Inspired to take action following the launch of Women in Sport\u2019s report into primary aged girls Sport, stereotypes and stolen dreams: Why girls still feel they don\u2019t belong in sport,<\/em><\/a> RugBees is open to girls aged 7-11 and will be delivered on a weekly basis by club foundations to help them develop their confidence in areas such as catching, passing and kicking \u2013 whilst having plenty of fun too. It\u2019s the first Rugby League programme to be developed specifically for primary school aged girls and the RFL has chosen the popular RLWC2021 mascot RugBee to bring the project to life.<\/p>\n Each session will be an hour long, beginning with an introduction to the game\u2019s technical skills and finishing with a non-contact form of the game such as Tag or Touch. Parents and guardians will be encouraged to cheer children on throughout.<\/p>\n The groundbreaking project was unveiled at Headingley\u00a0 (Tuesday 28 March) by St Helens and England star Jodie Cunningham, who is also the RFL\u2019s National Women\u2019s and Girl\u2019s Development Manager.<\/p>\n Jodie explains:\u00a0 \u201cI am so pleased that we were able to announce the launch of RugBees at the Women\u2019s Super League season launch \u2013 it\u2019s a full circle moment for the game. There is so much evidence to support that playing sport in a mixed gender setting isn\u2019t right for all young girls and can be a barrier to participation which is why we are introducing RugBees to help tackle this.\u201d<\/p>\n The charity \u2018Women in Sport\u2019 recently revealed the findings of research into why girls as young as five years old don\u2019t feel they belong in sport. The report found that over half of parents (57%) said their daughter had felt excluded from sport, with a quarter (26%) confirming their daughter had been told \u2018it wasn\u2019t for girls\u2019.<\/p>\n Jodie continues: \u201cWhen I read the report I was really saddened to find out how excluded young girls feel from physical activity \u2013 and it proves why RugBees is such an important project. The sessions will give girls a fun and enjoyable environment to play Rugby League and build their confidence up to a place where hopefully they will then want to join a team and play competitively.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Rugby League World Cup and the HeRLegacy series had a fantastic impact on the girl\u2019s game, and we have to keep that momentum going.\u201d<\/p>\n RugBees will officially kick off in April with club foundations asking a nominal fee per session. A full list of foundations delivering the project can be found here.<\/p>\n England Women\u2019s World Cup campaign and the HeRLegacy series has helped attract hundreds of players to Rugby League taster sessions and the introduction of RugBees means there is now a girl\u2019s only offer for 7-11-year-olds for the very first time.<\/p>\n Find out more about RugBees here!<\/a><\/p>\n
The Rugby Football League has launched a new project to break down gender stereotypes and encourage more young girls to take up the sport.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/womeninsport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Rugbees-300x100.png\")
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