Photos by Iste Sesante Leopoldo
The New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines David Strachan donated P800,000 to the Visayas Rugby Football Union (VRFU) in support of their Rugby- A Sport for All program spearheaded by Phil Campbell during the 12th Annual Cebu 10s Rugby Festival at the Cebu International School.
The program aims to provide equal opportunities for boys and girls in cities and municipalities in Region VII to learn more about the sport of rugby through the partnership of the Department of Education- Region VII Office.
According to Campbell, New Zealand Aid Programme Cebu Project Head and head coach of the Cebu Dragons Rugby Football Club, the assistance provided by the New Zealand Embassy can help fund the implementation of their program–which aims to mainstream rugby as a sport in the Philippines.
Part of the program is to provide training to have rugby training and clinics included in schools’ curriculum. Public school teachers trained to form their own teams in their respective schools.
The Rugby festivals organized under the program will showcase the talent of young players recruited from the schools. By engaging with schools and providing them with the basic framework, officials from the local school district can take over. In the long-term, rugby could be introduced as part of the Palarong Pambansa organized by the Department of Education.
“Within this model of opportunity for schools to inspire students that will play rugby as a sport, Cebu Dragons is building pathways from these schools to the only local-based club in Cebu. Our aim is to establish progressive platforms to support all students in study, sport and life’s values, and what will help us get there will be a local domestic season, regular competition, provincial representation and eventually national representation,” said Campbell.
Ambassador Strachan , on the other hand, was overwhelmed with the number of participants competed in the boys and girls 17-under and 13-under divisions.
“It was great to see the matches and to meet young people who were as passionate as I am for rugby. I played rugby when I was younger and I recall fond memories of some epic encounters. With the Rugby – A Sport for All project, New Zealand hopes that the introduction of young Filipinos to the sport will be a key factor in the development and mainstreaming of rugby in the Philippines,” he remarked.
New Zealand Aid Programme Cebu Project Coordinator Mary Margaret Royo likewise added that Rugby is a sport that instills values including discipline, integrity, diversity, solidarity, respect, and passion.
“As custodians of the sport, it is our task to promote and develop rugby throughout the country in our national team program for men and women, and especially the youth. We are grateful for the support of the New Zealand Embassy for sharing the vision for rugby to be part of the school curriculum in the Philippines,” Royo said.
This project in Region VII, with the VRFU and the Cebu Dragons Rugby Football Club, is the second rugby project supported by the New Zealand government in the Visayas. The project has also been implemented in Negros Occidental.
“For the first time, the Rugby World Cup was held in Asia (Japan) this year. It was an outstanding success with Japan being one of the star performers. More and more countries from this region are looking to develop rugby, especially now that ‘Rugby Sevens’ is an Olympic sport. New Zealand is committed to do what it can to see rugby flourish in the Philippines”, added Campbell.
He also stated that they want to create opportunities in the Visayas region for more players to be involved and create local tournaments within the region. “Thru these local tournaments, it will give them a chance to compete in Luzon where there’s a lot of Rugby events.”
Campbell further implied that they are going to introduce the sport and establish the program to some parts of the Visayas and Mindanao such as Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Dumaguete, Ilo-Ilo and other parts in Negros.
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