A MAYBOLE rugby player has been chosen to nurture rugby's future talent.

Carrick RFC’s Nicola McColm, 20, has been appointed as a 2022 Young Ambassador by Royal Bank of Scotland's RugbyForce in a drive to develop the next generation of grassroots rugby leadership.

The Young Ambassador squad, a group of grassroots heroes aged 18-35 from amateur clubs across Scotland delivering projects that help their club to create stronger connections with their local communities, will attempt to build a legacy and make positive societal change.

Nicola’s winning application stood out amongst competition from across the country and will see her grow membership numbers across all levels of the club.  

Nicola also plans to strengthen the online digital presence of Carrick RFC and create a virtual space that celebrates her club, its history, and achievements, highlighting their values, development, and future goals.

To continue to improve diversity and help clubs become more sustainable for the future, the programme will also be providing the ‘Young Ambassadors’ with a £500 grant that will contribute towards successfully delivering their project of choice.

Winners were selected from across all five Scottish regions based on how they would best spend the grant as well as the community work that they are currently doing.

Nicola said: “Becoming a Royal Bank RugbyForce Young Ambassador will help me to develop my experience across the business aspects of running a rugby club such as fundraising, sponsorship, and marketing building on my current experiences in my social media role.

"I can’t wait to see what the Royal Bank RugbyForce Young Ambassador programme has in store for me.”

Judith Cruickshank, managing director of the Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “After the success of the Young Ambassador programme in its inaugural year, it was always clear that we would bring it back for the new season.

"Our latest group of Young Ambassadors are delivering some vital work, strengthening the relationships between grassroots rugby clubs and their communities.

“Nicola is a credit to her club. We are looking forward to supporting her ambition to welcome new players into her club.

"Ensuring that our community club leaders are well equipped with the tools and skills to pass on through the generations is of the utmost importance when it comes to strengthening the sustainability of grassroots rugby in Scotland.

"Well done, Nicola!”

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