A fruitful partnership between Arundel Church of England Primary School in West Sussex and nearby Worthing Rugby Football Club has resulted in more girls becoming involved in the sport.
The partnership began with the school’s headteacher, Andrew Simpson, welcoming one of the rugby club’s coaches, Chris Gaskell, to conduct initial outreach work. Following on from this, the girls of Arundel Church of England Primary School have been invited to train at Worthing Raiders’ Roundstone Lane ground in Angmering on Tuesdays and Sundays.
It is hoped that the opportunity to train in good quality facilities will motivate and inspire more girls to become involved in rugby, growing the next generation of players and supporters.
Speaking to the Worthing Herald, Andrew Simpson commented: “Worthing Rugby Club is famous for its outreach work to support others and recently it has been working in partnership with schools to give girls an opportunity to play rugby.
“It’s the perfect chance to get some one-on-one training and small group training with an ex-[Worthing] Raider and for the children to know exactly what it is like to be a player of such a fabulous club.
“They’re taught everything from kicking to jumping and it is great children are being encouraged to get out of the house and get active after the various lockdowns we have had.”
Worthing coach, Chris Gaskell, said that as well as helping grow the future of rugby, opportunities to go out and play sport were important for the health and wellbeing of children.
He explained: “We show them some of the technical bits they can take into the game but more importantly it’s about enjoying themselves and relaxing because in today’s society where everyone is glued to their phones and video games, getting children out and playing sport in a team is just going to be great for them.”
Photo by Edgar Pimenta on Unsplash
