Young rugby hopefuls were at the centre of activities at JP’s Bar, in Mil Palmeras, as directors, players and supporters of Torrevieja Rugby Club
came together for a fun-filled afternoon of fundraising. Players meet for training on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the pitch, which is located close to the Palacio de los Deportes ‘Infanta Cristina’ sports complex in Torrevieja. The fundraising event was aimed at raising money to enhance the club’s youth training programme, proving incredibly popular and already instructing some 20 children in the rules and skills of the sport. However, the Instructors are restricted in the breadth of the training sessions due to a severe lack of cash and thus lack of equipment. Team Coach Jeff Davies explained that, “Rugby is a great sport and has a lot to offer the children from fitness and team spirit to discipline.” He added that “We would love to enhance the training programme over the summer months, when the kids are on school holidays and can dedicate their full attention to the sport”. It was this sentiment that developed into an entire afternoon of rugby orientated antics, where players did anything buy obey the rules. The fun kicked off on the beach, with a combination of Junior and Senior matches, before ladies and children took on members of the Senior team. The results would have been fairly predictable, had it not been for the intervention by Youth Coach and acting Referee, Mike Barton, who insisted that the Seniors see the game through on their hands and knees to even up the height disparity, which certainly slowed them down as well as creating a few laughs among spectators. Mike also introduced some creative passing and tackling rules which were far from ‘by the book’ but certainly helped to liven things up a bit. Once the beach games had finished, everyone retired to JP’s bar for a delicious barbeque and some well earned refreshment. The children were kept entertained on the bouncy castle and giant board games, including family favourites Connect Four and Jenga, whilst adults enjoyed some great music and dancing courtesy of DJ Robbie D. Meanwhile, the offer of a ride on the tandem and multi-seater bikes was a novelty for all. The highlight of the afternoon was an awesome Grand Prize Draw, when a selection of prizes, kindly donated by local businesses, was up for grabs. These included a fishing trip meals for two wine beer a golf set and the star prize of a signed Liverpool football that included the signatures of all the first team greats such as Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. At the end of an exhausting, yet productive afternoon, Mike was pleased to report that a whopping total of 550 euros had been raised, to be divided between the Youth Team coffers and exceptional children’s charity, ‘Asociacion EMAÚS’, which as the event was chiefly organized for the youngsters, club members felt would be an ideal recipient. EMAÚS was founded more than 30 years ago, primarily concerned with aiding youngsters rendered homeless during the Second World War.
Mike announced, “We have around twenty children and youngsters coming along to the junior training sessions every Sunday morning. The remaining money will be used to provide the necessary training equipment needed to progress the players to the next level.” Everyone at Torrevieja Rugby Club would like to say a huge thank you to all who contributed to such an enjoyable and successful day.