Last night, the Waterford County board launched their strategic plan for 2021 – 2030 “Waterford Rising” which aims to bring Gaelic Games in Waterford in to the future.
County Board Chairman Sean Michael O’ Regan said that “If we are honest Waterford GAA has been somewhat resistant to change and strategic review over the years and this is perfectly understandable – the human instinct is to resist change. Change, however, is good and we must challenge ourselves continually to ensure we remain relevant and are responsive to the forces around us.”
The plan outlines six key pillars for development across the county with focus on coaching and games development, improving facilities, club development, amending adult competition structures, excellence in marketing and communications as well as financial sustainability.
COACHING & GAMES DEVELOPMENT
As part of the coaching and games development goals, a programme for growing the playing base is being rolled out called the “Well!Kids” programme.
The aim will be too develop a bespoke and best in class inception programme specific to Waterford for 4 to 8 year old, as a tool for clubs to attract young children.
The hope for the programme will be to offer a fun environment for at clubs on Saturday mornings where kids can attend with their parents.
It is viewed as an opportunity to draw families in to GAA clubs and hopefully offer a soft entry to GAA for families which may not have previously been GAA orientated.
The programme has already been trialled in Clashmore and was received positively by all involved.
As well as piloting the “Well!Kids” programme, the board aim to develop schools and academies of excellence across the county. The hope would be to establish five school clusters around De La Salle, ‘Rest of City’/Tramore, Kilmacthomas, Dungarvan/An Rinn/Youghal Environs and Blackwater/Clonmel Environs.
This would require aligning clubs, academy squads, schools and schools of excellence to place clubs at the centre of the process.
A programme for development of elite coaches will be rolled out to foster talent in coaching across schools and clubs with a view towards increasing the number of young players who experience high level coaching from a young age.
Another important part of coaching pillar would be the introduction of a sports science officer to coordinate the physical development objectives for schools and academies of excellence.
FACILITIES
A major part of the facilities pillar is of course, the Walsh Park redevelopment. A complete review is set for the existing development proposal, including a financial appraisal.
Work is now set to begin in 2022 with a phased approach the most likely, similar to the work that was done on Croke Park. With the new phased approach as well as the current financial climate taken in to account the county board will need to negotiate with the GAA at central level and the Sports Capital programme regarding the availability and phasing of financial support.
The development is set to be complete by 2026 with the end result providing a best in class 12 – 13 thousand capacity stadium.
The first phase of construction is set to be complete by Soring 2023.
Moving away from the city and looking West – Fraher Field is set to receive a face lift also.
A new 4G pitch is to be laid at the Dungarvan venue which will facilitate training for intercounty teams, schools, clubs and development teams.
CLUB DEVELOPMENT
The board aims to increase overall GAA membership in the county by 10% at both juvenile and adult levels by 2024.
In order to achieve this a new club Development sub committee of the county board will be established and chaired by the Club Development Officer.
As part of the drive to accelerate club development, there will be an increased focus on officer training and development.
ADULT COMPETITION STRUCTURES
With the championship calendar opened up to change in light of covid-19, the county board are moving forward with several adjustments to how adult games are played in the county.
An all-county competitions control committee is to be put in place which will have remit for both county and divisional fixtures from 2023 season.
County leagues are also set to change with teams playing in groups of six with promotion and relegation.
Similar to the world games hosted in Waterford in recent times, the Sargent and Phelan Cups are to be played Festivals of Hurling and Football on a blitz and 11-aside basis over Bank Holiday weekends.
One of the major changes that could come about is the introduction of a new tier in adult championships in hurling. The current thinking is that an in-between tier of the championship could be introduced to facilitate teams who suffer frequent relegation and promotion. It may come to be known as the “Premier Intermediate” championship, but the goal would be to increased the standard of play for team, who struggle to hit the heights once they reach senior level.
EXCELLENCE IN MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
With a view towards the future, the board are placing digital strategy at the heart of the communications approach.
They intend to reconstitute a marketing and communications sub-committee chaired by the County PRO to include persons with skills and responsibility for digital strategy, social media, games presentation and youth engagement.
Ultimately, the goal will be to build awareness of “brand Waterford”.
With a successful campaign, the board hope to see the fruits of their labour with an increase in attendances at games and increased participation in GAA activities.
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
With the most uncertain of times upon us and at a time when the GAA have recently reported a loss of €68 million, the Waterford board aim to form a new commercial committee with appropriate competencies sought externally as a sub-committee of the county board.
A new commercial committee is being established to drive revenue for the county with the activities of Club Déise and the Déise Draw to be integrated with the commercial committee.
With a view to the future, the goal is to generate cumulative commercial and fundraising income of €10m over the 5 years to 2025 with the Walsh Park Redevelopment financed over 5 or 6 years.
