Leeds Rhinos players gave their support for Leeds community clubs at the recent Leeds Rhinos Foundation Ambassador Festivals.
Hundreds of young players took part in the two events held at Hunslet Warriors and Leeds Rugby Academy over two weekends and they were cheered on by Rhinos players who came along to meet the children and hand out certificates.
Stevie Ward, who played for Hunslet as a youngster, said: “Going along to events like the Ambassador Festival and seeing how enthusiastic people are and how much they love playing is great and it reminds you as a professional player about why you started playing. It was wonderful to go along to my old club and see all the teams throwing themselves into and seeing the coaches and the parents really enjoying themselves.
“It was rewarding for me to go back to seeing the game at grassroots level. I remember when I was young playing for Churwell Chiefs and Barrie McDermott and Lee Smith coming down and doing skills with us and it means so much to you when you’re young and working hard to be like your heroes.”
The festivals involved teams from different age groups competing before receiving medals and certificates from the Leeds Rhinos players.
Jamie Jones-Buchanan, who hosted the first event, said: “Festivals like this are really important for development. I played in lots when I was a kid and now as an older senior professional I go around to clubs to try and encourage the next generation to do the best they can and these festivals are great opportunities for children to learn and I it’s brilliant that Leeds Rhinos Foundation do this every year.”
Sam Horner, community clubs development officer at Leeds Rhinos Foundation, who organises the annual events said: “Both events were terrific and a great advert for how the game is thriving in our city. The Ambassador Festivals are a fantastic example of everyone involved in rugby league in the city coming together to put on a memorable event for young players.
"We would like to thank all the Rhinos players who came along to support and inspire the players along with our hard working staff who helped the two events run smoothly.
"We would also like to thank Charlie Brett's and Naturally Best for sponsoring the events and feeding the children, along with Peter from County Scaffolding for providing the stage and of course the Dick Gibson family for once again supporting the Festivals.
"With over 600 junior players from 22 community clubs taking part, our two Ambassador Festivals have been huge successes and we would like to thank our partners MEARS whose support helps us to continue our rugby league development work and put on these kind of events."
Take a look at the action from Kirkstall here.
For more information on our Ambassador Club scheme or how you can support our Rugby League Development Plan email sam.horner@leedsrhinosfoundation.org