McDonald making change as NSL's first club sustainability officer
As LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons battle on the court, Elle McDonald is fighting the good fight off it.
The mid-courter works as the Welsh franchise's sustainability officer to help those around her make informed choices and protect the planet.
McDonald took on the role ahead of the 2025 season and has been involved across several initiatives.
'I've got a new role at Cardiff Dragons as the sustainability officer, which involves being an advocate among the players and our wider community to really make greener choices,' she said. 'And how we can take steps forward in that sustainability space.
'I have a background in teaching back at home, so it is quite different for me to have come across this role.
'But at the end of last year, I was speaking to quite a few people within our franchise and they felt really passionately about the sustainability space, and they wanted to come up with a role that would allow a player to really advocate for that.
'It is something that is important to me, but it should be important to everyone, so I am really proud to step into that space and really try and encourage not only our team, but across the league, all those small changes that can ultimately have a really big impact.'
Dragons were part of history last weekend as they and London Mavericks played the first extra-time period in Netball Super League history.
The game ended 55-55 after 60 minutes before Mavericks pulled away to take the game 72-61.
It means the team in green are still searching for their maiden win of the season and face new side Birmingham Panthers for the first time on Friday.
For McDonald, her performances on the court are fuelled by the choices she makes off it.
She added: 'As athletes, there are so many of those things that we really value, including obviously our health and wellbeing.
'Reducing those environmental toxins will make us feel mentally and physically better, but something that we are really focused on is sustainable travel.
'We are encouraging our fans to travel sustainably, whether it is catching public transport, walking, cycling, or carpooling to our events. We want to make sure we are encouraging that.
'Also, with our food choices, as athletes, that is so important for us and our performance.
'But how can we make sure we are supporting local and organic farms and reducing those transportation emissions.
'It is just a small thing that we can consider doing that will make a big impact. We've teamed up with Grassboots, which is a preloved sports gear app.
"We are hoping to build on the Cardiff Dragons community so people can sell or buy pre-loved sports equipment to help them get involved in sport, but also chose to donate any money to local charities.
'That is something we have been working on as well as some litter picks around the city.
'We are trying to make small changes when we can and hopefully influence our fan base and community to do the same.'
Watch Dragons and the stars of NSL 2025 live in action - purchase your club tickets today. For the ultimate showdown, secure your seat at the 2025 Grand Final at The O2, London!
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Wales Online
6 hours ago
- Wales Online
Tonight's rugby news as Farrell fights back tears in Lions phone call and Welsh star slams 's**t' situation
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Daily Record
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Wales Online
10 hours ago
- Wales Online
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It is very difficult to pin down Leinster's exact playing budgets but Irish sources have told WalesOnline it is in the region of €10.6m Crucially, in Ireland, professional sportsmen get a tax break when they retire which means the sides in Ireland don't have to pay their players as much. For example, a professional player in Wales might be on £120,000 at the Scarlets but get offered £180,000 to sign for Exeter Chiefs. In Ireland a player might be on £120,000 at Munster but get offered £180,000 to sign for an English club but if he stays in Ireland he will be able to claim money back upon retirement. The Irish Government also puts huge investment into professional sport. For example, Connacht received a €10 million grant through the Large-Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund to go towards the development of a new stadium in Galway. 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At international level Ireland is mainly Leinster with the likes of Tadhg Beirne and Bundee Aki added in on top. The players are all in sync with each other and also benefit from being part of a squad which is regularly competing at the cutting edge of competitions. Wales needs to produce something similar. Two or three clubs competing every year in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup as a minimum, with the aim of winning is what is being discussed behind closed doors. It is close to impossible to achieve this with four clubs. Talent needs to be concentrated to increase competition for places which should in theory drive up standards across the board which was the thinking behind moving to regional rugby back in 2003. Also, it should also be an aim of the WRU to have at least one club participate in the financially lucrative Club World Cup which will be launched in 2028. Latter stage participation will also significantly improve commercial performances and bring in money across the board. But what also needs to be taken into consideration is what structure underpins the professional game. A new-look Super Rygbi Cymru If the WRU decides to reduce to three or two clubs there needs to be greater investment in Super Rygbi Cymru so it can potentially mirror New Zealand's NPC. The first season of SRC has been positive with the competition achieving far greater alignment to the pathway than the old Welsh Premiership did. But the gap between the professional game and the SRC still needs to be bridged significantly before it is anywhere near the level on offer in New Zealand. But if the WRU reduces the number of professional sides it will have the money to invest in the SRC to significantly increase standards, interest among fans who still hold famous club names dear and commercial possibilities. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here. Naturally, there will also be more professional standard players available to SRC teams if there are fewer professional clubs. If we go down to two professional clubs they will have far deeper squads and will release a greater percentage of players to play in the SRC. Article continues below The discussions at PRB level have to focus on what is needed to get the men's national side competing at the top end of the world game again The way to do that is to have professional clubs regularly competing for and winning silverware. Those at the top of Welsh are increasingly aware the status quo simply cannot deliver that.
