Worcester Warriors will host the prestigious ‘International npower Tag Inclusive Festival 2009’ on Saturday, May 16 as 30 teams battle it out at Sixways Stadium.
The annual festival, that complements tag rugby sessions that have been carried out with children in schools, has grown rapidly over the last three years.
The inaugural event was staged in Droitwich in 2007 when six teams competed. Last year the festival was staged in Belfast and attracted teams from four different countries.
Warriors has this year been given the enormous honour and responsibility of hosting the inclusive tag rugby festival and the community team at Sixways Stadium has pulled out all the stops to ensure the event is the biggest ever.
With the support of principal community partner npower, the number of children taking part has once again doubled with teams entering from across England, Wales and Ireland.
The tournament will be played out in three rugby-themed competitions: the Six Nations, the Premiership and the Celtic League, where teams are allocated to play against similarly skilled players.
Activities will kick-off in the morning, with the children exploring different elements of tag through a tailored circuit of games on Worcester’s training ground.
The festival will swing into full action in the afternoon with a total of 51 matches taking place, starting from 12.50pm, with presentations due to take place at 5pm including special guests from the international paralympic world and the Warriors.
Steve Joslin, Warriors Community Rugby Manager, said: “Tag rugby allows youngsters of all abilities to have fun while increasing spatial awareness, highlighting evasion techniques, and most importantly raising self esteem – all skills needed to enjoy sport and everyday life to the full,” he said.
“We’re delighted to be involved in developing the game to include more players and, with the fantastic support of npower, able to host this successful annual festival at Sixways Stadium.”
Carol Hart, community involvement manager at npower, said: “We are committed to building links with the local community and are delighted to be able to support our partners in engaging with young people.
“Through our work with the Warriors and the English Federation of Disability Sport we are looking forward to a memorable day, which will set the benchmark for similar events in the future.”
For more information on the International npower Tag Inclusive Festival please contact: steve.joslin@warriors.co.uk