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| Gordon Banks and Hannah Pirnie of Saracens, Louise Poole of EDF Energy and Jimmy Deane of Bath Rugby |
| EDF Energy Community Club of the Year Winners |
| 14 May 2008, 4:09 pm |
| By Nick Betts |
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| Bath Rugby and Saracens were jointly named community 'Club of the Year' by the judges of this year's EDF Energy Parliamentary Citizenship Awards, edging out last year's winners Newcastle Falcons, at an Awards ceremony at the Palace of Westminster, on Wednesday. |
All three clubs made presentations about their community work to a judging panel which included Derek Wyatt MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Rugby Union Group, Mark McCafferty, Chief Executive of Premier Rugby, and Louise Poole, Director of Sponsorship at EDF Energy.
The awards recognise the positive impact that professional rugby clubs have on their local environment, community and society.
Combined, Premiership Clubs are now generating over £1m of community funding and have 100 plus community staff delivering a range of programmes aimed at addressing sport, fitness, social and education issues.
"Premiership rugby clubs are tackling the health, education and social agendas of their communities with skill and determination," said Derek Wyatt, MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Rugby Union Group.
"As a Group, we believe rugby is making a big difference in solving tough social issues. These awards show that and should encourage charities, NGOs and others to look at rugby, not just as a tool for encouraging physical activity but as tool for solving other types of social problems."
The EDF Energy Parliamentary Citizenship Awards, now in their third year, are sponsored by EDF Energy and are backed by the All-Party Parliamentary Rugby Union Group and Business in the Community. Two new awards for individual programmes run by the clubs were added this year in addition to 'Club of the Year'; the Innovation Award is for an innovative programme started in the past 12 months and the Impact Award is for an established programme able to demonstrate the positive impact it's made on its community.
Bristol wins Innovation Award
Bristol Rugby won the Innovation Award for its Inferno Programme, which tackles social inclusion by teaching rugby (and life) skills to young offenders at HMP Ashfield. Bath Rugby and Sale Sharks were also highly commended for their Language Through Sport and School of Hard Knocks programmes respectively.
Newcastle Falcons win Impact Award
Newcastle Falcons won the Impact Award for its Touch Rugby programme, which gets 950 adults active each year (40% of which are female, 35% of which haven't done any form of physical activity in past year). In the impact category, Bath Rugby was highly commended for its Wilts / Sportsmatch Girls Rugby Programme.
Louise Poole of EDF Energy said, "EDF Energy is delighted to be sponsoring this year's Parliamentary Citizenship Awards in association with Premier Rugby. EDF Energy strives to be an excellent corporate citizen through its involvement with rugby, from the grassroots level with the EDF Energy National Schools Rugby Programme to the elite level with the EDF Energy Cup. We are pleased to be able to help recognise other innovative and impactful work by professional rugby clubs through these awards."
EDF Energy is already working closely with Premier Rugby as an official Community Partner. All twelve Guinness Premiership clubs including National One Division clubs, Cornish Pirates and Exeter Chiefs are operating the EDF Energy National Schools Rugby Programme, which has exposed over 70,000 children throughout England to tag rugby.
Premier Rugby Limited, Chief Executive, Mark McCafferty said: "The commitment of the clubs, their supporters and partners is growing every year. The players and coaches are fantastic role models. Together this creates a hugely positive environment which means you can really do things to address the health, fitness, education and social exclusion agendas. My message to the public policy makers is: we're developing rapidly, we helping to solve tough social problems, come and talk to us."
In addition to presentations by the finalist clubs, the awards are judged on data independently evaluated by Business in the Community's Clubs that Count programme, which helps to develop more responsible business amongst professional sports clubs and to promote the positive work they do in society. [http://www.bitc.org.uk/clubsthatcount].
"'Clubs that Count' is an opportunity for rugby clubs to contribute and learn from best practice across the sport industry. It is also a forum in which they can work with their sponsors, local business, government and charity partners to improve their impact on society," said Tanja Rasmussen, a judge of the awards and Business in the Community's Community Investment Campaign Director.
To celebrate the community work of its clubs, Premier Rugby has launched Professional Rugby in the Community [www.rugbyinthecommunity.com], a new blog about community work in the Guinness Premiership and sport's role in addressing larger social issues.
You can learn more about the EDF Energy Parliamentary Citizenship Awards on the Professional Rugby in the Community blog, at www.rugbyinthecommunity.com. |
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