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.

Posted by Wayne | April 23, 2009 | Filed Under CSR 

Comments

Leave a Reply