TACKLING NUMBERS PROGRAMME SHORTLISTED FOR TOP AWARD
We’re delighted to announce that Tackling Numbers has been shortlisted for the Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Programme in the Card & Payment Awards.
Tackling Numbers, taken by Geoff Caddick/PA Wire
Tackling Numbers is an interactive numeracy programme for young children, developed and delivered by Premiership Rugby in partnership with MBNA. The five week programme aims to teach 8-9 year olds the importance of number skills in everyday life.
Rugby is a social game that unites and brings people from all over the world together, and so it’s great to see rugby’s ability to engage with children being used to engage kids in the classroom. The programme utilizes the power of rugby to promote the understanding and learning of numeracy in a fun and enjoyable way, and the classroom sessions are supported by practical PE sessions that unite an active mind with an active body.
The winner will be announced on 1st February 2012, so check back then to find out if we’ve won!
Tackling exclusion through HITZ
HITZ is a high profile programme that is based in the heart of inner city estates, targeting young people at risk of exclusion and anti social behaviour. It introduces them to tag, touch and contact rugby and encourages them to take their game further.
HITZ session
I have seen for myself the huge impact that HITZ has on young people’s lives.
For example, John* first picked up a rugby ball when he was sixteen, a year and a half ago. He had never played the game before, and was uncertain in himself and in his skills. Now John is going into schools to coach younger children, gaining leadership and coaching experience as well as developing his own rugby skills.
In another case, Chantelle* previously didn’t think that girls could play rugby. When she first joined HITZ earlier this year, she was quiet, shy and withdrawn. Six months on, she bounds into each session, grin on her face. Her mother and teachers alike can’t believe how much confidence she has changed – “she’s like a totally different person now”.
These are just a couple of examples of the ways in which HITZ impacts positively lives of those young people that take part in the sessions, which are run at key times after school.
It is not just the participants who make the sessions special though – the dedicated rugby players who run them have developed a deep understanding of the young people they are working with.
They develop working relationships with the teachers in the local schools, get to know the participant’s peers and take a genuine interest in their lives – from their GSCE results to advising them when they are in trouble.
And some of them are in trouble – it is thought around a third of those participating in the sessions were known to the police. The sessions tackle social exclusion as well as delivering health outputs. Running sessions with the Met police encourage stronger relationships between the police and young people, helping bridge the gaps that seemed evident in the recent riots across the UK.
This, combined with teaching participants how to develop their emotions (a huge 73 per cent say that the sessions has helped them control their anger), means that the young people taking part are able to feel part of their communities, and reduces their likelihood of offending.
It is telling that HITZ is getting bigger – more young people are taking part and going on to coach themselves, more teachers are coming to us thrilled with the effect that HITZ is having on individuals in their classes, and more sessions being run throughout London boroughs – and I am looking forward to it becoming bigger still.
*names have been changed to protect identities
Saracens announced as winners of Premiership Rugby Community Club of the Year award
We are delighted that last week’s Premiership Rugby Parliamentary Rugby Community Awards saw Saracens score the Club of the Year award for the third year running.
Their secret?
The judges felt that the club’s reach – 75,000 people engaged over one year, with 25 separate programmes and almost 27,000 hours of community work – was so wide that it stood out from the other entries.
Also named as winners on the night were Bath Rugby and Bristol Rugby in the Innovation and Impact categories respectively.
Bath Rugby won the Innovation award for their Women and Girls programme, which works with girls and women age seven plus. The judges felt the increased opportunities provided for a group that is traditionally difficult to engage in sport made this a winning entry.
Bristol Rugby won the Impact award for their Inferno programme, which re-engages young offenders and youths with behavioural problems with education, employment and sport. With youth crime costing UK taxpayers £23million per week, the judges felt the impact this programme had on young people’s lives and the wider community was highly impressive.
The three winning clubs battled for top places after being shortlisted alongside Leicester Tigers (Aviva Club of the Year) and Worcester Warriors (Land Rover Impact Award and MBNA Innovation Award) in the first round of the awards, which are dedicated to highlighting best practice in community rugby.
The community team feel very priviledged to be working with such inspirational clubs, who truly make a difference to their local areas and beyond.
Dr. Keith Gilbert talks about the Premiership Rugby Community Awards
Following a very successful first round judging session for this year’s Premiership Rugby Parliamentary Rugby Community Awards, Dr Keith Gilbert shares his views on the importance of sport in the community.
Premiership Rugby Community Awards shortlist announced
We are delighted to announce the six finalists for the Premiership Rugby Parliamentary Rugby Community Awards. The awards aim to praise the best community programmes from the 12 Aviva Premiership Clubs.
Clubs entered into three awards; the MBNA Impact award, the Land Rover Innovation award and the Aviva Club of the Year award.
The quality of entries this year was very high, and the judges were impressed with the breadth of programmes. However, there could only be two finalists in each category, and these are:
MBNA Innovation Award
- Bristol Rugby: Inferno. This programme addresses poor conduct and behaviour as well as low educational attainment in Youth Offending Institutions, Secure Units and Pupil Referral Units.
- Worcester Warriors: Midlands Ladies Touch League. This league was launched to encourage and engage more women in taking part in rugby union, as it became clear there was a lack of opportunities for women to play rugby in the region
Land Rover Impact Award
- Bath Rugby: Women and Girls Programme. This is the largest and best established female rugby club in the country, which increases opportunities for female access to physical exercise.
- Worcester Warriors: In Touch. This project works with young people with few or no qualifications and those at high risk of long term unemployment, helping then gain skills, respect and discipline and introducing key skills and qualifications.
Aviva Club of the Year Award
- Leicester Tigers
- Saracens
The shortlisted clubs will now go through to a second round of judging in Parliament, where they will present their cases for why they feel they should win their award. Although we have no idea yet who will win from each category, one thing is beyond dispute – all of the clubs going forward to the final are at the forefront of what they do.
It will be a tough job deciding between them when it comes to the final in July, and we are looking forward to seeing the results.
The Premiership Rugby Community Awards will be presented at a drinks and canapés reception on the 6th July at Portcullis House.
Mayor gives thumbs up to Rugby
The team here at Premiership Rugby were delighted to see an article this Monday applauding the virtues of rugby in tackling aggression in young people – penned by none other than the Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
In the article he wrote in praise of HITZ, the programme Premiership Rugby runs with the Metropolitan Police in six London boroughs, he celebrates the sport for the way it channels aggression into something productive; as he puts it, after a tough game on the pitch “there is no reason for you to go off and get involved in gang violence because frankly that is what you have been doing for the last couple of hours”.
HITZ is designed to introduce young people to Rugby who may never have had the chance to play it before, giving them a confidence boost and demonstrating the possibility of working productively with authority figures, rather than avoiding them. It aims to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, break down barriers between communities and increase participation in sport. It also provides the participants with inspiring role models in the form of coaches and volunteers.
Although the participants are meeting up to play sport, they leave the pitch with more than just bruises. Their respect for others grows, their friendships evolve and they become more disciplined. The programme sees many of the participants bring friends along, take qualifications or even train to become a HITZ volunteer themselves. The sessions really do work.
The Mayor says in his article that millions of kids would benefit from playing this exhilarating sport, and we couldn’t agree more.
Premiership Rugby welcomes Aviva as Title Sponsor
Premiership Rugby is very excited that Aviva, the world’s fifth-largest insurance group and the largest insurance services provider in the UK, is Premiership Rugby’s new title sponsor. You can see the full press release on Aviva’s site here, and the four year partnership will officially launch closer to the start of the 2010-2011 season.
We’re particularly excited about Aviva’s sponsorship because of their commitment to and interest in grassroots athletics. Aviva is committed to supporting the development of grassroots sport, especially among young people. Between them, the 12 rugby clubs in Aviva Premiership Rugby will commit 15,000 man hours to work with 36,000 pupils per season at 600 primary schools as well as providing them with equipment and teacher training.
We’ll be sharing more about this as it happens!
Premiership Rugby tackles childhood obesity
Unfortunately the season has now come to an end but behind the scenes at Premiership Rugby the work doesn’t stop!
A new scheme now being run by Northampton Saints in partnership with MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do it!) is underway and hopes to tackle the growing problem of childhood obesity.
Sian Haynes, head of community at Northampton Saints, said:
“Rugby is a great sport to help deal with the issue of childhood obesity. There are different versions of the game, from Tag Rugby up to full contact, and as a professional sports club we are in an excellent position to give the children everything they need to enjoy a healthier lifestyle.”
Government statistics indicate that one in five children are overweight or obese by the time they start school. The Saints scheme is part of Premiership Rugby’s continuing effort to instigate early intervention programmes and hope that in doing so we will be able to lower the obesity figures amongst children in the future.
In accordance with this, Premiership Rugby has also announced their support for National Childhood Obesity Week, an inaugural scheme being run by MEND and The National Obesity Forum. The week will run from the 5th to the 11th July.
We welcome the opportunity to support National Childhood Obesity Week and hope that the awareness it creates will help communities to understand how prominent this issue is. Childhood obesity is an area of great importance to us and is one our community officers deal with on a day to day basis, but we believe strong brands, outstanding facilities and the admirable role models that rugby provides make the sport an invaluable tool in helping to fight the battle against obesity.
Take a look at the images below of the Saints scheme in action!
Bristol Rugby win Community Initiative of the Year 2010
Bristol Rugby have been announced as winners of the Community Initiative of the Year 2010 at the 5th Annual All-Party Parliamentary Rugby Citizenship Awards.
Bristol Rugby pipped Saracens, Bath Rugby and Northampton Saints to the top award after a panel of judges unanimously crowned their Phoenix Project: Bright Sparks Programme as the winner. The four clubs battled for the title after being named as category winners in the first round. Here’s a quick look at how things went on the night.
‘Bright Sparks’ is a social inclusion programme that utilizes the highest quality rugby union skills, drills and games, with team building and leadership workshops. The aim is to attain rapport with, and re-engage designated young people from schools in high risk areas back into the educational process. Working in partnership with organisations such as, Avon Fire & Rescue Service, Avon & Somerset Police and SERCO Prisons, the programme provides young people with direct and tangible examples of how poor life choices will directly affect their lives.
Derek Wyatt MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group said;
“This is the most sensational programme. It focuses on youth crime and anti-social behaviour, which are two very tricky areas to tackle. Their aims and objectives are really clear, well thought through and very targeted. It’s a very clean and simple programme, which is producing results. Bristol Rugby are solving something that, we can’t do as a government, nor can local education authorities.”
The awards were judged by a panel including; Derek Wyatt MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group, Robert Walter MP, Treasurer of the All Party Parliamentary Group, Mark McCafferty, CEO of Premier Rugby Ltd, Kevin Roberts, Editorial Director of SportBusiness Magazine and Alex MacGillivray, Senior Partner at Accountability.
Here’s a look at how things went on the night.
Winners from the first round were awarded on the night as follows;
Health Programme of the Year – Northampton Saints – Kick Smoking into Touch programme
Education programme of the Year – Bath Rugby Community Foundation – Language through Sport programme
Participation Programme of the Year – Saracens – Community Dance Programme.
Social Inclusion Programme of the Year – Bristol Rugby – Phoenix Project: Bright Sparks programme.
Commendations to Worcester Warriors – Worcestershire npower tag inclusive programme.
The All-Party Parliamentary Rugby Citizenship Awards, now in their fifth year, recognise the positive impact that professional rugby clubs have on their local environment, community and society.
Drinks Education for Premier Rugby Players and Staff
Last week we announced the results of a new corporate social responsibility programme for Premier Rugby’s players and management staff about alcohol and its effects on the body and behaviour. The programme has made PRL players and staff more aware of the choices they make when drinking, and was run with Diageo, the premium drinks company. Here’s the press release:
RUGBY PLAYERS TACKLED ON ALCOHOL IN FIRST EVER LEAGUE-WIDE INITIATIVE
- Premier Rugby and Diageo announce positive results of attitudes to alcohol programme -Thursday 3rd December 2009: Recognising the need to provide alcohol information to players, Premier Rugby and Diageo have joined forces to develop and deliver an innovative attitudes to alcohol programme to every player and manager in the Guinness Premiership, achieving extremely positive results.
The programme has been designed to inform participants about alcohol and its effects on the body and behaviour, making them more aware of the choices they make when drinking.
Based on the DrinkiQ programme created by premium drinks company, Diageo, the programme was tailored by Premier Rugby specifically to connect with rugby players around scenarios and issues that are directly relevant to their health, career and life as a professional athlete.
All 12 Guinness Premiership clubs – 716 players and management in total (511 players and 205 members of management) – have now attended sessions run during the last two months and the response has been overwhelmingly positive to this first ever league-wide alcohol programme:
- 94% of players and 97% of management said they learnt something from the session .
- 91% of players and 97% of management would recommend the training to other players.
- 82% of players and 87% of management believed that the programme had been very good or excellent.
Martin Corry, former Leicester Tigers and England captain, who was involved in developing the programme to meet the needs of professional rugby players in the UK, said: “The programme has really opened the eyes of the rugby world to the effects of alcohol on the body and the impact of drinking too much on your performance. These are the sorts of issues that resonate with the players, so we are really speaking to them in their world to encourage them to assess their attitudes to alcohol. Before taking part in the programme, many players didn’t realise that overdoing it on a night out can impair your performance the next day and increase the risk of injury – a major consideration in a competitive sport.”
Ugo Monye of Harlequins and England said, “I enjoyed the session we had here at Harlequins and found it hugely educational and thought-provoking. As a professional athlete it’s essential to be aware what kind of effects alcohol can have on the body.”
Gerry Sutcliffe, Minister for Sport at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport added,
“I applaud Premier Rugby’s moves to talk to players about responsible drinking and the impact that alcohol abuse could have on their health and professional careers. I am pleased that Premier Rugby, the Rugby Players’ Association and the clubs are working closely together on this and that coaches and managers are involved, who are important in imbedding the right type of culture in clubs.”
Phil Winstanley, Rugby Director at Premier Rugby said, “As employers, the clubs recognise the importance of their athletes being properly informed on the effects of alcohol on the body. We looked into using the DrinkiQ programme developed by Diageo and tailored it specifically for rugby players. I’d like to thank Diageo for their support. We’re extremely pleased with the results.”
During the sessions, players and managers gain a greater understanding of the effect of alcohol on the body and the potential dangers of misuse both from a health perspective and from the perspective of a professional athlete. The players are encouraged to discuss their personal experiences of alcohol in a safe environment and are given rugby specific scenarios in breakout groups, identifying how behaviour can deteriorate with irresponsible drinking but also looking at strategies to ensure that they approach their nights out in a responsible manner.
Ron Ainsbury, who developed the DRINKiQ programme for Diageo said: “DRINKiQ was designed to provide our 20,000 employees with information to make the right decisions about drinking so that they can enjoy alcohol responsibly. Sportsmen and women are important role models in today’s society so it’s great to see Premiership rugby teams responding so well to the sessions. I hope that other sporting associations will follow Premier Rugby’s example in recognising the importance of ensuring their players are aware of the facts about alcohol and its effects.”
This weekend (5th and 6th December) fans at all Guinness Premiership matches will also be reminded to drink responsibly as part of the Guinness Premiership’s Responsible Drinking Weekend and Diageo’s ‘bite to eat’ programme. A variety of activities will be happening at matches including giving free pies to supporters to highlight the importance of eating between drinks and inviting fans to take part in a ‘co-ordination challenge’ to bring the impact of excessive drinking to life. They will also be offered a free bottle of water after the game to encourage them to drink water between alcoholic drinks.
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About Professional Rugby in the Community
I'm Wayne Morris, Community Manager for Premiership Rugby. This blog is a place for me and the Community Development Officers from around Aviva Premiership Rugby to share the community work our clubs are doing and talk about some of the issues we're trying to solve through sport.
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