Blackpool Youth Games Tag Festival
11 schools participated in a Tag Rugby Festival at Blackpool Stanley ARLFC on Thursday 22nd June in partnership with Wigan Warriors Community Foundation and Active Blackpool.
The event, which was run in partnership with Active Blackpool and Blackpool Sixth Form young leaders saw each school brought along 10 players each, whilst taking part in a variety of skills and drills before going into tag games against opposing schools.
Skills included grip and carry, catching and passing, try scoring and the defensive element of Tag Rugby.
We would like to thank Christ the King, Hawes Side, Holy Family, Kingcraig, Langdale, Mereside, Moor Park, Norbeck, St Cuthbert’s, Stanley and Waterloo for attending the festival to create such a fantastic day,
Tom Marsh, Community Development Officer for Wigan Warriors Community Foundation said: “The Blackpool Youth Games event was a huge success. It was great to see so many schools and pupils taking part in Tag Rugby League for possibly the first time in their life.
“The day included an hour of skill drills where the different schools worked together to help themselves learn about the game, before then putting that into practice against each other for the second hour. All the way through the event it was great to see so many of the participants enjoying their experience with smiles on their faces. Hopefully this transfers to more children joining Blackpool Stanley ARLFC.
Simon Hornby, Chairman of Blackpool Stanley added: “The size and scale of the event brought a vibrancy to the park that we haven’t witnessed for many years. The event generated an interest in the game and an increased take up at club sessions.
“I received a few comments on the day from a number of different schools that the children hadn’t been sure what to expect and consequently they weren’t sure whether they would enjoy it. Once the sessions started any such concerns were put aside and the children fully enjoyed it.”
Simone Oldfield from Active Blackpool also said: “The Primary Tag Rugby Festival was a success! All the staff, pupils and leaders really enjoyed their time there. It was very well organised, well ran and the coaches were very enthusiastic.
“One of the best moments that stood out to me was at the beginning of the festival, I had a few pupils say that they had never played Rugby League before and were very nervous. When I checked in at the end with the pupils they said they really enjoyed playing Rugby and wanted to do it again, heading back to school with big smiles on their faces.
“Thank you for Tom and his team at Wigan Warriors Community Foundation for running the event, Stanley Rugby club for letting us use their grounds and the leaders from Blackpool Sixth Form for their support.’
Following the event, Graham Airnes of Stanley Primary school said: “We thoroughly enjoyed the rugby festival, as did the children. It was nice to see the children playing hard and in a fair spirit. Hopefully some of the children from our school are now hoping to join Blackpool Stanley ARLC, which is a win win for everyone. Thanks for all the efforts from the Wigan Warriors Community Foundation team.”
