Last weekend’s Sky Try Rugby League festival in Liverpool brought the number of children and young people engaged through the programme to over half a million.
The Dacia Magic Weekend celebrations included a friendly and informal Sky Try festival run by St Helens Community Foundation. School children enjoyed a special opportunity to play rugby league adjacent to the iconic Anfield Stadium, before heading off to join their family and friends in the stadium to watch their Super League heroes.
Sky Try is the biggest ever programme of rugby league activity for school children and a partnership between the Rugby Football League, Sky and Rugby League Foundations.
21 Foundations, including Leeds Rhinos Foundation, have been involved in delivering activities in primary and secondary schools ahead of rugby league taster sessions, as well as unique events at big games and events.
So far in 2019, Leeds Rhinos Foundation has delivered Sky Try rugby league tasters at 16 different community clubs, more than 320 children (including 156 new players) attending the sessions.
Marc Lovering, RFL Participation and Development Director, said: “Over the five years of the Sky Try Campaign to date, the sport has enjoyed memorable moments including a visit to a Sky Try festival by Prince Harry, festivals at Summer Bash, Magic Weekend and England Internationals as well as hundreds of local festivals for children of all abilities.
“Last year saw the successful introduction of a Sky Try 9s Festival for secondary schools. All of this is made possible by the commitment and passion of the teams at the Rugby League Foundations, and the financial support of Sky – thank you to all involved in introducing children to the sport and supporting them on and off the pitch.
“The Sky Try Campaign is on track to engage 700,000 young people by the end of the seven- year programme. Many of these school children are our future club players, coaches, officials and fans. We look forward to another record season for Sky Try.”
For more information on Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Sky Try delivery, please contact ian.hardman@leedsrhinosfoundation.org.