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During the summer after 30 years of sporting a healthy moustache Ballymena Youth Rugby Coach, Tom Wiggins took the big decision to get the razor out. After some discussion around the Club Tom found that the players would gladly sponsor him to shave off his moustache for charity. The charity to benefit was an easy decision, one of the youth players Tyler McIntyre was recovering from having cancer and Tyler was a major supporter of the local charity NI Cancer Fund for Children. At the awards dinner for the Youth Section the boys brought in sponsorship money with the boy who raised the most money receiving a signed Ulster Rugby Shirt. On the night the response of the players was tremendous and the collection made £960.
Tom has presented the cheque to Tyler and his dad William who are both very much involved in raising cash for this excellent cause. Tom says the decision to give the money to the charity was very easy.
Tyler had become an integral part of the Under 15 rugby team at the Club and playing rugby became part of his recovery process. However some aspects of the shaving did cause concern. After 30 years of sporting a moustache Tom found that his wife Adrienne then decided she liked him better without the moustache! However even more worrying several of the youth team players who had been at the Club for several years expressed their surprise as they did not realise he had a moustache in the first place. Tom now questions exactly what these players can see when they are playing on a Saturday, he thinks this may explain why some passes go astray.
On a more serious note Tom says that the donation fits well with BRFC’s efforts to become an integral part of the local community. BRFC entered a partnership with Ballymena Council to fund the post of a Community Development Officer. The post as well as delivering rugby to local schools aims to promote sport as a positive element within the community. Giving money to local worthwhile causes will form part of the effort to help local communities and local children. Youth rugby has now started again at Eaton Park and the youth section is going from strength to strength with over 100 players. However Tom is refusing to agree to requests from his players that the next time he shaves his hair off – however watch this space!
