One of our young families invited the club to have a presence at their school fete. This was a good opportunity to get involved with a local school and a busy time was had running our Spin the Wheel game and giving out information about the club :)

'Kids First' Coaching and Information evening

Slough RFC held a 'Kids First' evening on Friday to bring the local youth rugby coaching community together ahead of the new season. The evening was attended by a number of coaches and parents from within the club, coaches from another club and a teacher from a local school. The attendees worked their way through various scenarios and tasks set by the RFU and discussed challenges and experiences relating to youth rugby in the local area.

One of the aims of the evening was to ensure that our coaches are on board with the ‘Kids First’ policy that underpins everything we do in the U7-13s. Pleased to say that overall it seems that we have successfully adopted the 'Kids First' ethos in many areas. This season will see us embed it even further.

As a 'Kids First' club we have pledged to-
• Put children at the heart of everything we do and all the decisions we make.
• Encourage fun on the pitch, through equal opportunity and realistic expectations of our children.
• Develop children’s confidence and character as players and as people, challenging any behaviour that conflicts with this.
• Build the skills of our adults to provide a safe, healthy, respectful and enjoyable environment for kids.
• Champion rugby’s core values, inspiring a lifelong bond between children, adults and our sport.

In short this means that everything we do is aimed to putting our young players first. We work with the players, coaches, parents and environment to do this. Such things that we do are:
-challenging unacceptable behaviour
-giving all players equal game time irrespective of ability
-accepting that players develop at different rates
-upskilling coaches
-ensuring coaches buy in to the Kids First ethos
-Parent information sheets
-regular coaches meetings

There is no defined list and we are constantly building on what we do so that we can further improve the rugby we offer on a Sunday morning. For more information visit https://www.englandrugby.com/my-rugby/players/kids-first-rugby or email Mary on kidsfirst@sloughrfc.com

Slough Horticultural Show

Slough Horticultural Show returned this week after an absence of 30 years. Slough RFC was pleased to attend the event in Lascelles Park to promote the new youth season which starts in two weeks.

Slough Playday 2018

Slough Rugby Club was pleased to attend Slough’s annual Playday celebration yesterday.

We had a busy day giving out leaflets and information and inviting families to 'Give Rugby a Try' on the club stall. A huge thank you to Callum and his girlfriend for their help which ensured that we were able to attend again this year.

Picnic in the Park

The club held its first Picnic in the Park event yesterday, a low-key 'fun-in-the-park' kind of event with games of rounders and football and a small number of stalls, eg. face-painting, Pimms, tombola, to keep attendees entertained as they relaxed in the sun and enjoyed the club grounds.

Brownies/ Guides taster session.

Slough RFC ran a Rugby taster session for local Brownies and Guides on Saturday. Sandie Belcher ran the session which introduced 14 girls to a few rugby basics such as passing, scoring tries and binding at scrum. This is the second year we have run a taster session for local Brownies and Guides groups and the girls seemed to enjoy it with many showing an interest in returning in September for the new season :)

Claycots Town Hall School summer fair.

Slough Rugby Club was pleased to attend Claycots Town Hall School fair on Friday to give out leaflets and wristbands and invite pupils and parents to ‘Give Rugby a Try’ after the summer holidays.

Slough RFC at Cippenham Carnival

The club stall was at Cippenham Carnival for the first time over the weekend for an extremely hot, but hopefully productive, afternoon promoting the club.

Britwell Summer Celebration

Slough RFC joined the celebrations at Britwell's annual summer fete on Saturday to promote the club to the local community :)

Cippenham Primary School sports week

Slough RFC was pleased to be able to provide 4 coaches to support Cippenham Primary School sports week this week.

Mary Blumbergs and Callum Gray attended the school on Thursday to give rugby sessions to years 3 and 4 whilst Martin Tilby and Sandie Belcher took years 5 and 6 on Friday. The coaches introduced approx. 600 pupils to club rugby over the two days.

The children all seemed to enjoy themselves and our coaches did a grand job of representing the club :) Many thanks to the staff and pupils at Cippenham Primary School for making us feel welcome.

Slough RFC Beer Festival

Slough RFC beer festival made its return this year welcoming approx 200 club members and friends for an afternoon of beer and fun.

Ryvers School fete

Slough Rugby Club attended Ryvers School fete on Saturday to promote the club to pupils and parents at the school.

Our Throwing Challenge stall proved a popular attraction with many students wearing one or more of our wristbands by the end of the day, and a good number kicking and throwing about the mini rugby balls they had won at our stall.

Overall a successful day and a welcome opportunity to get involved in one of our local schools. We hope to welcome some of the pupils, families and staff to the club in the new season.

A big thank you to Sebastian for his help.

Iver Heath Junior School summer fair

Saturday saw Slough Rugby Club attend Iver Heath Junior School summer fair. An enjoyable afternoon was had with a good number of boys and girls and parents taking our Throwing Challenge and asking for more information about the club.

It was a really good opportunity to get into one of our local schools to promote the club. A big thank you to U9s Thomas for his help with running the stall on the day.

SSSN Tag Rugby Festival

A sunny but chilly day saw almost 300 boys and girls descend on Tamblyn Fields for the annual primary school’s tag rugby festival yesterday.

The tournament, organised by Slough School Sports Network, saw the children play in a round robin of matches, ably refereed by pupils from a local secondary school.

There was some excellent rugby on display and every child received a well-deserved certificate and medal at the end of the day.

Slough RFC is pleased to host this annual event and invites any of today's participants, whether playing, coaching or officiating, to join our youth section. Potential players, coaches, referees- we are recruiting now! Pop down on Sunday for a chat or email maryblumbergs@gmail.com for more information.