National Festival Celebrates ‘Give It A Try’ Summer 2018

A fantastic summer of fun which saw over 1,000 girls trying rugby as part of the Summer 2018 programme culminated in a National ‘Give It A Try’ festival last weekend.

The ‘Give It A Try’ Summer 2018 programme kicked off in June and ran for an eight week period. Over the course of the summer over 1,000 girls have taken part in the programme at 38 clubs around Ireland.

The Give It A Try sessions were aimed at girls aged 10 – 14 and for most it was their first taste of rugby. The emphasis for the summer was on fun and introducing the basic skills over the weeks to encourage more girls to get active and enjoy the sport.

The GIAT programme has proved a hit with children and parents alike. Joan O’Bryne, whose daughter Emily, was playing in the national festival said “She absolutely loves the course. She really looks forward to rugby and the confidence that has come out of her is great. I really would highly recommend it”.

Speaking at the national festival Nora Stapleton, IRFU Women’s and Girl’s Development Manager, was delighted with the summer events “Last year we had 13 clubs take part, we’re up to 38 for 2018. This year has been really positive and it means that next year can be bigger and better again”.

Catherine Fleming from Carrick On Suir RFC commented “Last year we got 30 girls and we have retained most of them and this year it is better again because we went to all the local schools and we got 68 girls registered for the Give It A Try programme this summer”.

Ireland internationals Katie Fitzhenry and Ailsa Hughes were at the festival to meet the girls and offer tips and advice and there was also a chance to get photos with the Grand Slam trophies.

Related News
Give It A Try – Wicklow RFC