be in place for season 2017/18. I am sure that if you spoke to City of Derry RFC, assuming you haven’t done so already, they would agree with the positive impact that the staff have had in local schools.

"These staff work tirelessly to promote rugby in the region and they would take great offence at the perception that Derry/Londonderry was being treated less favourably than any other part of Ulster. Rugby World Cup 2023 As you are aware, the IRFU as the national governing body has been responsible for all aspects of the submission of the bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023.

"At this stage the focus has been on submitting a world class bid which will greatly increase the chances of Ireland being selected as the host nation. The outcome of this bid will be known in November. If Ireland is successful, then work will begin in conjunction with World Rugby to look at the implementation of Rugby World Cup 2023 across Ireland."

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