The first England Talent Pathway (ETP) tri-festival was held in York last weekend.
The festival, held on Saturday and avoiding the horrendous weather conditions which hampered the Men’s game on Sunday was hosted by York Acorn.
It involved 3 professional clubs including York City Knights, Leeds Rhinos and Featherstone Rovers. The event saw 120 players aged 15-16 years spread across 6 teams. Each team played 3 fixtures with the Excel+ players proving to be more than a handful in each and every game, showing the qualities fitting to wear a Knights shirt.
Adam Prentis YCK Foundation Delivery Manager said: “The Excel programme has been a huge success over the last few years, the number of players registered continues to grow and we can see huge improvements in the players that are involved in the programme.
“We know coaches, clubs, teachers and schools from across the city are playing a huge role in this development. It is now our job to manage this opportunity and work with the community clubs and schools to maximise the benefits to youngsters here in York.
“With several players from this squad making plans to attend our York Knights Rugby League Development centre at York College and the creation of the YSJ Men’s Rugby League team, the player pathway framework is becoming stronger each year.
“I would like to thank Dave Darking and Steve Sharp for their continued support in sponsoring the programme and to the community clubs and coaches whose support is always outstanding.”
This was the first of several playing opportunities planned for the open access York City Knights Excel+ programme in 2020 with a further fixture scheduled to take place against Newcastle Thunder on Wednesday 19th February.
