A great day at Wallingford!
Saturday 26th July saw Wallingford RFC host the inaugural Oxfordshire RFU Participation Cup. Taking the format of a round-robin mixed Touch Rugby Festival the event was aimed at bringing together the pockets of Touch Rugby activity in the county to pit their abilities against other like-minded groups.
Whilst this inevitably included teams from existing rugby clubs, such as Wallingford and Didcot, the festival also attracted entries from groups that play touch rugby purely for the enjoyment and health benefits that the game can provide. This included teams from Gillotts School, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Witney and Brill. Some of the many highlights of the day included family members playing with each other and grandparents, parents, boyfriends and girlfriends supporting the teams.
With the emphasis heavily on the participation element of the festival the results were of little consequence, however some of the good news stories are really worth sharing.
The two entries from Didcot came from Didcot Ladies. Set up just over a year ago by Club Coaching Co-Ordinator Shane Harrison, this group of ladies were introduced to rugby through a monthly tag rugby session. They have since progressed to weekly Touch Rugby training, regularly attracting 20 players every week. For the Ladies to have progressed to representing their club in a tournament within a year is testament to their desire to expand their playing horizons and develop their rugby.
The team from Harwell Science and Innovation Campus played as ‘Pas De Touch’, their name, at least, adding some French flair to the day! From this entry the Rugby Development Team has established a link with one of the biggest employers in the area. With over 3000 people working at the site this has provided a fantastic opportunity to help develop a workplace touch programme within the campus and grow the game in this emerging market.
Brill Touch has been active for the last seven years. While mostly providing Touch Rugby for the dads and lads of the village over the years their reputation has grown and they now have over 25 people playing every Saturday and Wednesday. Such is the dedication of this group that they have even played 2-a-side in the depths of winter with a foot of snow laying on their pitch! The group have now forged links with the Brill Sports and Social Club and have become a real fixture in the village. To have been able to provide this hardy bunch with an opportunity to pit their wits against other players was fantastic.
Finally the Codgers and Dodgers team from Witney emerged from the recent ‘Pitch-up and Play’ sessions run by Oxfordshire CRC Gary Morris. With no real allegiance to any club this was a great opportunity for a group of passionate rugby fans to come together and enjoy a day in the sunshine playing the game they love, even coming away with a couple of unexpected victories.
As the point of the festival was to encourage participation, all of the teams that entered were rewarded by ORFU with a £100 donation for them to use to access the local Touch Rugby league or O2 Touch Centre. This will hopefully provide a lasting legacy for the event and encourage more people to get involved in this rapidly expanding format.
Thanks go to Wallingford RFC for hosting and staffing the event and The Oxfordshire Society of Rugby Football Referees for providing officials. Plans are already under way for future events along the same format and anybody interested in entering should contact the Rugby Development Team.
Photos of the day, taken by Paul Sharkey, are available to view here
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