Junior rugby league in England
Encyclopedia
Rugby league
is played at a school level in many schools in the rugby league heartlands of the traditional counties of Yorkshire
, Lancashire and Cumberland; recently it has been introduced into some schools outside the traditional areas in particular in London, Essex and Hertfordshire
. Thirty-three percent of schools across the UK offer rugby league as a school sport.
Charlie Bray is the youth league representative on the Community Board.
Changes in the structure of youth rugby;
Communications between young rugby league enthusiasts and the RFL;
RFL policies which impact on young people.
Two nominated members will also sit on the Youth & Junior Forum, a key device used to advance youth rugby league.
The Rugby Football League
uses two modified forms of rugby league created by ARL Development in Australia. Mini league
(known as mini footy in Australia) is played by all children up to Year 4 of Primary School. It is designed to provide children with a safe environment, a firm knowledge of the laws of rugby league and a chance to practice the skills such as tackling, passing and common defensive and attacking tactics. Players up to and including Year 6 of Primary School play mod league. Mod league
is a bridge between mini league and full contact rugby league. On completion of mod league, players make a move to full international rugby league laws.
Tag rugby
, touch rugby
and rugby league nines
are also widely used to introduce young children to the sport of rugby league.
tournament is a national competition for secondary schools. The RFL in partnership with English Schools Rugby League re-launched the Champion Schools Tournament in 2002 and since then it has continued to grow each year.
In the 2005/6 academic year over 1,200 teams and 20,000 players competed in the Champion Schools tournament, making it the largest rugby league competition in the world. Eighty percent of participants are new to rugby league. The growth of the Champion Schools tournament led to the creation of the Carnegie Champion Colleges
competition for Years 12 and 13. The regionally based competition was introduced in 2008 and started in January.
runs the Gilette National Youth League
as well as the Yorkshire combination, West Riding Youth League, Hull & District Youth League, North West Counties U15 - U13, North West Counties U8 - U12 and North West Counties Youth. There are county cups at age group level, known as the Yorkshire Youth Cup
, Lancashire Youth Cup and the Cumbria Youth Cup.
The non-heartlands junior leagues include the Chilterns Junior Rugby League
, London Junior League
, North East Junior League
, Midlands Junior League
and Bristol Junior Rugby League
.
The under-20s Super League competition is a full league with twenty rounds and top six play-offs. The under-18s, under-16s and under-15s are non-competitive and feature eight rounds in under-18s and six in under-16s and under-15s. Championship and Championship 1 sides have their own reserve grade.
The under-18s is open to either Super League clubs or Championship sides that meet very stringent criteria. The under-16s and under-15s are open to all Super League, Championship and Championship 1 sides.
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
is played at a school level in many schools in the rugby league heartlands of the traditional counties of Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, Lancashire and Cumberland; recently it has been introduced into some schools outside the traditional areas in particular in London, Essex and Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. Thirty-three percent of schools across the UK offer rugby league as a school sport.
Charlie Bray is the youth league representative on the Community Board.
Young People's Advisory Panel
The RFL launched the Young Peoples Advisory Panel in 2010, a group consisting of young people aged 16-25 from across England. The national panel meet three times a year at the RFL's Red Hall headquarters to discuss and debate the following:Changes in the structure of youth rugby;
Communications between young rugby league enthusiasts and the RFL;
RFL policies which impact on young people.
Two nominated members will also sit on the Youth & Junior Forum, a key device used to advance youth rugby league.
Forms of the game
Both males and females can play youth and junior rugby league, in fact from under-7 up to the under-11 teams are of mixed gender. The age groups at clubs run from under-7 all the way up to under-18 and at present there are around 500 clubs. There are currently more than 30 community clubs who have developed female sections, with over 600 girls aged between 11 and 16 registered to play for sides at the under-12, under-14 and under-16 age groups.The Rugby Football League
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...
uses two modified forms of rugby league created by ARL Development in Australia. Mini league
Mini footy
Mini footy is a form of rugby league developed by the Australian Rugby League. It was developed to introduce children to rugby league....
(known as mini footy in Australia) is played by all children up to Year 4 of Primary School. It is designed to provide children with a safe environment, a firm knowledge of the laws of rugby league and a chance to practice the skills such as tackling, passing and common defensive and attacking tactics. Players up to and including Year 6 of Primary School play mod league. Mod league
Mod league
Mod league is a form of rugby league developed by the Australian Rugby League. It was developed to introduce children to rugby league.Mod league follows on from mini footy; it introduces laws more common to the full international laws of rugby league, whilst also keeping the theme of being an...
is a bridge between mini league and full contact rugby league. On completion of mod league, players make a move to full international rugby league laws.
Tag rugby
Tag Rugby
Tag Rugby, also known as rippa rugby, flag rugby league or flag rugby, is a non-contact team game in which each player wears a belt that has two velcro tags attached to it, or shorts with velcro patches. The mode of play is based on rugby league with many similarities to touch rugby...
, touch rugby
Touch rugby
Touch rugby, Refers to games derived from rugby football in which players do not tackle in the traditional, highly physical way, but instead touch their opponents using their hands on any part of the body, clothing, or the ball....
and rugby league nines
Rugby league nines
Rugby league nines is a version of rugby league football played with nine players on each side. The game is substantially the same as full rugby league, with some differences in rules and shorter games. Nines is usually played in festivals, as its shorter game play allows for a tournament to be...
are also widely used to introduce young children to the sport of rugby league.
English Schools Rugby League
English Schools Rugby League was formed in 1967 following talks between the counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire. It was formed to enable the organising and playing of International games, to act as one body for the disbursement of Grant Aid received from the RFL and to act as an organising body to spread the game and to be a forum for committed and expert opinion.Champion Schools
The Champion SchoolsChampion Schools
The Champion Schools tournament is a full contact knock-out rugby league football competition open to every secondary school in England, Scotland and Wales and is the largest rugby league tournament in the World "RFL-13-05-07" The competition is operated by the Rugby Football League and the...
tournament is a national competition for secondary schools. The RFL in partnership with English Schools Rugby League re-launched the Champion Schools Tournament in 2002 and since then it has continued to grow each year.
In the 2005/6 academic year over 1,200 teams and 20,000 players competed in the Champion Schools tournament, making it the largest rugby league competition in the world. Eighty percent of participants are new to rugby league. The growth of the Champion Schools tournament led to the creation of the Carnegie Champion Colleges
Champion Colleges
Carnegie Champion Colleges is a rugby league competition administered by the Student Rugby League. It is open to teams in the 12-13 year groups at Sixth Forms and FE Colleges in the UK...
competition for Years 12 and 13. The regionally based competition was introduced in 2008 and started in January.
Regional leagues and competitions
British Amateur Rugby League AssociationBritish Amateur Rugby League Association
The British Amateur Rugby League Association is the governing body for social and recreational rugby league in the United Kingdom...
runs the Gilette National Youth League
Gilette National Youth League
The Gilette National Youth League is a British rugby league tournament at under-18 level. It was previous known as the Halifax Home Insurance National Youth League.It is the second tier competition at under-18s...
as well as the Yorkshire combination, West Riding Youth League, Hull & District Youth League, North West Counties U15 - U13, North West Counties U8 - U12 and North West Counties Youth. There are county cups at age group level, known as the Yorkshire Youth Cup
Yorkshire Youth Cup
The Yorkshire Youth Cup is a knock-out rugby league competition at different age group levels for teams in the traditional county of Yorkshire. It is administered by the British Amateur Rugby League Association....
, Lancashire Youth Cup and the Cumbria Youth Cup.
The non-heartlands junior leagues include the Chilterns Junior Rugby League
Chilterns Junior Rugby League
The William Sutton Homes Chilterns Junior Rugby League is a winter junior rugby league competition for clubs in the South of England and the South Midlands.The competition takes its name from the Chiltern Hills. The season runs from October to February...
, London Junior League
London Junior League
The London Junior League is a rugby league competition for clubs in London and the South East of England.The season runs from February through to September. It is competed for at under-16, under-14, under-13 and under-12 level. There is also a Rugby League Conference Academy league for the under-18...
, North East Junior League
North East Junior League
The North East Junior League is a rugby league competition for clubs in the North East of England.It is competed for at under-12, under-14 and under-16 levels. Under-10 sides also exist but only play friendlies...
, Midlands Junior League
Midlands Junior League
The Midlands Junior League is an age group rugby league competition for club in the English Midlands. It is run by the Midlands Rugby League.Many of the teams taking part also run open-age sides in the Rugby League Conference or Midlands Rugby League....
and Bristol Junior Rugby League
Bristol Junior Rugby League
Bristol Junior Rugby League is a rugby league competition held at under-14 level with teams based in Bristol, Gloucestershire and North Somerset...
.
Academies
Professional and semi-professional teams run academy sides to develop young talent. The Academy under- 18 league was introduced in 1991.The under-20s Super League competition is a full league with twenty rounds and top six play-offs. The under-18s, under-16s and under-15s are non-competitive and feature eight rounds in under-18s and six in under-16s and under-15s. Championship and Championship 1 sides have their own reserve grade.
The under-18s is open to either Super League clubs or Championship sides that meet very stringent criteria. The under-16s and under-15s are open to all Super League, Championship and Championship 1 sides.