Sunday, December 07, 2008

U12s: Time to start thinking about Herts Youth Games

Herts Youth Games will be taking place again next year in May, probably in Hatfield, and - asin past years - the Games should include an U11 girls rugby tournament. If your daughter is in Year 6 (or you know anyone with a rugby playing daughter in Year 5) you really should try to get involved. Though it is tag, its still a great day out, a good way of recruiting new players to your club and the game in general - and is entirely free!

How different councils react or plan for Youth Games seems to vary quite a lot. Some start planning (including selecting squads) very early - in January or February sometimes - so if you daughter is in Year 6 it is probably not too early for you to make enquiries about who will be running the team and when selection will be. Also not all councils enter a team in the girls tournament, so early enquiries might just show the more reluctant councils that there is potential to enter a team (or at least force them to come up with a damn good excuse for not doing so!).

How selection is done will also vary significantly from area to area. Most will have a tag tournament at which the best girls will be picked - and these may start to take place next term. However not every school enters such events, and your daughter may not be available that particular day anyway, so that is another reason why it is important to let your council (and whoever is running your girls team) know your interest.

The rules are that you can represent any council area where you either live, attend school, or play for a club - so many of you may be in a position to choose who you want to play for!

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