IN LEAGUE TOGETHER newsletter

IN LEAGUE TOGETHER
newsletter
ISSUE 12 | FEB 2011
Sheffield Eagles to wear
‘Homophobia: Tackle It!’ shirts
on March 13
Gateshead Thunder champion
deaf awareness
Chris Hood
Cory Hanson and Mitch Stringer The Eagles will become the first professional sports
club in the UK to wear a playing strip displaying an antihomophobia message. The white kit, which has been
jointly funded by LGBT History Month and Pride Sports with
backing from the University & College Union (UCU) and the
National Union of Teachers (NUT) will boldly display the
slogan “Homophobia: Tackle It”.
Sue Sanders, Co-Chair of LGBT History Month, said: “It means
so much to us to have a professional club who want to do
something to tackle homophobia and celebrate LGBT History
Month.” Lou Englefield, Director of Pride Sports said: “We
have been working since 2006 to make sport a more inclusive
environment for LGBT people. It is fantastic that Rugby League
has risen so decisively to this challenge and that Sheffield
Eagles have placed themselves at the forefront of the campaign
against homophobia in sport.”
Fans can now pre-order replicas of the Eagles’ groundbreaking
playing shirts from www.eaglespride.co.uk. Tickets for Sheffield
Eagles’ Cooperative Championship clash with Widnes Vikings
at Bramall Lane, Sheffield on March 13 are now available from
the Sheffield United ticket office (08719951889).
Lee Curry
Gateshead Thunder is the first rugby league club to join the
National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) Me2 campaign which
is a project aimed at breaking down barriers that many deaf
young people face in accessing sport and leisure activities and
revolutionising access to activities at all levels for deaf children.
Chris Hood, Gateshead Thunder Director of Rugby commented:
“At Gateshead Thunder, we are continually striving to ensure that
our club and the game of Rugby League is inclusive, and that
we provide support to any individuals to extend the enjoyment
and values of the sport.” “The Me2 campaign is a real, practical
programme and being part of it shows our desire to ensure those
who are deaf or hard of hearing have the same opportunities as
everyone else.”
The pledge was signed by the club last year but the acceptance
by the NDCS has coincided with Lee Curry’s first day as
Thunder’s new Community Rugby League Assistant. Lee will
be working alongside East Durham Community Rugby League
Coach Rob Jones across the area. Lee is profoundly deaf and
understands what barriers young people face when trying to
access sport and leisure provision.
Lee said:
“It is great news that we have signed up to the NDCS Me2
pledge, and hopefully the work that I will be doing will be
increasing the provision of Rugby League in the North East to
people who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
For more information on the national Deaf Children’s Society and
the Me2 pledge visit www.ndcs.org.uk/whats_on/me2
RFL nominated for National Governing body of the year
The RFL has been shortlisted for the prestigious ‘Sport
Governing Body of the Year’ title at the forthcoming 2011
Sports Industry Awards to be held in central London on May
11.The Sports Industry Awards, currently in their 10th year,
are regarded as the flagship event to celebrate best practice
in UK sport. The RFL has been named alongside The Football
League, United Kingdom Athletics and the British Amateur
Boxing Association on the shortlist.
“Our shortlisting for the ‘Governing body of the Year’ award
is deserved recognition of a lot of hard work by everyone
involved in the organisation.“Having recently become the first
sports organisation to enter the Stonewall Top 100 Workplace
Index and achieving Investors in People status in 2010, we are
continuing to show that the RFL is a modern, progressive and
forward thinking governing body.” said RFL Chairman
Richard Lewis.
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ISSUE 12 | FEB 2011
New for 2011 season
- Tackle It Text Line
The RFL, in conjunction Rugby League Ground Safety Officers
Association and with Engage Super League and Co-operative
Championship clubs, is the first sport to launch a match day
Tackle IT! ‘Textline’ service for fans at all professional and semiprofessional clubs, The Textline allows fans to anonymously text
a dedicated phone line to report any racist, homophobic or other
unacceptable abuse or behaviour at a match. The RFL and each
club have been allocated their own unique text line reporting
number. We believe the match day text line will help us maintain
the passionate atmosphere of a game whilst ensuring that it is
family friendly and enjoyable match day experience.
RFL and Super League
Championship 1
07506605124 RFL
07506605195 Barrow Raiders
07506605196 Batley Bull Dogs
07506605125 Bradford Bulls
07506605126 Castleford Tigers
07506605197 Dewsbury Rams
07506605198 Featherstone Rovers
London EID Rugby
League festival
In February 2011, The Rugby Football League in tandem
with Harlequins RL ran the very first EID contact rugby
league festival in East London. Around 80 year 9 students
from 5 schools were in attendance with over 80% of the
participants from BME communities. By working with
the communities we gained the invaluable support of the
schools to run an EID rugby league festival at East London
Rugby Club, in Newham. The young people who took
part in the festival are also excitedly looking forward to
attending their first Super League game at the Harlequins.
The hope is that we will not only begin to establish lifelong
participants throughout the games non traditional player
bases, but also supporters.”
07506605199 Halifax RLFC
Luke Harris from Stratford Academy, a team with no
07506605200 Hunslet Hawks
prior experience of rugby league but who came runners
07506605201 Leigh Centurions
up stated “The boys had a fantastic time and they were
07506605203 Sheffield Eagles
buzzing when they got back to school showing off their
07506605204 Toulouse Olympique
medals to the other students. I must admit I was pretty
07506605205 Widnes Vikings
pumped myself by the end of it. All our boys are either
07506605206 York City Knights
Muslim or Hindi, and without the support of the RFL and
Championship 2
London Skolars who delivered coaching in the school, we
07506605207 Doncaster RLFC
would never have had this chance. None of them have seen
07506605133 Leeds Rhinos
07500312832 (existing no.)
07506605208 Gateshead Thunder
a professional football, or cricket game, let alone rugby
07506605209 Keighley Cougars
league so we are excited about this opportunity.”
07506605134 St Helens
07506605210 London Skolars
07506605127 Catalan Dragons
07506605128 Crusaders RL
07506605129 Harlequins RL
07506605130 Huddersfield Giants
07506605131 Hull FC
07506605132 Hull Kingston Rovers
07506605135 Salford City Reds
07506605136 Wakefield Wildcats
07506605137 Warrington Wolves
07583017259 (existing no.)
07506605138 Wigan Warriors
07506605214 Oldham
With several clubs already based in and around East
07506605215 Rochdale Hornets
London, this fixture looks set to become a regular event
07506605216 South Wales
Scorpions
in the London Rugby League calendar. The sport is
expanding at a significant pace in and around the capital,
07506605217 Swinton Lions
and the importance of being inclusive and welcoming non
07506605218 Whitehaven
traditional participants is paramount. With the support of
07506605219 Workington Town
the local communities, schools and clubs and the inclusive
ethos of the RFL will be looking to adapt and cater for all
RFL first sporting
organisation to feature in the
Stonewall Top 100 Index
those who wish to participate in the game.
For more information on the project or to contact the RFL
London team email [email protected]
The RFL has become the first sporting organisation ever to enter
the Stonewall Top 100 Employers Index, after reaching 93rd
position. The Stonewall Workplace Index is the definitive national
benchmarking showcasing Britain’s top employers for lesbian,
gay and bisexual (LGB) staff.
With Crusaders RL and Wales RL player Gareth Thomas winning
the Stonewall Hero of The Year award in 2010, this latest
success has continued to emphasise the RFL’s position as one
of British sports most forward thinking governing bodies. RFL
Chairman Richard Lewis commented: “For us to be the first
sporting organisation to enter the Top 100 is something everyone
involved with the RFL should be proud of. “The challenge for us
now is not to rest on our laurels but to keep developing our entire
equality and diversity programmes and continue the impressive
progress we have made in recent years.”
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Multi faith calendar
Sporting Equals, an
organisation committed
to increasing opportunities
for BME people to access
sport and fitness, have
launched an interactive
multi faith calendar which can be accessed on
www.sportingequals.org.uk/calendar.php This is a must for
any club or community group looking to work with people from
diverse faith and cultural backgrounds. You will be able to use
the calendar to look for religious and cultural festival dates to
assist with your event planning. You will also be able to send
Sporting Equals information about your sporting events which
they will consider including on the calendar to help you attract
more participants.
Equality and Diversity Training Toolkit Contributions appreciated!
RFL Equality and Diversity Manager, Sarah Williams is currently
developing a Rugby League specific Equality and Diversity toolkit
that club staff will be able to access to develop and deliver in
house Equality and Diversity training. The toolkit will comprise
a range of activities, some general equalities issues and others
equality strand specific, all of which will have a rugby league
focus. Resources needed, timing, description and tutor notes
for each activity will be included so that a member of staff can
develop a course that suits the specific needs of their club staff,
players and volunteers. If you have any examples of equality and
diversity activities that you have used please could you forward
to [email protected] for inclusion in the toolkit, any
contributions will be acknowledged in the final document.
Doncaster RLFC raises funds
for new Zealand Miners
On 13th March 2011 Doncaster
RLFC will be dedicating their seasonopening league fixture against South
Wales Scorpions to the New Zealand
mining disaster which happened in
November 2010. A small explosion
trapped 24 New Zealanders, two
Australians, two Britons and a South
African for six days until a larger
explosion was believed to have claimed their lives.
With Doncaster being a mining town and South Wales a
traditional coal mining area, the CEO/Owner of ‘the dons’, Carl
Hall, believes this to be the appropriate game to honour the
miners. Carl, who is from New Zealand himself, is calling on all
New Zealanders in the UK, including rugby players from both
codes of the game, to attend the match Carl said “this is the
least we can do for them even though we are on the other side of
the world The families who lost loved ones are in our thoughts”.
All proceeds raised will go to the Pike River Trust Fund with the
Don’s donating £2 from every paying adult ticket to the fund.
ISSUE 12 | FEB 2011
Date for your diary - March 8th
2011 International Women’s
Day (IWD)
International Women’s Day is a global
day celebrating the economic, political
and social achievements of women
past, present and future. The first IWD
event was run in 1911 so 2011 sees
the Global Centenary.
The International Women’s Day
website at www.internationalwomensday.com is a
global hub for sharing International Women’s Day news,
events and resources. It provides a free service to women
and organisations around the world wanting to share and
promote their IWD activity, videos, opinions and ideas.
Rugby League is planning to celebrate International
women’s day by launching a poster celebrating women in
rugby league at a girls festival in Nottingham on 8th March.
A copy of the poster will be available to download on the
RFL website, www.therfl.uk.com/equitydiversity shortly.
Women in Rugby League
The Roll of Honour was introduced in 2003 and recognises
individuals who have performed exceptionally on behalf
of the game over a long period of time as players and/
or administrators and volunteers. In 2011 June Kennedy,
Workington Town chief executive, was inducted onto the
roll following outstanding service to Rugby League over a
32-year period.
Two other inductees are Martin Coyd, who was
instrumental in Rugby League becoming a recognised
sport by the British Army and is the driving force behind the
success of Medway Dragons. Raymond Fletcher was the
RFL’s official statistician from 1981 until his retirement in
January 2011 He was Rugby League Correspondent for the
Yorkshire Post between 1975 and 1995 and a contributor to
League Express for 15 years.
Louise Spencer joins the growing ranks of women heading
up rugby league clubs, Louise has recently taken up the
role of CEO at Rochdale Hornets having moved to Spotland
from the senior management team at Burnley Football
Club, where she headed up the award-winning Community
Sports Trust.
Left:
June Kennedy
Right:
Louise Spencer
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newsletter
MASTERS FESTIVALS 2011
Masters is a strictly social version of Rugby League for players
over 35 years of age and has slightly modified rules to cater for
the older player. Masters Rugby League enjoyed huge growth
in 2010 and we expect to see an even bigger increase in
participants this year. There are no winners, no champions and
no cup finals in Masters Rugby League, it is all about the spirit
of the game with the emphasis on enjoyment and the health
benefits of continued participation
Pete Longbottom, RFL lead on Masters Rugby League said:
“Millennium weekend was a fitting launch to the Masters
season, and was a huge success with 88 participants including
41 new players taking part in the event in Wales. This success
will be followed by a series of festivals across the UK so come
ISSUE 12 | FEB 2011
Rugby League raises
funds for Australian
Flood Victims
A Rugby League gala evening to raise funds for the victims of
the Australian floods will take place at Headingley Carnegie
Stadium on Wednesday 16th March. Queensland and now
Parramatta star Chris Walker said “Having been personally
affected by the floods, it is great to hear that across the
other side of the world the public are doing their bit for the
Queensland people,” he said. “It just goes to show the values
of Rugby League and how much this great sport rallies behind
the people who really need it the most.”
along and try it out for yourself! Experienced or novice players
The tickets are priced at £50 each and tables of ten can be
welcome.
purchased for £500 plus VAT. Reservations can be made
from Tuesday 1st February, for cash and cheque payments
only, from Philip Howard Books in Leeds and Rotherham and
Euphoria Fitness in Huddersfield. Cheques should be made
payable to ‘Euro RL Australian floods appeal. They will also
be able to be available via the Rugby Football League ticket
hotline for credit card purchases from Monday to Friday
between 9am and 5pm by calling 0844 856 1113.
Interest can be registered at:
[email protected] and twitter
subscribers can follow @rickywilby or @scratchingshed2
Wigan - April 23
for more information as it is announced.
Normanton - May 14
Wetherby - Jun 12
Saddleworth - Jul 3
London Skolars - Aug 26
Eccles & Salford Juniors - Oct 8
Sunderland - Oct 22
For more information on Masters Rugby League visit
www.therfl.co.uk/play/masters or ‘like’ the official Masters
Rugby League facebook page www.facebook.com/pages/
Masters-Rugby-League/124934494229033
Alternative formats
The RFL has a commitment to providing information in alternate
formats. To date we have copies of the RFL Laws of the Game the official rule book - on audio tape. If you would like an further
RFL documents or information in an audio format please contact
Sarah Williams and we will endeavour to meet your needs.
For more information on any of the articles in this newsletter
please contact Sarah Williams at:
RFL, Red Hall, Red Hall Lane, Leeds, LS17 8NB
tel 0113 2375037 or email [email protected]
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