Worcester Warriors are celebrating after being shortlisted as ‘Community Club of the Year’ in this year’s All Party Parliamentary Rugby Union Group’s annual Citizenship Awards – and also scooped a top award for the npower Tag rugby programme!
Warriors have been joined by Saracens and Northampton in being praised by judges, who included representatives from the Third Sector, for the scale, quality and focus of the work they do in their local communities with private and public sector partners.
They will go forward to a final Club of the Year ‘shoot -out’ on April 29, following a gruelling interrogation from a judging panel which will include Derek Wyatt MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Rugby Union Group, Mark McCafferty, Chief Executive of Premier Rugby, and Miriam Sherlock, editor of Sports Business magazine.
The Parliamentary Citizenship Awards, now in their fourth year, recognise the positive impact that professional rugby clubs have on their local environment, community and society.
As well as short-listing the three clubs who go through to the Club of the Year final, the judges have made a number of other awards to celebrate different aspects of the community and social marketing work conducted by the Guinness Premiership clubs.
Warriors have also won the ‘Impact Award’ designed to celebrate an established programme which is able to clearly demonstrate the positive impact it has made on a particular issue (such as health or fitness) or on a particular community. This year’s award was given to Warriors for their ‘npower Tag’ programme which is aimed at children with special needs giving them the opportunity to learn and participate in sport.
Tom Ryder Worcester Warriors Marketing & Community Manager said: “At Warriors we are more than a Community Department, we are a community club and you don’t have to look past the Chairman to realise that “
“Without our Key Community Partners in Npower, Link Telecom, Hereford and Worcestershire CSP, The RFU and Modus Creative we would not be able to deliver the same community foot print.”
Steve Joslin Community Manager at Warriors has also been heaverly involved in the Tag Inclusive programme added: “We deliver this programme not to win awards but to enrich the lives of young disabled athletes, to achieve this as a recognition we are thrilled”
Charlie Little Worcester Warriors General Manager continued the praise of the programme which is designed to encourage disadvantage children which is an important part of the community which Warriors facilitate, by congratulating Tom Ryder and the Community Team at Warriors.
He added: “We are delighted to be recognised along with our main sponsor Npower and the hard work of Carole Hart (Community Involvement Officer) and her Team. The Warriors Community team have created a very dynamic and robust community team which doesn’t just do Tag Rugby but disability, education plus health and leisure to name a few.
The winner of ‘Community Club of the Year’ will be announced on April 29th 2009 at an evening reception at the House of Commons.