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RUGBY TRAINING CAMPS:
Justin
Fitzpatrick Rugby is pleased to announce that Justin will be attending
three Rugby Training
Camps in the Midwest
area of the USA this summer.
The
Camps will be held in
association
with the University of Wisconsin - Milwukee and The Front
Row Union.
The Midwest is the largest playing region in the USA with over 14,500 registered players and is
comparable in playing population to Ulster.
The area has a large Ulster Scots and Irish heritage and it is hoped that Justin's participation in
the Camps is the first step in a long and rewarding
relationship between Ulster Rugby and the
Midwest Territory.
Full details of the Camps can be found
here.
If
you are interested in any of the Camps please click
contact
us
on the menu bar, send us your
details
and let us know what Camp you are interested in.
Press Release - June
11th, 2008:
IRISH STAR TO BRING RUGBY
EXPETISE TO THE MIDWEST
An International Sports Star
is set to give Midwest students a shot at the big time this summer.
Rugby player Justin Fitzpatrick, who has played top class Rugby for Ireland
and Ulster, will take
part in a series of Coaching Camps in Chicago,
Madison, and Milwaukee over the coming weeks,
with a professional Rugby
career potentially up for grabs for those who excel.
Fitzpatrick, who boasts 50
European caps for Ulster, and 26 for Ireland, hopes to raise the
profile of
Rugby in the Midwest working alongside the University of Wisconsin -
Milwaukee
Women's Head Coach Scot Prunkle at a time when interest in the
sport is at an all time high in
North America.
Commenting on his Midwest
initiative, Fitzpatrick said, "The Midwest is home to more Rugby
players
than any other region of the United States. There are vast
opportunities for the
development of the game in the Midwest and North
America as a whole. I will have a team of top
class coaches, including
Scot Prunkle and Jamie Turkington of Ulster and the IRFU working with
me,
and I am certain that we can uncover some untapped local talent."
Fitzpatrick will host three
camps in the Midwest this month in which he will pass on his extensive
professional knowledge to local Rugby enthusiasts. The first coaching
session will kick off at the
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee campus on
the 19th and 20th of June. The second session
will be on the 23rd and
24th of June at Abundant Life High School in Madison, WI, and the final
session will be held at Gaelic Park, Oak Forest, IL, on the 25th and 26th of
June.
Fitzpatrick hopes that the
Camps will forge a strong sporting link between the Midwest and his
native
Ulster, with the potential of player and coach exchanges a realisticd
prospect in the near
future. The Camps will also act as a scouting
session for Ulster Rugby, so that the best players
on show could potentially
tie up with the Irish professional outfit.
"There is a
historic link between the people of the Midwest and Ireland. There is
huge potential
here for the
growth of the sport in America and for potential sponsors to be part of a
new
relationship
with International Rugby," commented Fitzpatrick.
UW - Milwaukee
Women's Coach Scot Prunkle is excited to have an international Rugby player
in
the area for the
summer. "This ventura will go a long way to reward the thousands of
keen
Rugby players
we have in the Midwest," said Prunkle and continued with, "Justin's Coaching
Initative
will foster the skills and stamina to ensure Rugby continues to flourish in
the area once
the Camps
have been completed. We have a great opportunity here to establish
form and long
term
friendships with Ulster Rugby thanks to Justin's visit."
The trip has
been endorsed by Ulster Rugby CEO Mike Reid as well as Ulster supporters'
group
the Front Row
Union.
More on Justin Fitzpatrick:
He made his
debut for the London Irish in 1994. He blossomed under the coaching of
World Cup
winning Coach
Sir Clive Woodward, Ireland/Scotland Coach Willie Anderson, and England
Coach
Dick Best
playing for the Club for the next 4 seasons. From the London Irish he
was chosen to
represent
Ireland where he made his International debut on the Tour to South Africa in
1998.
He went on to
represent Ireland a further 25 times making his International Caps for
Ireland
stand at 26.
He was
approach by Harry Williams to join Ulster at the start of the '98/'99
season, which he
did, and was
a key member of the Team that won the European Championship in 1999.
He remained
with Ulster until 2003 when he was approached to play in France for the Club
Castres
Olymypic, where he played for two years under ex-Stade Toulousain Coach
Christian
Gajan.
In 2005
Justin and his family were missing the intensity of Irish Rugby, and they
made the move
back to
Ulster when he was offered a further three year contract to play for Ulster
under their
Coach, Mark
McCall.
He celebrated
his 50th ERC Cap in February, 2008, against the Ospreys - one of a very
small
select group
of players to reach that milestone in European Rugby. Justin is
currently signed to
play a
further two years with Ulster under Coach Matt Williams. |
