South Ayrshire Provost Iain Campbell recently visited a Friday Night Divisionary Activity Night session at Carrick Community Campus in Maybole.

Carrick Rugby Football Club started the project to tackle anti-social behaviour, giving young people from South Carrick and the surrounding villages in North Carrick the opportunity to participate in diversionary rugby at Carrick Academy.

It is open to every child from P7-S6 and is completely free.

Thanks to volunteers from across the community, the project has now grown to the point where 30 girls and 30 boys regularly attend every Friday evening and two buses have been arranged to collect attendees from Kirkoswald, Dailly, Old Dailly, Crosshill, Maidens, and a number of farms.

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The club has evolved beyond offering rugby training to further improve the lives of young people.

Recently they worked with the local Taekwondo club to deliver an introductory session. They also arranged for apprentices to talk about their experiences of their new journey into employment and college.

Future plans include workshops in CVs, police meet-and-greets, confidence and motivation workshops, and cooking classes.

Provost Iain Campbell said: “This project has been life changing for many young people in the area. It couldn’t run without the dedication and generosity of the volunteers, coaches and the direction of head of youth, Andy Gamble, and club development officer, Aiden Strachan.  

"Well done to everyone involved.”