In partnership with Play Rugby USA, Playworks Northern California hosted a flurry of Rugby Jamborees throughout the Bay Area in the last month! For many kids, this was their first time playing Rugby, and this experience provided an amazing community-building opportunity.
Over 200 kids from throughout the Bay Area participated in these Playworks Jamborees. Our Coaches worked with students in the weeks prior to the events to ensure there was time to get comfortable with rugby rules and fundamentals.
Children arrived with an amazing attitude and willingness to play. The day consisted of a fun warm-up stretching session, explanation of Play Rugby USA’s core values, lead-up rugby skills, snack break, and the fan favorite, an Ultimate Rugby closing game! There was a genuine effort from students to learn new skills, such as passing the rugby ball, communicating with their teammates on defense, and “respecting the game” by playing fairly and safely. All participants had a blast at the end of each event when they played Ultimate Rugby. This one large flag rugby game allowed students to incorporate all of the skills they learned throughout the event while playing with students and Coaches alike!
Green Cards were given out throughout the Jamborees to individual students who showed positive sporting behaviors such as good teamwork, giving their best effort, or helping out other students to better learn rugby fundamentals. At the end of the day, these students were celebrated with a Play Rugby gold medal and a rousing applause from the group!
A huge THANK YOU to Anthony Lenos, Bay Area Program Director at Play Rugby USA, and his assistant, Matthew Clark, for providing multiple trainings to our Playworks staff leading up to the Jamborees, coming out to ALL the events, and helping facilitate rugby rules, games, and the ‘Ultimate Rugby’ closing game!
