YORKSHIRE JUNIOR AND YOUTH AMATEUR RL RECEIVE £11,977 IN CREATEDBY RLWC2021 GRANTS

YORKSHIRE JUNIOR AND YOUTH AMATEUR RUGBY LEAGUE RECEIVE £11,977 FROM THE CREATEDBY RLWC2021 CAPITAL GRANTS LEGACY PROGRAMME

The grant, which has been awarded to help more people play rugby league at grassroots level in Yorkshire, will fund the league’s new ‘cubs’ programme aimed at attracting players from the ages of three to five.   

Yorkshire Junior and Youth Amateur Rugby League is set to receive £11,977 from the CreatedBy RLWC2021 Capital Grants Programme. Delivered in partnership between RLWC2021, the sport’s national governing body, the Rugby Football League, Sport England and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, the CreatedBy programme is a funding pot of up to £10million made available by the government to support the legacy of the Rugby League World Cup by growing participation in the sport.

The grant will be used to provide equipment to clubs to enable them to facilitate new ‘cubs’ teams. The cubs programme is a training programme solely for children under the age of 6, with the aim of providing children a fun welcome to Rugby League. They will learn the basics of grip, catch, carry, passing and scoring tries in a fun and safe environment. The aim is to deliver weekly sessions once a week for boys and girls, based at our local community rugby league clubs.

Tyrone Oliver, Chairman at Yorkshire Junior and Youth Amateur Rugby League, said: “We know the impact rugby league and sport has on youth development, and as a league we are keen to get more players involved under the age of 6. Looking forward to the future, if we get juniors started at this age, we know we will consequently have more players and steady teams going up through the age groups, effectively looking after the future of the game”

Jon Dutton, Chief Executive, RLWC2021, said: “The CreatedBy RLWC2021 Capital Grants Programme is focused on ensuring the next generation of rugby league players have the best possible experience and barriers to participate are removed. We are delighted to award this grant to Yorkshire Junior and Youth Amateur Rugby League and look forward to seeing the results of this investment that aims to deliver real change in their community.”

Ralph Rimmer, Chief Executive of the Rugby Football League, said: “Hosting the Rugby League World Cup in 2021 offers so many opportunities for everyone involved in the game in this country and beyond, and the facilities that will be delivered by the CreatedBy RLWC2021 Capital Grants Programme will be a big part of that transformation. The RFL are proud to be involved in that process, and we congratulate all the successful applicants - and look forward to the impact of this unprecedented level of investment in the game for years to come.”

Charles Johnston, Property Director, Sport England, said: "We are proud to be working in partnership to deliver the biggest government investment into grassroots rugby league facilities the country has ever seen. With this funding, communities will gain better access to the facilities, improved infrastructure and essential equipment they need to be active. We are pleased the investment will provide benefit to people engaging in the men’s, women’s and wheelchair game, with a focus on those disadvantaged areas where inactivity levels are stubbornly high. By focusing our efforts on increasing participation in the game, we’re ensuring that the Rugby League World Cup's legacy lasts long after the last ball has been kicked and the crowds have gone home."

Stanley Rangers, one of the beneficiaries, said:

"Here at Stanley Rangers ARLFC, we have been offering rugby league opportunities since 1919.

"We are a family friendly club who encourage siblings of players to step from the sidelines as mascots onto the field to become mini rangers as well involving the local community to take part.

"Mini Rangers are our foundation. The sessions encourage core rugby skills into fun age relevant activities and games. We are looking forward to getting our minis up and running again in 2021." 

Matthew Lock, Chairman of Dodworth Miners said:

"In early 2020, the Dodworth Miners Juniors were accepted into the YJY league but due to the Coronavirus we didn’t start any training until late September when we started our Minis section. Before we’d been accepted into the YJY league, there hadn’t been a Junior Rugby League club in Barnsley for at least 15 years, if not longer.

"So, in late September we decided to hold six sessions, free of charge to all children aged between 3 and 5 and we had a fantastic turnout. Our lowest attendance for the Minis was 11 and the highest attendance was 23 which was amazing to say the least!

"As we move into 2021 we aim to build on our early success with the Mini Miners by providing them with more fun and enjoyable sessions based around core skills.

"Since running the sessions we’ve had some great feedback from parents which is really encouraging and the local community are starting to get behind us even more.

"We had one parent reach out to us and tell us that 'he loves coming to rugby training and he can’t wait for Saturday all week, what you guys are doing is absolutely brilliant thank you'."

Glenn Holdsworth, Head Coach of the Emley Moor Minis said:

"At Emley Moor, we are committed to being accessible to everyone in our local community and adding mini's is our first opportunity to add 4-6 year olds.

"We use this as an opportunity to engage with parents, get them involved in sessions and speak to them about future volunteer roles for when their child continues to Primary Rugby League.

"The Minis enables us to have ready-made U7s for the following season, hopefully with new volunteers in place."

Dan Winner, Coach of the Batley Boys Tots said:

"Tots sessions have been running at Batley for many years now and are an easy transition to U7s Rugby League.

"Last year, around half of our tots progressed to U7s RL and this year looks to be the same.

"Tots sessions continue to grow from strength to strength with lots of children enjoying Rugby League and having fun."

The Rugby League World Cup 2021 will kick off on 23 October 2021, with the men’s, women’s and wheelchair competitions taking place simultaneously, under one tournament banner for the first time.

Clubs, organisations and communities that run rugby league activities are encouraged to apply for this legacy funding by visiting www.rlwc2021.com/facilities. For further information visit their official social media channels, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.