May 11, 2023 (Langford, BC) — Over 620 youth ages 13-16 in the Langley and Chilliwack areas of British Columbia were enrolled in October and November 2022 through the 10-week Let’s Play Rugby pilot program presented by NFP Introduced to rugby.

In April 2022, Rugby Canada announced a partnership with NFP, a leading P&C insurance broker, benefits advisor, wealth manager and pension advisor. Since then, Rugby Canada’s development department has launched this new program to encourage more young people aged 13-16 to try women’s rugby in a contactless and inclusive environment. Rugby Canada has therefore added a person to its team whose primary objective is to develop and execute the brand new Rugby Canada pilot to support the growth of women’s rugby across the country.

“It’s great to see this project come to life,” said Steph Veal, women’s rugby project coordinator for Rugby Canada. It has been amazing to see that so many girls have had the opportunity to experience our sport for the first time and we have seen the impact as the number of school team enrollments has almost doubled. Using the lessons learned from this pilot, we will continue to expand the program and sustain the growth we have seen in women’s rugby across Canada. »

Rugby Canada staff conducted a total of 74 sessions at RE Mountain Secondary School, Aldergrove Community Secondary School and Brookswood Secondary School in Langley and GW Graham Secondary School in Chilliwack. In addition to the students, 17 teachers with no prior rugby experience were given the resources to offer a rugby program as part of their school’s physical education curriculum. Three of these teachers have also completed the World Rugby Level 1 coaching course.

“I am delighted to have an experienced rugby coach to work with our athletes and coaches,” said Rob Hayes, Director of Sport at Mountain Secondary School, Langley. Steph showed them some fun, exciting and engaging drills and games to get them started in flag rugby. The teachers now have some of the basic skills and confidence to coach a rugby team. »

Hayes adds, “We were able to reach over 400 girls.” [à Langley seulement] During the two months that Steph worked with us, many girls became interested because they had the opportunity to play flag rugby. Some of them have expressed an interest in joining a flag rugby team at Langley Rugby Club and have also attended training sessions there. »

The Let’s Play Rugby program presented by NFP will resume its activities in 2024 in Langley but also in Alberta and Quebec. The expansion of the pilot project to other regions of the country will allow for the development, verification and improvement of program resources for the next phases of the project.

“Rugby offers young women the opportunity to be part of a community that encourages collaboration, self-esteem, empowerment, responsibility, resilience and mental and physical well-being, and we are proud that Let’s Play Rugby is bringing more young people into that community. says John Haas, NFP President in Canada. The program is off to a great start and through our strong partnership with Rugby Canada we will continue to develop, refine, expand its reach and encourage even more positive experiences in the sport. »

About NFP

In April 2022, NFP became the Official Insurance Partner of Rugby Canada and the Official Partner of Canada’s Senior Women’s Rugby Team who competed in the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand last October. Through this partnership, NFP also supports grassroots rugby through a collaboration that provides girls across Canada with opportunities to participate in the sport and get involved with Rugby Canada teams.

NFP is a leading property and casualty insurance broker, benefits advisor, wealth manager and pension advisor. NFP provides solutions that enable its clients’ success through the expertise of 1,000 employees in Canada and more than 7,400 employees worldwide, investments in innovative technologies and long-term relationships with insurers, suppliers and highly rated financial institutions. NFP is the ninth largest employer of large insurers, the seventh largest private broker, the fifth largest benefits broker by worldwide revenue, and the 13th largest US business broker (all rankings are from Business Insurance).

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