Thursday, 18 July 2024
More than 800 local primary and secondary school children are being offered the chance to try their hand at Touch Rugby by the University of Nottingham as part of celebrations to mark the sport’s world championships, which are currently underway in the city.
During the course of the Touch World Cup 2024, which is being hosted in England for the first time by the university from 15 to 21 July, a series of taster sessions have been running to give youngsters the chance to find out why Touch Rugby is one of the world’s fastest growing sports.
They have been picking up top tips and tactics on the fast-paced, non-contact version of rugby from some of the very best during the coaching being led by players from the England Touch team who are competing in the championships.
The competition provides a fantastic platform to inspire the next generation to get active - as the 2024 Sporting University of the Year, this is something we are incredibly passionate about.
She added: “In addition to promoting a love of sport and a healthy lifestyle, a number of the schools which are getting involved in the sessions are also part of the university’s wider outreach work focused on supporting young people to find out more about student life and build their confidence to apply to university.”
Among those taking part were secondary school pupils from Sutton Community Academy in Sutton-in-Ashfield.
PE teacher Will Limb said the sessions were a great way to encourage students to be more active, while introducing them to a new sport, which the school will be adding to its curriculum from next year.
He added: “I think it’s really important because a lot of the students at our school don’t necessarily have much opportunity to engage in sport, so having events like these locally is great for them to see what opportunities are out there.
“We’ve also been involved in the University Discovery Programme, so our Key Stage 4 and 5 students have had three opportunities to go into the University of Nottingham and have been involved in sporting activities, tours and interviews with students and staff to become more aware of opportunities in higher education. It’s been fantastic, some of the students have come to me and said they would like to look at university as a results of that, so it’s really positive.”
Community and inclusivity
Among those volunteering during the coaching sessions is Imogen Loveridge, a member of the Nottingham, Midlands and England Mixed 15s teams and a student at Rushcliffe Spencer Academy in West Bridgford.
She said: “My favourite thing about Touch is probably the community, because everyone is like a big family and it’s quite nice to go down to a training session and all your friends are there.”
Working with the school pupils to teach them the basics of touch, Imogen has her eye on competing in the next Touch Rugby World Cup when it’s played in New Zealand in four years’ time.
Andy Penniceard of Touch England, Head Coach of the Girls U18s team, and a former England player is helping to lead some of the coaching sessions. Andy’s twin sons also play in the current England Men's open team, one of whom is Tom Penniceard, the youngest member of the squad and an engineering student at the university.
Andy said: “The thing that’s special about Touch Rugby is its inclusivity, the way that you can play with people of different ages and different abilities. The coaching sessions are about an introduction for children to come along and try Touch and to see Touch played at a very high level. The feedback so far has been amazing and the kids have absolutely loved it.”
Over the seven days of the 2024 Touch World Cup, organised by England Touch and the Federation of International Touch, more than 190 teams are competing, with 39 different nations represented and more than 4,000 spectators expected to visit Nottingham to enjoy the atmosphere with tickets free-of-charge. Hot favourites to take the title in the Open categories (Men, Women and Mixed) are southern hemisphere sides New Zealand and defending champions Australia.
All the action is taking place across the university’s Highfields and Riverside sports complexes with a dedicated athlete village at University Park. It is also set to be the greenest ever World Touch event with sustainability a key driver in the competition set up.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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