Headingley restaurant Charlie Brett’s will continue their support of community Rugby League in the city on August 14th through their sponsorship of the sixth annual Dick Gibson Ambassador Festival Rugby League.
The Festival will be hosted for the first time by Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Ambassador Club, Kippax Welfare ARLFC, and will bring together over 40 community clubs and see over 400 players aged 7-11 take part in mini games.
Organised by the city’s community clubs and supported by Leeds Rhinos Foundation, the Festival will provide a full day of entertainment and will be compered by Leeds Rhinos player and Rugby AM presenter Jamie Jones-Buchanan and Alex Simmons.
The Festival is named in memory of the late Dick Gibson, who as a chief scout at Bramley RL became a pivotal figure in the development of community rugby players in the city.
The annual Dick Gibson Ambassador Festival has now become one of the most popular events for Leeds community teams and Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Community Club Development Officer, Sam Horner, says this is down to the hard work of all the city’s community teams who put on the event.
“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 players at their clubs with a rugby tournament over the summer holidays,” Horner said.
“Part of the ongoing legacy of the festival has been the support from the Gibson family, which has seen Dick’s son, Richard, and granddaughter, Fiona, carry on his valued support of the game at grassroots, through their sponsorship of the festival, which is a great way of honouring Dick’s memory and contribution to rugby league in Leeds.
Charlie Brett’s Fish Restaurant, which is a popular spot for Leeds Rhinos supporters on match days will be providing the catering on the day for the expected crowd of over 2,000 people.
Dick Gibson’s granddaughter and owner of Brett’s Restaurant Fiona Gibson said: "We are once again delighted to be able to support this event. It's getting bigger and better every year and it's these events that showcase not only how valued sport is in our community but also how the Leeds Rhinos foundation and its key partners are actually changing lives through sport! My Grandad would be a proud man."
The Festival runs from 10am to 4pm and is free for all spectators to attend. There will be a raffle on the day, which includes a grand prize of a weekend trip to Filey among other prizes donated by the Leeds Rhinos, with rugby merchandise and equipment available from on-site retailers.
All proceeds from the raffle and the event will be reinvested into community rugby teams.