The Ospreys have strengthened their Community Rugby Department with the appointment of Ioan Cunningham. Ioan has taken up the post of Community Initiatives Officer and will join a six strong team based at the Ospreys Llandarcy HQ...
NEW APPOINTMENT STRENGTHENS OSPREYS COMMUNITY TEAM
The Ospreys have strengthened their Community Rugby Department with the appointment of Ioan Cunningham.
Ioan has taken up the post of Community Initiatives Officer and will join a six strong team based at the Ospreys Llandarcy HQ. He will work right across the Ospreys region, with his responsibilities including schools development programmes, match day experiences for schools and junior club rugby teams at the Liberty Stadium and organising rugby festivals. In addition to this, he will drive a new set of initiatives to be launched soon, that will see the Ospreys carrying out substantial extra work in the community amongst hard to reach youngsters in conjunction with the Wooden Spoon charity.
The 26 year-old joins the Ospreys from the Scarlets, where he has previously worked in rugby development. He has spent this season playing in the back row for Welsh Premiership side Llandovery.
Jason Lewis, WRU Ospreys Community Development Manager welcomed Ioan to the Ospreys, saying:
"â¬ÅI'm delighted to welcome Ioan to the Ospreys and I'm sure that he will prove to be a valuable addition to the team. His appointment increase the size of our department to seven, and the fact that the Community Development team at the Ospreys is continuing to grow shows that we take our responsibilities here very seriously. The more development staff that we have on board the more meaningful development work we can do across the region.
"â¬ÅThe size of our region means that we have to cover a lot of ground and Ioan's presence will be invaluable. He will increase our ability to really make an impact in schools across the region, introducing youngsters to rugby and helping to develop the next generation of community players, as well as assisting with the initial stages of the identification process.
"â¬ÅIn addition to reaching out to the traditional rugby communities in the region, Ioan's duties will see him taking the game to the wider population, to people who generally don't tend to have access to rugby, and it is here that we really see him making a difference."â¬Â
Ioan Cunningham added:
"â¬ÅI'm excited about taking up this newly created post at the Ospreys and I'm really looking forward to the challenge of building on the fantastic work that has already been carried out the Community Rugby Department here, and to taking the game and the Ospreys vision, to the wider community across the region. With such a strong brand that has already made a huge impact in schools and rugby clubs, the challenge now is to take these relationships onto the next level."â¬Â
Ospreys Managing Director Mike Cuddy added:
"â¬ÅThe work that our Community team undertake is crucial to our long term development plans as a region, so they play a vital role within our organisation. By going out into the hearts of the many communities that make up the region and introducing not only the Ospreys but in many cases the game of rugby itself, to the next generation of players and supporters, they are helping to ensure that the Ospreys will continue to thrive for many years to come."â¬Â