Barnes RFC shines a light for local schools
Barnes RFC is introducing more local children to rugby and encouraging them to take up club rugby at the weekend.
Their community outreach programme features Floodlit Friday Tag Ruby Festivals for local state primary schools. The rapid eight-minute matches start and finish on a hooter, adding to the fun, ensuring that players get lots of rugby and galvanising teachers and supporting adults.
Kicking off the three-night series, a girls only festival for players from Year 3-6 then sees the girls join the subsequent mixed festivals for Years 3 and 4, and Years 5 and 6.
Players get a hot dog, snack and a drink at the end and parents can enjoy a drink at a pop-up bar, run by clubhouse manager Zoe Rand, who with her team, enjoys watching the children represent their schools in sport.
England and England Sevens star Megan Jones joined the recent Year 5 and 6 festival, providing skills-zone coaching to school teams on a rotation of the four match pitches.
This community outreach is also part of a major drive to increase the proportion of girls playing rugby, so it was particularly pleasing that four new players turned up to training at Barnes to start playing Under 11s rugby the day after a festival, and even more pleasing that three of them were girls.
Over the course of three Friday nights more than 400 children enjoyed playing rugby, many for the first time ever. Barnes RFC, in collaboration with the All England Lawn Tennis Club, were able to showcase a community sport using the excellent facilities which were formerly the Bank of England Sports Ground. Local sports clubs and schools are campaigning to maintain community access to these grounds.
These Floodlit Friday tag events from 4.30-6.30pm are a great illustration of the fun, fitness and friendship that Barnes RFC are providing for their community.
