Chair of the Pavilion Bar (the Pav) Cyril Smyth revealed tonight that the Pav has accumulated €43,902 in debt from 2018 to the present at tonight’s Dublin University Central Athletic Club (DUCAC) Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Smyth cited changes in the College calendar, with students leaving College to go on holiday earlier in April, and rising costs of living as some of the main challenges facing the Pav.
He also acknowledged that he was “very well aware that furnishings inside the pavilion bar have deteriorated”.
Smyth added that it was “going to be a big expense but it’s something that needs to be done” if the bar is to return to the standard it was at during 2016–2018.
By way of covering the €20–25,000 refurbishment cost, Smyth encouraged the 6,000-strong student sports club membership to spend €5–10 per week in the Pav.
This, in turn, he argued, would also enable profits to be channelled back into the funding of the College’s sports clubs.
Smyth was contacted for comment but at the time of publication has not responded.
Elsewhere, DUCAC Chair Liam Bean formally announced the renaming of the organisation to the Trinity Sports Union. While the board had not officially approved this change, it was voted on in May 2022 by members of the College’s sports clubs.
Bean then addressed the unusually high number of clubs that had yet to submit bank declarations and club officer training to DUCAC.
In lighter news, Bean announced that usage of the Trinity Sports Centre was increasing.
In the 2021/22 period there were 192,000 registered attendances, with over 77 per cent of them students – a significant build on the 2020/21 numbers.
Similarly heartening was the number of significant awards announced as part of the Sport and Recreation update.
Among the awards mentioned by Lisa Cafferky, presenting on behalf of Head of Trinity Sport and Recreation Michelle Tanner, was Sports Person of the Year, won by Ireland Women’s cricketer Leah Paul.
Closing the AGM, Bean announced that the inaugural Sports Ball will take place on November 2nd in the Royal Marine Hall in Dún Laoghaire.
Bean described it as “purely a social event” with the purpose of promoting team bonding and to “meet people from other teams”.
DUCAC felt this would be a valuable event and a “stepping stone for the coming season” as it was acknowledged in previous years that clubs suffered with regards to pre-season activities and socialising.
