Key Conference Set to Inspire Further Rugby Growth
Unique opportunity for Unions to share knowledge and practice
Get Into Rugby programme has attracted 400,000 children to Rugby
Two-day conference will focus on mass-participation strategiesWith Rugby participation at a global all-time high, the IRB will bring together the leading architects of the most successful mass-participation programmes in the world at the inaugural Growing the Game Conference in London this weekend.Global participation has grown by more than 20 per cent in the past four years with more than 6.7 million men, women and children regularly participating in Rugby activities in 120 national Unions around the world.The conference will enable 100 delegates representing 50 Unions to share knowledge and best-practice to identify key strategies and focus areas as Rugby continues to reach out, attract, engage and inspire new participants and audiences in new and existing markets.Fresh from the hugely successful USA v New Zealand Test match in front of more than 60,000 people in Chicago, Chief Executive of USA Rugby Nigel Melville will speak about how he and his organisation are inspiring America to fall in love with the game. As well as attracting top-class teams such as the All Blacks to the US, Melville and his team are introducing hundreds of youngsters to rugby at grass-roots level via the award-winning ‘Rookie Rugby’ programme.There will also be presentations from representatives of such diverse parts of the world as Laos, Tonga, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Senegal and Romania.A number of innovative projects have been running around the world for several years, most notably the IRB’s Get Into Rugby programme, which has successfully introduced more than 400,000 new participants across 96 nations to the sport since it was established two years ago.IRB Vice-Chairman Oregan Hoskins, who will attend the conference, said: “This is a great opportunity for our member Unions to share information and case studies on the implementation of Get Into Rugby and other such programmes. Sharing best practice and showcasing the excellent work of Unions can help inspire others to follow suit while also generating ideas on how Get Into Rugby can continue to develop the game around the globe.”Chairman of the IRB Regional Advisory Committee Abdelaziz Bougja said: “I believe this event will be a wonderful opportunity for the rugby family from many of the most ambitious and innovative unions to come together to learn, to teach, to avail of networking opportunities and to build relationships all designed to make our strong sport even stronger around the world.“With the IRB leading the way, and with the full support of all six regional associations, the game is growing like never before in our long and proud history. Through ‘Get Into Rugby’ and other mass-participation programmes, we have made a huge leap forward, it has already been a great boost for Rugby and will continue to inspire young people to take up the game.”The conference kicks off what will be a hugely significant week for the organisation as the IRB World Rugby Conference and Exhibition (ConfEx) 2014 takes place on Monday and Tuesday, bringing together Rugby’s decision-makers and the wider sporting and business communities for a packed programme of workshops and debates.During ConfEx, there will be the exciting official launch of the name change of IRB to World Rugby, along with the unveiling of the corresponding new logo.Highlights of the Growing the Game Conference:
Inspiring growth in the USA, Nigel Melville (USA Rugby)
Growing the game in Asia, Ismail Kadir (ARFU)
Key trends in women’s rugby, Susan Carty (IRB)
Growing the game in Mexico, Alberto Ruiz Luca de Tena (Rugby Mexico)
Making an impact beyond major events, Alan Gilpin (IRB), Steve Grainger (RFU) and Makoto Nishiki (Japan Rugby 2019)
Closing speech by IRB Vice-Chairman Oregan Hoskins
There will also be a number of workshops and opportunities for information sharing through the conference