Community Rugby League Pilot
Wigan will host the first in a series of Open Age Pilot games this weekend as Community Rugby League continues its return after a seventh month absence.
A partnership working group, led by the Wigan Warriors Community Foundation – and including the RFL and community volunteers – is helping to allow the Pilot to take place during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Community Rugby League returned last Saturday, with youth and junior teams playing for the first time since March in the UK. Fixtures and festivals took place all over the country.
And there are more fixtures to follow this weekend – including a behind closed doors Open Age pilot match between Wigan St Patricks and Orrell St James on Saturday 24th October (3pm kick off).
Fans wishing to watch the first Open Age fixture from the community game since March can see all the action live from Wigan St Pats on the RFL’s OurLeague app from 3pm on Saturday.
Wigan Spring View and Wigan Bulldogs are also in action on Saturday as they face off at Wigan St Cuthberts at 3pm.
Since the community game shut down in March due to the Covid-19 lockdown, a number of guidelines have been in place in recent months to allow the return to action, including socially distanced training (in June), touch/tag non-contact training (in July) and phased contact reintroduction (in September).
As part of the Open Age Pilot scheme, Wigan Warriors Official Technical Kit Partner, hummel, have provided face masks for all players and staff. In addition, players will be tracked via video and GPS to allow for track and tracing analysis, similar to that of the Betfred Super League.
Wigan Warriors Head of Community Martin McLoughlin said: “Despite the barriers, everyone involved has worked extremely hard to allow this pilot to happen.
“Sport and physical activity deliver immediate mental health and social benefits while having a long-term positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing. Our delivery is vital to help these people cope with the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the related restrictions as we head into winter.
“Despite current challenges, large parts of grassroots and community sport and physical activity have restarted, with minimal evidence of Covid-19 transmission.”
