AusLeisure

Rugby Australia has released new statistics showing its Game On school rugby union participation program has grown by 112% in just 24 months.

The program, which kicked off across the country at the beginning of 2015 entered the top 10 school sports with 26,469 students signed up in its first year. Two years on that number has more than doubled with 56,101 youngsters taking to the pitch - of whom 46% are female.

Andrew Larratt, General Manager of Community Rugby and Strategy at Rugby Australia, advised “with the help of the Australian Sports Commission Game On has now reached hundreds of schools across the country, from rural towns like Boggabilla to big cities such as Sydney, and in most cases, it’s the kids first crack at rugby.’’

With each state exceeding targets, NSW has led the way with more than 19,000 participants.

School Sport Coordinator at Forestville Public School, Renee Phegan said the program has given students a major confidence boost with 180 students picking up some new skills.

Phegan advised "the program was really well run and children of a variety of ages really enjoyed it, particularly girls. They learnt a lot about team work and working in pairs cooperatively.

"Students love it because it’s a game anyone can play irrespective of gender, size or fitness levels. It’s also much more than throwing or catching a ball – it teaches them about the importance of teamwork, keeping motivated and setting goals.”

The Northern Territory and Queensland showed the biggest growth stats with a 76% and 45% increase since 2016.

Among the 461 schools signed up 71% were Government run compared to 64% in 2016.

Included in Game On is the Deadly 7s program which since kicking off in 2016 has reached 114 schools across the country. Now more than eleven thousand students have benefited from the initiative with almost half having an Indigenous heritage.

Viva7s, the touch version of Rugby 7s, is also rapidly growing in numbers with more than 8,000 youths now playing at their local school or club Australia-wide.

Schools interested in signing up in 2018 can head to sportingschools.gov.au/get-started/schools or viva7s.com.au 

28th October 2017 - AUSTRALIAN RUGBY UNION REBRANDS AS RUGBY AUSTRALIA

27th October 2017 - AUSTRALIAN RUGBY AND SPORTS SCIENCE BASE OPENS IN SYDNEY’S MOORE PARK 

20th June 2017 - BILL PULVER TO REMAIN AT ARU AS SUPER RUGBY TEAM STILL FACES AXE

11th April 2017 - ARU REPORTS SURPLUS AND PARTICIPATION GROWTH IN 2016

28th March 2017 - ARU REJECTS ROY MORGAN FINDINGS ON RUGBY PARTICIPATION

23rd March 2017 - MASSIVE DECLINE IN AUSTRALIANS’ PARTICIPATION IN RUGBY, SQUASH AND TENPIN BOWLING 

5th March 2017 - RUGBY CODES GET BIG GRANTS OVER HIGHER PARTICIPATION SPORTS IN NSW 

29th November 2016 - RUGBY SEVENS’ POPULARITY RISES IN THE WAKE OF AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S WIN AT OLYMPICS

8th November 2016 - ARU TO REVIEW STRATEGIC PLAN AFTER MEETING WITH RUGBY STAKEHOLDERS 

15th August 2016 - NEW RUGBY SEVENS VARIANT TO ENCOURAGE SPORT PARTICIPATION 

25th May 2015 - GRANTS NOW OPEN FOR SPORTING SCHOOLS

9th May 2015 - NEW ATHLETICS PROGRAM TO ENGAGE 850,000 AUSTRALIAN SCHOOL CHILDREN

Asking a small favour
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

The news we publish at www.ausleisure.com.au is independent, credible (we hope) and free for you to access, with no pay walls and no annoying pop-up ads.

However, as an independent publisher, can we ask for you to support us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine - if you don't already do so.

Published bi-monthly since 1997, the printed Australasian Leisure Management differs from this website in that it publishes longer, in-depth and analytical features covering aquatics, attractions, entertainment, events, fitness, parks, recreation, sport, tourism and venues management.

Subscriptions cost just $90 a year.

Click here to subscribe.