This year’s Children’s Day, which takes place on Sunday 16th July, will celebrate the success of the Sky Try programme in Leeds, with 60 Under-7s sides from 25 clubs set to take part in a huge festival on the Headingley Carnegie pitch.
Through the Sky Try programme Leeds Rhinos Foundation has helped support the growth of the game by getting more children in school years 1 and 2 playing rugby. This has seen an incredible increase in participation and now the city has 20 clubs with Under-7s teams compared to 2012 when there were just three.
Leeds Rhinos Foundation is celebrating the achievements of Sky Try by inviting all the Under-7s teams from their Ambassador clubs to be part of the annual Children’s Day event at Headingley Carnegie Stadium.
Joining them on the day will be Sky Try Ambassadors and Rhinos players, Kallum Watkins and Brett Ferres, who have given the programme their backing.
“The Sky Try programme has done a fantastic job of getting young children interested in playing rugby league, and the increase in numbers of them playing the sport shows how successful it has been,” said Watkins.
“Having played Rugby League since I was a child I believe it is beneficial for children to play sport. It gets children into a habit from a young age of being active and it also teaches other qualities like team work and respect. It’s also great to be part of a team and I have made lifelong friendships through playing the game.”
Children’s Day is a free event run by Leeds Rhinos Foundation and Yorkshire Cricket Foundation for the families of Leeds. As well as the Sky Try Festival there will be plenty of free activities for children to enjoy on the day. Gates open at 10am – 4pm. Join our Facebook event page by clicking here to find out more about the day.
Families attending the event can make a suggested donation of £3 per adult and £1 per child attending on entry. All proceeds will support the work of Leeds Rhinos Foundation and Yorkshire Cricket Foundation.