Foundation delivers new girls programme successfully
Year seven and eight girls across the North East have been introduced to rugby this autumn, thanks to the Falcons Community Foundation and the Vantec Girls Rugby Programme.
New for 2016, the programme was launched at October’s Aviva Premiership Rugby game against Bristol, where a pre match development day saw over 60 girls take part and watch Darlington Mowden Park Sharks take on Bristol Ladies.
England internationals from the Sharks assisted in delivering the day to the participants before Falcons Community Foundation coaches embarked into 18 schools to see over 20 classes, with over 500 people taking part.
Running over the course of six weeks, the programme sees Vantec Europe, a global logistics provider to the automotive parts industry, headquartered in Washington, extend its support of the foundation following two successful years of delivery of tag rugby programmes.
In its first year, the Vantec Girls Programmes has been delivered in Cumbria, Co. Durham, Northumberland and Tyne & Wear and concluded through festivals at local rugby clubs.
With a key focus of the programme being the transition of the girls to a local rugby club, Blyth, Hartlepool, Morpeth, Novocastrians, Penrith, Ponteland and Sunderland have all benefited from the programme.
Ahead of the European Rugby Challenge Cup match against Lyon on December 18, an U13/U15s festival will see girls who participated in the programme play at Kingston Park Stadium, while a further development day at February’s Anglo-Welsh Cup match against Bath will link all the girls rugby together from the clubs and schools with coaching from Falcons Community Foundation staff and Falcons first team players.
