Summer 2024 was packed full for York RLFC Foundation, delivering a total of 55 holiday sessions across more than a dozen venues and engaging with more than 1200 children.
The efforts of the Foundation team even caught the eye of the Mayor of York & North Yorkshire, David Skaith, who came to visit at Selby Leisure Centre to see the sessions, learn about the challenges of delivering the programme and how sessions are adapted to address these issues.
The York RLFC Foundation has a proud tradition of offering children and young people the opportunity to engage in sport and physical activity during school holidays.
The aim is not only to inspire the next generation of York RLFC players but also to play a vital role in helping make school holidays more active and more enjoyable.
The majority of sessions use our inflatable arena in parks and open spaces to run pop-up, multi-sport sessions, bringing physical activity to local communities.
By using a multi-sport approach within our sessions, we broaden our appeal to the widest audience possible.
The benefits of these sessions are engaging young people aged 5- 12 years-old, helping them to exercise with positive activities in their neighbourhoods.
We were delighted to have York Valkyrie player, Jess Sharp and York Knights' Taylor Pemberton join us to give youngsters an opportunity to meet and spend time with professional rugby league players.
Adam Prentis, Foundation Delivery Manager said: "We are grateful for the support from the partners and families who attended our sessions and helped make this year's programme successful.
"For our team of coaches to deliver this programme is something we can take pride in.
"We remain committed to providing holiday activity throughout the year and look forward to continuing this trend in the future."
Mayor David Skaith said: "It was an absolute pleasure to meet Adam and his team from York RLFC.
"They ran such an exciting activity, which was run by professional rugby league players from both the women’s Valkyrie and men’s Knights rugby league teams.
"Using these players will inspire future generations of children to participate in rugby league, with York RLFC having gained new players from their FEAST activities."
Many of our sessions received funding through the Deptartment of Education, including our own FEAST and HAF programmes.
There were further contributions from local Ward Committee funding, Joseph Rowntree Foundation & TCV.
Our Department of Education funded sessions have the added benefit of not only providing enriching and fun activities but also providing healthy food to children across the county.
We also distributed fresh fruit kindly provided by local supplier Simon Baynes Wholesale and water from ASDA, Monks Cross.
Our October half-term holiday schedule will be published in the coming weeks and will appear on our website.
If you have any specific questions in the meantime, please contact a.prentis@yorkrlfc.com or call 01904 670870.
For more information on the vital work that the York RLFC Foundation delivers across our community, please click HERE!
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