The 2008 / 2009 season yet again saw the Junior Section go from strength to strength with numbers increasing by about 30% as the population of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi continued to expand. The season ran from September 2008 until the end of April 2009 which in itself is a very long season and saw the teams participating in match days, tournaments and in the Emirates Junior League. At training on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night (U14-U19) and a Thursday night (U5-U12), one could not help but be impressed by the number of young players learning their trade with enthusiasm, commitment but most importantly with a smile. We started the season with impressive numbers but new players and their parents continued to join which was a testament to the impressive way the section is run and administered by all those involved.
It ensures that rugby continues to grow in the Capital of the UAE.
This year the section played in the AGRFU league at U 10/12/14/16 and 18 levels. On many occasions at tournaments each age group was able to enter at least two squads and many could have entered three or even four had there been the space in the playing schedule. The season also saw more Abu Dhabi teams in finals of league and tournaments than ever before.
With this growth of the section we were lucky to have use of the driving range for training on Thursday evenings which has provided enough space for all age groups to train and for parents to enjoy the start of the week end.
For the first time this season we had several schools touring Abu Dhabi at various age groups. It is a great testament to the rugby club and its rapid growth over the last few years that overseas schools should consider Abu Dhabi in their touring schedules. In addition, we were asked to host players for the very first time; for this I have to thank the many families who offered up their time and homes so that we were able to accommodate players from other countries.
The following schools visited Abu Dhabi rugby club last season:
- Abberley Hall School, UK
- Reigate Grammar School, UK
- Whitgift School, UK
- Peponi House School, Kenya
- Christ College School, New Zealand
- Hellenic School, Zimbabwe
The highlight of the season was once again the Abu Dhabi Harlequins Junior Rugby tournament in November. This was preceded by the Etihad Harlequins Rugby School which saw hundreds of local school children introduced to the game of rugby for the first time and enabled the rugby club to add some new recruits during the season.
We are very grateful to Etihad Airways for sponsoring the junior tournament and for Nick Cowell and his team at Pro-Sports for managing the sponsorship side of the event.
The tournament itself, spread over two days, saw 93 teams taking part, about 1,400 players and over 6,000 spectators gracing the fields of the Al Ghazal golf club. We were very fortunate to see our friends from Damascus for the first time and we also added a girl’s only event at U17. Many thanks to all the tournament officials, marshals, medics, refs and golf club staff for making the festival such a great success.
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