Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Club Ambassador Scheme will be on full show next month with the annual Dick Gibson Ambassador Festival of Rugby League taking centre stage over two weekends at venues in Leeds this August.
For the first time in 2017, the festival will spilt into two separate events at Leeds Rugby Academy in Kirkstall on the 20th August and a combined event hosted by Hunslet Warriors and Hunslet Club Parkside on the 13th August.
With all 38 of the ambassador clubs involved in the event, the minis, under 7s, 8s and 9s age group will play at Leeds Rhinos training ground with under 10, 11 and 12 boys and 12s and 14s girls attending the Hunslet event for the first time.
The 20th of August event will once again be sponsored by long term supporters of the festival Charlie Brett’s, the Headingley restaurant owned and operated by Fiona Gibson whose Grandfather Dick Gibson the festival is named after.
Also supporting the event this year at the Hunslet festival site on the 13th of August will be family run catering specialists Naturally Best Caterers. The mobile event caterers will also be providing food at the event expected to see over 1000 people.
Now in its seventh year, the festival brings together all ambassador clubs in the city for the event, which is organised by the clubs at ambassador scheme meetings throughout the year in partnership with Leeds Rhinos Foundation.
Community Clubs Development Officer for Leeds Rhinos Foundation Sam Horner said:
"The Dick Gibson Ambassador Festival is all about the clubs and is a great chance for the rugby league community in Leeds to work together to reward the younger player’s clubs with a rugby tournament over the summer holidays.
“We’d like to thank the Gibson family for their continued support and new sponsor Naturally Best Catering for supporting the event, there is no better way to honour the legacy of the late Dick Gibson who inspired the inaugural event then continuing to grow this festival and inspire more young players.”
The festival is also supported by the Leeds Rhinos players, who attend the event each year to present certificates to players and interact with event hosts on the main stage from Rugby AM.
Leeds Rhinos star Ryan Hall, who played junior rugby in Leeds with Oulton Raiders commented on the importance of opportunities like the Dick Gibson Ambassador Festival:
“As players looking at the junior game today it’s really encouraging to see the amount of opportunity out there for community club players in Leeds and there’s no event bigger than the Dick Gibson Ambassador Festival and now the Naturally Best Festival adding to the experiences.
“Running out with your team at a festival and playing all day against different teams is always a great memory for young players, so we always look forward to seeing the excitement in the young kids coming through at the Ambassador festival," added Ryan.
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.