Guiseley Rangers hosted the qualifying rounds of the Leeds city tag tournament for the Leeds North West Sports Partnership last week ran by the the Leeds Rhinos Foundation working alongside School Games Organiser Natalie Mallinson to deliver the tournament in which 10 teams took part.
The afternoon tournament started with a warm up lead by Dance Development Officer Nicola Booth before a briefing from Leeds Rhinos Foundation community officers Leon Crick and Jonny Wainhouse on how to play tag rugby and the rules of the game.
The tournament received a visit from two special guests in academy players Ben Frankland and George Milton and who provided referees for the day in the tournament
All the schools showed great enthusiasm and the children displayed some fantastic skills throughout the day which is promising for the future of the game. The matches were played in the right manner and the right spirit with Queensway overall winners on the day after an epic final which they scored 5 try to St Oswalds 2.
The draw to the tournament for schools was the chance to progress to the City Wide Tag Finals, which saw Queensway and St Oswalds Primary Schools progress to the City Wide Tag Tournament Final based at the John Charles Centre for Sport in May.
Leeds Rhinos Community Manager; Jonny Wainhouse commented:
“Today was about children having a positive experience playing tag rugby in the right environment that Guiesley Rangers have created. Hopefully from today’s event we have engaged more children to stay active and get involved in sport."
"We would like to say a massive thank you to Natalie Mallinson who went out of her way to engage schools to participate in this tournament. Also a big thank you to the teachers who brought the children, Guiesley Rangers for hosting the event and also Leeds Rhinos Academy players George Milton and Ben Frankland who spent the afternoon with the children and are showing great promise on their coaching abilities."
For more information on getting involved in Rugby in the Leeds North West area visit www.pitchero.com/clubs/guiseleyrangers
The video for the festival at Guiseley Rangers ARLFC can be seen below: