TRT News

Tag Rugby workshop in Gulu

on Jun 15 in News, Uganda tagged by RuckinRugby

The Kids League Tag Rugby Workshop held on 12th June 2010 at Laroo Boarding Primary School for war affected Children, Laroo Sub County, Gulu District.

23 attendees from 8 local schools, local volunteers Denis Ochieng Bosco Ochieng and Nicholas Ojara plus KKL UK volunteers and staff members.
KKL made use of the equipment they recently bought from the Tag Rugby Trust Uganda office. In attendance were 10 schools of which fielded two sports teachers each, the teachers received five balls and 20 tag belts per school. The field session that was more hands on with teachers and volunteers displaying the achieved skill off the board lecture was very thrilling.

Aim of the workshop:

The aim of the workshop was to introduce the basic principles of the game and the rules in a practical format and to equip the teachers who attend with the basic knowledge and skills to start to establish the game in their schools. We used the mini tag and tag rugby brief summary manual for the theory session. The session was more interactive than expected, teachers both male and female were actively involved suggesting ideas and preferred active demonstrations for easy understanding compared to board illustrations. At the end of the classroom session everyone was more conversant with what to apply on the field having internalized the rules that spell out the dos and don’ts. Having enjoyed the presentation we were treated to a thunderous Ugandan style hand clap in appreciation. In between the classroom sessions we had a tea and lunch break in which teachers and volunteers interacted enjoying the local well prepared malakwang (greens in Gnut paste) with millet bread and rice.

The programme included:

An introduction to the game and equipment including a written handout
Warm up games for tag rugby (Scoring relays, British Bull dog and Tagging)
More games led by the teachers themselves with more support from the workshop Facilitators and KKL staff.
A game of 5v2 with the introduction of running skills and the no pass forward rule
A full game of Tag Rugby refereed by the workshop leader
Conclusion and questions.

Workshop Report:

The workshop was very positively received by all of the 23 Sports teachers. The session was almost wholly practical and lasted one hour– all of the participants showed real stamina!
The approach seemed to work well. The participants were very receptive to tutoring and were keen to learn about the game. The element of the workshop in which the teachers worked in sub groups to lead the others worked particularly well. All of the sub groups showed the ability to introduce, demonstrate and involve others in the practices.
We had three female teachers in attendance which was very interesting and encouraging. This followed a request to head teachers to send a male and female teacher to encourage participants that Tag rugby is for both sexes.
There did seem to be a wide age range of teachers participating, which was a real positive.
The workshop stressed the value of Tag Rugby for a wide range of age groups and as being equally appropriated to both boys and girls. Every one present had a chance to play with the best teams playing each other in a thrilling final.
We were impressed by the teacher’s sustained physical enthusiasm and their desire to learn more about the game through their discussions and quality of the questions asked of the workshop leaders.

Conclusion:

The teachers seemed to feel that the game could be used in their schools. It requires limited equipment (Tags, tag belts and a ball – which was kindly provided by the Kampala Kids League) and can be played on a variety of surfaces as a result of there being no diving or tackling involved. It is a flexible game and can be easily adapted to different learner’s needs (some of this element was identified by the teachers themselves). Most importantly it is physical, tactical and fun.

What next?

We spoke to Tag Rugby volunteer coaches in Gulu who attended the workshop Denis Ochieng, Nicholas Ojara, Bosco Ochieng and KKL’s Michael Oloya who will make a follow up and help teachers in coaching areas that could prove challenging. Teachers agreed to push for Tag Rugby as a sport on their school calendars. The Ugandan Rugby Union expressed their willingness to support such a development when we met a couple of weeks ago. They need to be taken up on this offer. Once some schools are playing the game perhaps the URU could further facilitate the development of the game in the district.
Perhaps 2/3 inter-school festivals could be set up by TKL over the next 3 months to motivate the teachers and learners and provide a target for them.
There is rugby in Gulu! – They played their first Shield match on 6th February beating Leira in a tight game. Joe Lakony from War Child has contact with the club and may be able to form a link.

I feel that there is real potential for TKL involvement with Tag Rugby – it fits the TKL model very closely.

I would like to thank TKL volunteers, Titus Nsubuga and Michael Oloya for their hard work in setting up the workshop, KKL staff t together with their country Director Ray Clague who among participants raised spirits in the field session and TRT UK office for the great support financially and materially that has made this event and others a ceremonious success.

Compiled By Denis and Dorothy

June 12 2010
Gulu District, Northern Uganda