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RUGBYWA REACHES 10,000 STUDENTS FOR 2013
More than 10,000 Western Australian school students have been introduced and involved in rugby in 2013 through development clinics run by RugbyWA development staff.
The significant milestone came at today’s Junior Public Schools Sports Association (JPSSA) Year 4 Rugby Carnival held at Hale School, where 22 teams across seven different schools took place in ‘tackle rugby’ while another 24 teams competed in ‘Walla-Tag’.
Senior Development Officer Tobias Hoskins says this year’s refined program has placed a greater emphasis on students learning rugby through playing the game rather than through countless training drills.
“We’ve really enjoyed getting into the community and promoting the new ‘Walla-Tag’ program in schools,” he said.
“It gets the kids playing the game which has been great and gets them understanding some game sense rather than a few isolated skills through drills.”
Hoskins says the earlier introduction of tackling has made rugby safer than ever before for those looking to be involved in the game at a young age.
“It’s all about getting the tackle and correct tackling technique integrated at school level,” he said, “Children tackle at club level yet haven’t been doing it at school, so if we can demonstrate and educate them then it’s much easier and safer when they play for their club teams.”
“Often the teachers aren’t confident in their ability to teach the tackle and the contact areas, so we come out and take the students through the basics and it becomes a lot easier.”
Since the inception of proper tackling techniques being coached and implemented by the RugbyWA Community Rugby representatives, the feedback has been overwhelming and evident in the support shown at the JPSSA carnival.
“There has been an overall increase in participation but the real area of growth has been in the contact side of the game which is very encouraging,” he said.
“This is the most teams we have had tackling and the first time all PSA (Public Schools Association) schools have entered teams to the tackle rugby draw which is reflective of the growth of the game we’re seeing in the state at the moment.
Having surpassed the 10,000-student mark, RugbyWA are targeting 11,500 participants involved in school programs for this calendar year.
To have RugbyWA Development Officer attend your school, please contact Tobias Hoskins at Tobias.Hoskins@rugbywa.com.au.
