Documents seen by the College Tribune have highlighted the disparity in funding across sports clubs in UCD, with the top 10 clubs in UCD receiving more than 60% of the funding last year. Clubs which are funded in through a combination of membership fees, grants and sponsorship rely heavily on the University to maintain their finances.
Despite this there appears to be some difficulty in clubs accessing grants from UCD for even basic running costs. This is evident by the fact that nearly 20% of clubs did not submit a grant application last year, though some would later receive grants throughout the year.Furthermore, there is a clear concentration of funds in a select few clubs,most notably in Men’s Rugby which received €85,600 last year, which amounts to over 22% of total funds distributed.
The next largest recipient was Ladies Hockey who only received a total of€27,000. The majority of the 51 registered clubs last year each received less than€10,000 a piece, with 59% of clubs getting less than €5000,and seven clubs getting under€1000 for the year.The three biggest receivers of grants; Men’s Rugby, Cycling and Ladies Hockey all are also sponsored by
well-known corporate groups. Crowe accountancy and business consultants sponsors Men’s rugby, while UCD Cycling is sponsored by a variety of groups including FBD Insurance and Spirit Skoda car dealerships.
The disparity in club payments comes alongside fresher concerns that certain clubs that operate predominantly off campus may no longer be permitted to have members under the age of 18. Due to health and safety concerns in UCD management certain clubs that take members under the age of 18 off campus for actives or competitions may no longer be permitted to do so.
By Aaron Bowman – CoEditor
