TONGA'S RUGBY UNION COMMEMORATES WOMEN'S RUGBY

March 08, 2015

TONGA'S RUGBY UNION COMMEMORATES WOMEN'S RUGBY

Girls rugby

Saturday March 7th

Nuku'alofa, Tonga: In honor of women’s rugby worldwide (commemorated on the Sunday, March 8^th), a team of the kingdom's ex-national athletes lead by Mr. Tala'ofa Schaaf (Tonga Rugby Union Development Manager) visited the nation’s primary schools in an effort to encourage the student’s interest in rugby. They made their first visit to the eastern region of Tongatapu on Wednesday the 3^rd, and then made their way onto western region on Saturday the 7^th. Their visit was part of a nation-wide campaign which offered rugby programs (GiR) towards students within the country's primary schools. This campaign which is funded by the International Rugby Board is geared towards introducing and developing the game of rugby to children especially girls in the primary level.

Girls Training

Women’s rugby in Tonga has come a very long way to where it is today. Tongan women are highly respected and very sensitive in Tongan society, and it is within such reason that they do not usually engage themselves in strong physical contact sports such as rugby. But the influence of this sport has certainly dominated the interest of not only the men, but also women in Tonga. Although rugby is regarded as a masculine sport, it still fits perfectly into the competitive nature and instincts of Tongan women. Perhaps one of the highlights for this campaign conducted by Tala’ofa and his team is that the number of women participating in rugby in Tonga has escalated from none to approximately 6000 at the age of 6 – 12 years old.

Mr. Tala'ofa Schaaf

According to Tala'ofa, the main purpose of the campaign is to let the children experience and enjoy playing the game, "we are not here to push or force them to learn the technicalities of the game, but simply to just let them have fun. In doing so, we hope that these kids will grow up with a passion to make a living out of the sport".

On Friday, the team first visited the Halaliku District, which includes primary schools from Fua’amotu, Nakolo, Ha’asini and Fatumu. This event brought forth at least 400 students. Later on that day, they visited Navutoka, which hosted the program for primary schools from Mu’a, Lapaha, Hoi, Nukuleka, Talafo’ou, Nautoka, Kolonga, Afaa, and Niutoua. This event alone attracted at least 800 students.

On Saturday, students from the primary schools of Ha'atafu, Kanokupolu and Fo'ui which added up to an approximate total of at least 150 students gathered together on the grounds of GPS Kanokupolu to witness and enjoy the program. Overall, there were at least 1300 participants in last week’s program. As a result, now the GiR program has now run in all Tongatapu Primary Schools.

Skills training

The program was comprised of events such as touch rugby, simple training drills and Tag Rugby. The field was divided into four main areas in order to allow different courses of events to run simultaneously. Each field area was designated depending on the age groups. Parents and guardians of the children also attended the program as spectators. The accompaniment of music allowed some of the participants to not only play but also dance as well.

Girls player of the day

Boys' player of the day

To address any safety concerns, the team provided water bottles to all the participants in order to avoid dehydration. One of the team members was a medical officer who was there to offer any assistance in case of an emergency. Fortunately, no one was hurt and everyone seemed to enjoy every minute. Towards the end of the program, rugby balls were awarded to selected participants. The rest of the equipments were awarded to the schools as a token of appreciation for their support.

Before heading home, the children were given ice cream as refreshments. The smile and laughter on their faces was the ultimate expression of what the day was like. It was a weekend of fun and joy for the children. As for the team, their happiness was based on their accomplished mission of introducing the game of rugby to the children and letting them enjoy and have fun while experiencing it.

Preparation for the first game

Although Tonga has yet to be seen on the world cup's quarter finals, Rugby is still the main sport in the Kingdom. However, the average age to play your first game of rugby is at the age of 13, which is a student's first year in college. The objective here is to officially introduce the game to the earlier age groups while encouraging the participation of women the game. Children will then be expected to have more time in developing a proper mindset when playing rugby, and by the time they reach the age of 13, they will be strangers to the game.