In August junior players from Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Ambassador Club Scheme will come together to enjoy a day of rugby at the annual Ambassador Festivals.
Now in its ninth year, the Ambassador Festivals are one of the highlights of the rugby league calendar for community clubs across Leeds and beyond and last year’s events involved 38 of the charity’s Ambassador Clubs competing in the Festival.
On 12th August Under-11s and Under-12s along with Girls Under-12s and Under-14s are invited to take part in the Naturally Best Club Ambassadors Festival at Hunslet Warriors. This will be followed by the Dick Gibson Ambassador Festival at Leeds Rugby Academy in Kirkstall on 19th August for teams from the Under-7s to Under-10s age groups.
The Festivals are always supported by Leeds Rhinos players, many of whom have represented community clubs in the city before going on to play for the Super League champions, and they will once again be in attendance to hand out certificates to the players.
Sam Horner, Community Club Development Officer for Leeds Rhinos Foundation said: “The Ambassador Festival is a great showcase of what our Ambassador scheme is all about – teams working together for the benefit of the game.
“The growth of the Ambassador Festival is something I am very proud of. Nine years ago we were asked by the city’s community clubs to put on the festival and now we have more teams than ever taking part.
“The fact we now have girls teams competing is testament to the huge work that is being done in the community to help encourage girls to get involved in the sport and we will be delighted to welcome players from the Leeds Rhinos Women’s team for the first time to support the players.
“The cohesion of the Ambassador Festival is what makes it such a success, with clubs, players, Leeds Rhinos Foundation staff and supporters all working together to ensure all the players enjoy a memorable day of rugby.
“I would like to thank Charlie Brett's and Naturally Best for once again giving their support and sponsoring the two festivals and Leeds Rhinos and Hunslet Warriors for hosting the events.”
Teams interested in taking part need to sign up before Monday 18th June. Please contact sam.horner@leedsrugby.com for details.
The Festivals runs from 10am to 4pm and is free for all spectators to attend. There will be a raffle on the day with rugby merchandise and equipment available to purchase from on-site retailers.