Dublin, Thursday 15th June, 2017 (amended 23/6)
The biggest tournament in women’s rugby is looming on the horizon with proceedings kicking off for WRWC 2017 in Dublin this Aug 9th. As part of festivities around the tournament, ChildFund Australia will be bringing young women from the Pass it Back programme to Belfast for a special exhibition match. Its an opportunity to show rugby fans how PIB is empowering young people in disadvantaged, rural communities in Asia.
About Pass it Back
‘Pass It Back’ is an innovative Sport for Development programme led by ChildFund in partnership with World Rugby, Asia Rugby and Women Win that delivers an integrated life skills and rugby curriculum for children and young people in disadvantaged communities across Asia.
To date, more than 3,000 children and youth from Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam have benefited from participation in the program, with girls making up over 50 per cent of the players and coaches.
Former British & Irish Lions Captain and Director of ChildFund Ireland, Ciaran Fitzgerald, congratulated the ChildFund Pass it Back initiative, saying today, “bringing young woman and girls from disadvantaged countries into the game of rugby is great in itself but using the game as a development tool of their young lives is amazing and innovative. Being part of ChildFund I hope to meet the girls during their visit to Ireland in the Autumn” Fitzgerald added
Chris Mastaglio, Director of ‘ChildFund Pass It Back’, said: “Working in partnership with the IRFU and World Rugby, we decided to hold this event in the lead-up to the Women’s Rugby Cup Final to show that women and girls’ rugby is developing across the world – from international players at the event, to grassroots players from countries like Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines. In addition, ChildFund’s Pass It Back program prioritises gender equity and the inclusion of girls, so we will have lots of female players from Asia taking part who can be inspired by their peers in Belfast.”
“It’s incredibly exciting – many of our young coaches and players have not left their province before, let alone flown on a plane to a different country. This is going to be such a great opportunity for them, and we thank IRFU for helping to make this happen.”
Youths coming from Asia will play under the banner of the South-East Asian Dragons, and will compete with girls teams from across Belfast in a participation tag rugby event, the Pass It Back Cup 2017 Belfast, at Belfast Harlequins RFC, on 21st August, the day before the Women’s Rugby World Cup Semi-Finals.
Nora Stapleton, Women’s and Girls Development Manager of the IRFU, said: “We are delighted to include ‘ChildFund Pass It Back’ in our Impact Beyond programmes for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017, and we look forward to seeing girls from Belfast and surrounding areas welcoming girls from communities across Asia.”
ChildFund Pass It Back was established for young people who face significant poverty, and have few, if any, opportunities to get involved in organised sport. For young girls, the obstacles are even greater.
It is an absolute privilege for the IRFU to be able to support the development of new talent in these remote areas – by sharing our skills and knowledge we can get both young women and men excited about the game, and inspire a whole new generation of players in Asia.”
Statement from World Rugby, IRFU and ChildFund Ireland, issued by ChildFund Ireland.
Belfast, Northern Ireland, 8 June 2017
learn more about the Pass it Back initiative here: https://childfundpassitback.org/
