Drinks Education for Premier Rugby Players and Staff
Last week we announced the results of a new corporate social responsibility programme for Premier Rugby’s players and management staff about alcohol and its effects on the body and behaviour. The programme has made PRL players and staff more aware of the choices they make when drinking, and was run with Diageo, the premium drinks company. Here’s the press release:
RUGBY PLAYERS TACKLED ON ALCOHOL IN FIRST EVER LEAGUE-WIDE INITIATIVE
- Premier Rugby and Diageo announce positive results of attitudes to alcohol programme -Thursday 3rd December 2009: Recognising the need to provide alcohol information to players, Premier Rugby and Diageo have joined forces to develop and deliver an innovative attitudes to alcohol programme to every player and manager in the Guinness Premiership, achieving extremely positive results.
The programme has been designed to inform participants about alcohol and its effects on the body and behaviour, making them more aware of the choices they make when drinking.
Based on the DrinkiQ programme created by premium drinks company, Diageo, the programme was tailored by Premier Rugby specifically to connect with rugby players around scenarios and issues that are directly relevant to their health, career and life as a professional athlete.
All 12 Guinness Premiership clubs – 716 players and management in total (511 players and 205 members of management) – have now attended sessions run during the last two months and the response has been overwhelmingly positive to this first ever league-wide alcohol programme:
- 94% of players and 97% of management said they learnt something from the session .
- 91% of players and 97% of management would recommend the training to other players.
- 82% of players and 87% of management believed that the programme had been very good or excellent.
Martin Corry, former Leicester Tigers and England captain, who was involved in developing the programme to meet the needs of professional rugby players in the UK, said: “The programme has really opened the eyes of the rugby world to the effects of alcohol on the body and the impact of drinking too much on your performance. These are the sorts of issues that resonate with the players, so we are really speaking to them in their world to encourage them to assess their attitudes to alcohol. Before taking part in the programme, many players didn’t realise that overdoing it on a night out can impair your performance the next day and increase the risk of injury – a major consideration in a competitive sport.”
Ugo Monye of Harlequins and England said, “I enjoyed the session we had here at Harlequins and found it hugely educational and thought-provoking. As a professional athlete it’s essential to be aware what kind of effects alcohol can have on the body.”
Gerry Sutcliffe, Minister for Sport at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport added,
“I applaud Premier Rugby’s moves to talk to players about responsible drinking and the impact that alcohol abuse could have on their health and professional careers. I am pleased that Premier Rugby, the Rugby Players’ Association and the clubs are working closely together on this and that coaches and managers are involved, who are important in imbedding the right type of culture in clubs.”
Phil Winstanley, Rugby Director at Premier Rugby said, “As employers, the clubs recognise the importance of their athletes being properly informed on the effects of alcohol on the body. We looked into using the DrinkiQ programme developed by Diageo and tailored it specifically for rugby players. I’d like to thank Diageo for their support. We’re extremely pleased with the results.”
During the sessions, players and managers gain a greater understanding of the effect of alcohol on the body and the potential dangers of misuse both from a health perspective and from the perspective of a professional athlete. The players are encouraged to discuss their personal experiences of alcohol in a safe environment and are given rugby specific scenarios in breakout groups, identifying how behaviour can deteriorate with irresponsible drinking but also looking at strategies to ensure that they approach their nights out in a responsible manner.
Ron Ainsbury, who developed the DRINKiQ programme for Diageo said: “DRINKiQ was designed to provide our 20,000 employees with information to make the right decisions about drinking so that they can enjoy alcohol responsibly. Sportsmen and women are important role models in today’s society so it’s great to see Premiership rugby teams responding so well to the sessions. I hope that other sporting associations will follow Premier Rugby’s example in recognising the importance of ensuring their players are aware of the facts about alcohol and its effects.”
This weekend (5th and 6th December) fans at all Guinness Premiership matches will also be reminded to drink responsibly as part of the Guinness Premiership’s Responsible Drinking Weekend and Diageo’s ‘bite to eat’ programme. A variety of activities will be happening at matches including giving free pies to supporters to highlight the importance of eating between drinks and inviting fans to take part in a ‘co-ordination challenge’ to bring the impact of excessive drinking to life. They will also be offered a free bottle of water after the game to encourage them to drink water between alcoholic drinks.
Community Work Case Study
SportBusiness magazine recently ran a piece on sport and CSR that included a case study on Premier Rugby’s community work (case study #2, on the second page of the PDF). I got quoted in the piece:
Our model is that everything we do carries a message for social good, whether it be grass roots participation, social inclusion, education or health. We attach our unique assets to that – the brand, the facilities, the players as role-models and ambassadors. Then we work on an ‘intervention-based’ system where we deliver the Premier Rugby message along with our brand partners and then use a professional development structure to deliver those messages into schools, businesses or clubs.
SportBusiness also participated in this year’s Parliamentary Citizenship Awards, which they covered here.
CSR and Sport on CNBC
Earlier this summer Premier Rugby’s community work was featured in a segment on CSR and sport on CNBC. Here’s the clip:
‘Connecting Communities’ with BARA
I took part in great match last week that was put on by BARA, the British Asian Rugby Association. The third annual ‘Tag Time’ event got a number of rugby legends (including Martin Offiah, Abi Ekoku, Ady Spencer, and Jason Critchley) and MPs (including Greg Mullholland MP, Andy Reed MP and Neil Turner MP) together for a match to promote the ‘Connecting Communities’ Project, which the Leeds Rugby Foundation is doing with Leeds Metropolitan University to break down cultural barriers and proactively tackle inclusion within sport. The match took place in partnership with both the All Party Parliamentary Rugby League & Rugby Union Groups, and was held at the Harelquins Stoop. You can learn more on BARA’s site here.
Saracens is Community Club of the Year
Saracens beat off stiff opposition from Worcester Warriors and Northampton Saints to win this year’s Parliamentary Citizenship Awards yesterday. The judging panel included Derek Wyatt MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Rugby Union Group, Paul Farrelly MP and Andy Reed MP. Mark McCafferty, the Chief Executive of Premier Rugby and Miriam Sherlock, the editor of SportBusiness Magazine were also part of the panel. Here’s a video about how the day of the final.
Parliamentary CSR Awards from Glasshouse Partnership on Vimeo.
Citizenship Awards: Programme Winners
In addition to shortlisting the clubs, the judges during the first stage of the Parliamentary Citizenship Awards also chose the winners of three awards for individual programmes.
Judges at the assessment stage.
The SportBusiness CSR Award is a new award this year run in conjunction with SportBusiness magazine. It’s designed to reward the efforts of the club with the best community marketing scheme helping to generate tangible brand or business results. This year’s winner is Saracens for their two year Dance programme which has seen over 16,000 children and young people trial dance classes. The judges commended it for its ‘clear focus’, the ‘scale of its reach’ and its ability to ’meld private and public sector’ agendas.
Miriam Sherlock, the editor of SportBusiness, said:
In a particularly strong field it was the Saracens Dance programme that proved to be the most remarkable. Reaching out to those outside of rugby’s usual audience Saracens worked hard in gaining large numbers of involved youngsters in a scheme that gives positive and tangible results in increased sponsorship, ticket sales and in revenue from holiday camp schemes. As well as providing fitness and health benefits it also encouraged a strong link to the team through work with the match day cheerleaders and subsidised tickets and promotions. There is no doubt that some youngsters on this programme will become lifelong Saracens fans. A big well done to all the staff and volunteers who clearly work so hard on this.’
This was the second year for the Innovation Award, which celebrates a new community programme that deals innovatively with a community’s social (and other) needs, and for the second year Bristol Rugby won, this time for its ‘Bright Sparks’ programme. ‘Bright Sparks’ is designed to help educational establishments which have chronic issues with absenteeism and truancy. The judges were impressed by the way the programme addressed a clear need in schools, with clear goals and measurable results.
The third Individual programme award is the Impact Award, which celebrates an established programme that is clearly able to demonstrate the positive impact it’s made on a particular issue (such as health or fitness) or on a particular community. This year’s award was given to Worcester Warriors for their ‘npower Tag’ programme which is aimed at children with special needs giving them the opportunity to learn and participate in sport. The judges were impressed by the programme’s scale and by Worcester’s well-developed overall strategy for achieving community goals.
Congratulations to the winners and best of luck to the shortlisted clubs (Northampton Saints, Saracens and Worcester Warriors) will be presenting their work to the final judging panel at Parliament next week.
Club of the Year Shortlisting
It’s that time of the season again, when the clubs of the Guinness Premiership compete against one another off the pitch to show who’s making a real difference in their community. It’s the fourth annual Parliamentary Citizenship Awards! Last week a panel of judges met to shortlist the best overall clubs in the ‘Community Club of the Year’ competition, and well, I’ll let the press release speak for itself:
24 April 2009: Saracens, Northampton Saints and Worcester Warriors have been shortlisted as ‘Community Club of the Year’ in this year’s All Party Parliamentary Rugby Union Group’s annual Citizenship Awards. All three clubs were praised by judges, who included representatives from the Third Sector, for the scale, quality and focus of the work they do in their local communities with private and public sector partners.
They will go forward to a final Club of the Year ‘shoot–out’ on April 29th 2009, following a gruelling interrogation from a judging panel which will include Derek Wyatt MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Rugby Union Group, Mark McCafferty, Chief Executive of Premier Rugby, and Miriam Sherlock, editor of Sports Business magazine.
“Professional rugby union clubs are tackling the health, education and social agendas of their communities with skill and determination,” said Derek Wyatt, MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Rugby Union Group.
“The good thing is that these schemes are not just about getting kids playing rugby. Clubs are involved in dealing with crime, social exclusion and health alongside local partners and Third Sector organisations. We want charities, NGOs and others to look at rugby, not just as a tool for encouraging physical activity but as tool for solving other types of social problems.’
The winner will be announced on April 29th 2009 at an evening reception in the House of Commons.
The Parliamentary Citizenship Awards, now in their fourth year, recognise the positive impact that professional rugby clubs have on their local environment, community and society.
As well as short-listing the three clubs who go through to the Club of the Year final, the judges have made a number of other awards to celebrate different aspects of the community and social marketing work conducted by the Guinness Premiership clubs.
There will be more to share later today–so stay tuned.
Responsible Holiday Drinking with Drinkaware
Just in time for the holidays, Premier Rugby has partnered up with The Drinkaware Trust to support responsible drinking. Drinkaware has a great set of tips and tools on their website showing how to drink responsibly, particularly when so many holiday parties are going on.
During week 9 of the Guinness Premiership (December 20 and 21), we’ll be helping to spread Drinkaware’s messages at matches by handing out tip cards and hosting activities to educate supporters. You can learn more about the partnership here.
Parliamentary Citizenship Awards: Awards Reception Photos
Here are some photos from the reception we held at the House of Commons for the EDF Energy Parliamentary Citizenship Awards on May 14.
From left: Derek Wyatt MP, Louise Poole, Mark McCafferty
Mark McCafferty, Premier Rugby Chief Executive
The ‘Club of the Year’ judges. From left: Mark McCafferty, Andy Reed MP, Louise Poole, Derek Wyatt MP, Paul Farrelly MP (Missing: Tanja Rasmussen, BITC)
Presentation of the Innovation Award. Vicky Heslop from Bath Rugby (Highly Commended for the Language Through Sport programme), Derek Wyatt MP, Ben Breeze from Bristol Rugby (Winners for the Inferno programme)
Presentation of the Impact Award. Melanie Magee from Newcastle Falcons (Winners for their Touch Rugby programme), Derek Wyatt MP, Jimmy Deane from Bath Rugby (Highly Commended for the Wilts Sportsmatch Girls Rugby Programme)
Some Photos from the reception:
More Video from the Parliamentary Citizenship Awards
Here is Derek Wyatt, MP for Sittingbourne & Sheppey and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Rugby Group, describing why the judges chose Saracens and Bath Rugby as joint ‘Clubs of the Year’ for their community work at the EDF Energy Parliamentary Citizenship Awards on 14 May 2008. He also mentions how Sport England and the RFU could do a better job supporting the community work clubs like Newcastle Falcons are doing, and how the community work done by rugby clubs compares to work by football clubs.
And here’s Andy Reed, MP for Loughborough and member of the All-Party Parliamentary Rugby Union Group, talking about the winners of this year’s Parliamentary Citizenship Awards, Saracens and Bath Rugby, as well as finalists Newcastle Falcons. He also notes how sport can deliver on social agendas–the best practices from these awards can be shared among rugby clubs and in other sports.
-
-
About Professional Rugby in the Community
I'm Wayne Morris, Community Manager for Premier Rugby. This blog is a place for me and the Community Development Officers from around the Guinness Premiership to share the community work our clubs are doing and talk about some of the issues we're trying to solve through sport.
-
Guinness Premiership Community Sites
Subscribe to our RSS feed