Sun Shines On ‘Give It A Try’ Summer Programme
Hundreds of girls aged 10 – 14 took to rugby pitches across Ireland over the past ten days as the 2018 Give It A Try Girls Rugby Summer Programme got underway.
Taking place in 38 clubs, from Cooke RFC in Belfast to Skibereen RFC in West Cork, most of the participating clubs held their first session in glorious sunshine.
The aim of the programme is to introduce girls to rugby, make new friends and stay fit and active during the summer. Most clubs have seen a high with Carrick on Suir RFC welcoming over 50 girls, Gort hosting over 25 girls, whilst Seapoint RFC had over 20 girls at their first session.
What a super 2nd night of @IrishRugby #GiveItATry in @mubarnhallrfc ! 30 girls having lots of fun giving rugby a try and even got to meet their rugby idol @Megan91Williams ! Thanks Megan for calling down and for the prizes! #futurestars #rugbygirls #FromTheGroundUp #happygirls pic.twitter.com/yWEejv87Hc
— MsDalyGaeilge&French (@ciaradaly31000) June 12, 2018
Six more clubs will kick off in the coming days and will be hoping to reach the same numbers. All girls in the programme learn the basic skills of rugby through fun games and activities.
The players then have the opportunity to meet girls from other clubs with regular blitzes planned, as well as a National Festival on the 18th August.
Big night for girls rugby at Cooke RFC with 25 youth players out to #giveitatry #activefitandsporty
Excellent effort girls! Great to see the sun shining too ?@IrishRugby @UlsterRugby @BaxterAshleigh @CookeRFC @NISportsForum pic.twitter.com/IL0UJ7jttR— Cooke RFC Women (@CookeRFCWomen) June 7, 2018
Speaking about the GIAT programme, IRFU Women’s and Girls Development Manager, Nora Stapleton said;
“The feedback from the clubs has been extremely positive. We’ve had higher numbers of participation then anticipated with more and more girls expected to join the venues over the coming weeks.
From social media it looks like everyone has been enjoying themselves on the pitch so if anyone knows of a 10-14 year old who might like to give rugby a try then I’d recommend they get in contact with their local venue. I believe a number of clubs also rewarded the girls with an ice cream to cool down afterwards so plenty of smiles all round!”
A wonderful first session of our #GiveItATry programme! A sunny evening, 33 girls, lots of laugh and some ice cream! Can’t wait for next week ???!@WanderersFC1870 @OldBelvoWomen @LeinsterWomen @youthsrugby @IrishRugby pic.twitter.com/2VOTKPPLpN
— Wanderers Women (@WanderersWomen) June 5, 2018
The GIAT Girls Summer Rugby Programme continues for another seven weeks. A list of clubs running the programme can be found here
For any queries, please email womensrugby@irfu.ie