International Women’s Day is a global day, dedicated to celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world. Together we can forge women’s equality. Collectively we can all #InspireInclusion.
This International Women’s Day, we are taking the opportunity to celebrate the inclusive work we do in supporting the physical and mental wellbeing of women and girls throughout our city. This including opportunities for young girls to be involved in our Rugby League pathways and programmes.
As part of our Rugby League Development Plan, we believe that Rugby League is a game for all and aim to develop and deliver more opportunities for women and girls to access our sport. We will aim to have more women playing more often in environments and formats which are adaptable to encourage participation.
We have a long and proud history of supporting equality, diversity and inclusion in our communities through our extensive range of programmes and initiatives, which continue to grow from strength to strength. In doing this, we aim to make a positive impact on our next generation of female athletes and leaders. Read on to find out how we are achieving this amongst our community and throughout the club.
Want to get involved in women and girl’s rugby league? CLICK HERE to view our helpful guide of local clubs who are running Women & Girls’ teams this year.
Community Club Support Scheme
In the city, there are around 24 girls’ community Rugby League teams. As part of our Rugby League Development plan, our goal at the Foundation is to boost participation among young girls by enhancing club environments and standards to optimise training experiences.
Through our Community Club Support Scheme, teams can access continual professional development. Since the launch of our Tackle Safe Workshops, 30 girls community coaches have developed their knowledge surrounding the new tackle laws, making our game a safer one for all involved. In addition to this, 20 coaches engaged with our “Coaching the female player” workshop run by Leeds Rhinos Women’s Head Coach, Lois Forsell.
For more information or to sign up to the scheme, CLICK HERE.
Dance
Throughout the month of March, we are celebrating 15 years of our Rhinestones Dance Academy which was established in 2009 by our Dance Development Officer, Nicola Booth.
Since its humble beginnings it has grown from strength to strength, with classes taking place weekly during term time.
The aim of the Rhinestones has always been to give everyone the opportunity to access great dance classes at an affordable price, offering cheer and street training for young people in the city aged 4-18.
For more information or to get involved, CLICK HERE.
Girls Rhinos Talent Pathway
Running in the school holidays, our Girls Rhinos Talent Pathway sessions are hosted by the Rhinos Women Head Coach, Lois Forsell, who inspires the younger generation through her own experiences. Lois is helping to cultivate future stars of the Women’s Super League by providing access to the highest standard of training facilities and coaching through her work with the Foundation, alongside players from the Leeds Rhinos Women’s team.
These days are open access and provide top class player development activity for young players throughout the city. Since the start of the current academic year, 280 girls have engaged with this provision from clubs in Leeds and beyond.
Our next Development Days will take place over the Easter Holidays – details to follow.
School Competitions
Since the start of this academic year, we have engaged with 824 girls through our school competitions and a further 817 girls have participated in school curriculum since September 2024.
School rugby, at both primary and secondary level, plays a huge role in encouraging young players to get involved with further training opportunities at their local community clubs, increasing the number of registered players within the game as a result. Players are also invited to attend our upcoming Rugby League Taster Sessions for those in the process of setting up or expanding their girl’s teams!
Upcoming Girls Taster Sessions
Date: Tuesday 12th March
Club: Leeds Underdogs
Girls U10s & U11s (Years 5 & 6)
Venue: Leeds Modernians, Cookridge Lane, LS16 7ND
To book your place, please CLICK HERE, or contact ellis.pascall@leedshrinosfoundation.org for more information.
Disability and Inclusion Rugby
At Leeds Rhinos Foundation, we are proud to be a part of the Community Integrated Learning Disability Super League and through our own Leeds Rhinos LDSL team we can offer a place where both men and women with learning disabilities can come and enjoy rugby while developing both physically and socially.
This inclusive form of the game provides unique opportunities and lifelong memories for the players, as well as a chance to make lots of new friends and enjoy living out their sporting dreams while representing their favourite Super League club.
We are also proud to have a Wheelchair team who compete in the Betfred Wheelchair Super League. The Wheelchair game is an inclusive sport, with both men and women competing alongside one another. Welsh international and Rhinos player Jodie Boyd-Ward is one of the players leading the way for females in the sport as our Team Captain and helping to inspire a new generation of players to get involved in Wheelchair Rugby.
Girls Development Academy
Our Leeds Rhinos Girls Development Academy team, in partnership with Leeds City College, provides the opportunity for students to train, play and study full time at Leeds City College, whilst representing Leeds Rhinos at a post-16 level.
Since its launch in 2021, the team has seen an outstanding increase in participation levels, with more girls taking up the opportunity to represent the Rhinos badge. Last year, the team had only 14 registered players, compared to 26 this year!
For more information on how to get involved with our Leeds Rhinos Girls Development Academy and the opportunities available, please CLICK HERE or contact lois.forsell@leedsrhinosfoundation.org for more information!
RugBees
Last year saw the launch of our new RugBees programme, launched by the RFL to encourage more primary school-aged girls to take up the sport.
The charity ‘Women in Sport’ recently revealed the findings of research into why girls as young as five years old don’t feel they belong in sport. The report – Sport, stereotypes and stolen dreams: Why girls still feel they don’t belong in sport – found that over half of parents (57%) said their daughter had felt excluded from sport, with a quarter (26%) confirming their daughter had been told ‘it wasn’t for girls’.
The programme offered 30 young girls the chance to develop their confidence in a fun and safe environment, whilst taking part in once in a lifetime opportunities such as being mascots at the Women’s Challenge Cup Semi Final!
For more information about the upcoming RugBees programme, please contact ellis.pascall@leedsrhinosfoundation.org