Community Clubs across Leeds and the Leeds Rhinos Foundation came together for the 5th Annual Dick Gibson Memorial Ambassadors Festival of Rugby League sponsored by Charlie Brett’s Restaurant on Sunday for over 700 junior Rugby League players across the region
In the biggest Ambassador Festival to date, 64 teams from a total of 23 clubs took part in the day, sponsored once again by the Family of Dick Gibson through their Headingley based Charlie Brett’s Fish Restaurant, who continued their support of the festival by providing every junior player taking part with a free hot meal on the day.
The festival saw the inclusion of the under 7s age group, who took part in the Primary Rugby League 5 aside model, with 14 teams from the Ambassador Scheme playing off against each other and utilising club coaches from each team as referees for the tournament.
Also in action on the day were age groups from under 8s through to Under 11s, who all took part in 9 aside Rugby League games and played out different pool scenarios to complete their fixtures for the day with as many as 14 teams in each age group.
The Festival organised by Community Clubs Development Officer Sam Horner with ambassadors from the Leeds Rhinos Foundation Club Ambassador Scheme has become a huge event in developing Rugby League in the city of Leeds and once again provided an opportunity for the junior age groups from each community club to enjoy a day of small sided Rugby League.
Sam Horner commented:
“We’re in our 5th year now and have a fantastic 63 teams from 23 clubs along today and over 700 kids from under 7s up to 11s and of course some fantastic support from Charlie Brett’s, who have provided sponsorship and food for the kids again this year.
“The best thing about this festival is it’s actually the ambassador clubs that organise and help run the event with our Leeds Rhinos Foundation staff, so we all work together on creating the event through the power of the community all coming together to provide what is probably the biggest festival of its kind other than the Rhinos Challenge.
Rugby AM followed on from last year’s Festival to again add to the spectacle of the event by hosting a live Rugby Am show on stage, welcoming guests from the Leeds Rhinos such as Mitch Achurch, Brad Singleton, Stevie Ward, Mitch Garbutt, Jordan Lilley, Rob Mulhern and Ashton Golding, who all helped present the clubs with their certificates of participation as a memento of the day.
The Rugby AM Festival experience competition was also showcased during the event with an elite training session for the top three community clubs at the top of the points table from their unique competition which was delivered by Super League stars Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Ashley Gibson, Stevie Ward and Josh Charnley.
The festival also saw the inclusion of the new Leeds Rhinos RESPECT Campaign boards designed to help create a friendly and fun environment for junior players and to promote better Rugby League environments across the region with a series of signs located around the festival.
Leeds Rhinos star Jamie Jones-Buchanan commented on the importance of the campaign due to be delivered across to clubs in the Leeds Rhinos Club Ambassador scheme in the coming months:
“It’s a very important campaign as Rugby League prides itself on respect particularly with referees where it’s quite visible sometimes that people don’t respect officials or indeed other players on the pitch, so at this level in particular it’s important that the young kids can come and enjoy themselves express their talents and abilities without having to fear any abuse or aggression from the side lines.
“I look forward to seeing this campaign rolled out across the community, which will hopefully help provide a fun and enjoyable environment for our young players as they develop into the sport.”
The Leeds Rhinos Foundation would like to thank all clubs and volunteers who supported the event on Sunday and extend a further thank you to the Family of Dick Gibson and Charlie Brett’s Restaurant for sponsoring the event again this year.
A full photo gallery of the event is available to view on the Leeds Rhinos Foundation official Facebook Page