Concrete Rugby goes from strength to strength

Programme delivered to 2,000 Leicestershire youngsters, with 36% increase in female participation this season

CONCRETE Rugby, an Aggregate Industries community initiative delivered in partnership with the Leicester Tigers Foundation, has exceeded all targets as it completes the second year of the programme.

Almost 2,000 young people from across Leicestershire took part in Concrete Rugby between October 2017 and July 2018, representing an 81% uplift on last year’s programme.

Concrete Rugby is a six-week programme where Leicester Tigers coaches introduce rugby skills to pupils in years 7 to 10 across the region. As part of the scheme, coaches teach youngsters a range of skills including handling, tackling and game-play.

Each session also includes a discussion on topics such as safety, exercise and well-being. The programme also tackles a number of issues including anti-bullying, cyber-bullying and cycle safety alongside encouraging youngsters to get involved in rugby.

This year female participation rose by 36% with a total of 712 girls completing the six-week programme; far exceeding Aggregate Industries’ and Leicester Tigers’ participation target of 450 females. In addition to this, almost 400 black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students took part in Concrete Rugby – representing an increase of 20% on the previous year.

Donna Hunt, head of sustainability at Aggregate Industries, said: ‘The Concrete Rugby initiative has been an excellent way to encourage young people from across the county to become involved in a sport and to be mindful of leading a healthy and active lifestyle.

‘In this, our second year of the programme, we’re delighted to have exceeded our targets in getting Concrete Rugby into more schools, reaching even more youngsters to coach them in a range of skills needed both on and off the pitch.’

As part of the wider Concrete Rugby initiative, Aggregate Industries and Leicester Tigers Foundation worked together to deliver ‘Give Bullying the Boot’, a campaign to help beat bullying in Leicestershire; and ‘Get on Your Bike’, an initiative to get youngsters to become more active through cycling.

Joe Reynolds, Tigers’ rugby development officer who runs the Concrete Rugby programme, said: ‘It’s been another fantastic year for the Concrete Rugby programme and we’re proud to be able to reach even more pupils. We’ve managed to combine sport with key lifestyle messages and lessons for youngsters and received great feedback from parents and teachers alike.’