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A new venue will kick-start new classes at didi rugby Lichfield in September.

The Curborough Community Centre will host all three didi rugby age groups between 9am and 11am.

A sizzling launch party is set for Saturday 7 September with regular classes taking place after that.

Franchise owners Mollie Latham and Ros Wiggins – who have already made a huge success of their classes in didi rugby Stone & Stafford – will be helped by head coach Carmel Elliot and all three are excited to get things up and running.

“We can’t wait for the launch party so we can all get going,” said Mollie. “Due to popular demand, we have found a bigger venue, which means that even more didi rugby stars can join in the fun.”

Ros added” “It has been amazing to see the children at our Stone and Stafford classes grow and deveop over the last few months and we can’t wait to spread the didi spirit to the rest of the county.”

Carmel has been involved in the Lichfield set-up for over a year already and she said: “I am super excited to be expanding the didi family and having a new venue to accommodate this growth is awesome. My didi journey so far has been incredible and this marks an exciting new chapter.”

Classes at the Curborough Community Centre will run as follows:

• 18 months to 3 years: 9.00am to 9.40am
• 3 years to 4 years: 9.40am to 10.20am
• 4 years to 6 years: 10.20am to 11.00am

All parents are invited to bring their child along for a free taster session to see if they like what Ros, Mollie and Carmel have to offer. Book your place by visiting here: https://bit.ly/2KsvyNj

Curborough Community Centre is located on Reynolds Close in Lichfield, WS13 7NY.

Treasured memories were made as didi rugby’s second annual Presentation Day was blessed with hundreds of excited children, parents and grandparents.

The banqueting hall at Hinckley Rugby Club was full with didi stars from all around the Midlands area and some from even further afield. Each one was welcomed onto stage to receive a medal and certificate to mark their progress this year.

Presenting them with their medals were some of didi’s wonderful ambassadors including Leicester Tigers duo Sam Harrison and Charlie Clare, Loughborough Lightning and England star Charlotte Pearce and author and broadcaster Rosemary Conley.

With didi rugby founder and CEO Vicky Macqueen leading proceedings, there were great photo opportunities for proud parents who have become part of the didi family along with their kids.

Everything was laid on free of charge as a thank you from didi HQ to those children and adults who have made the last 12 months so special.

Ambassadors mixed with the crowd before and after the presentations signing autographs, ball, kit and copies of didi rugby’s new children’s book, Dougie Can Catch.

The book’s illustrator Chris Embleton-Hall was also there to show off his other works and also encourage children to read and draw at a special colouring station which had black and white pages from the book for children to colour in.

There was loads more going on during the morning too with fantastic breakfasts served by Hinckley Rugby Club, a bouncy castle, a fun zone, merchandise stall and other stalls hosted by local businesses.

Former Italian international Roland De Marigny has become didi rugby Italy’s first ambassador.

And didi rugby is absolutely delighted to welcome him onboard.

Roland has played top-flight rugby in England, Wales, South Africa and Italy.

Born in Durban, South Africa, he played international rugby for Italy after qualifying on residency grounds (he played for five years in the Italian league).

He made his international debut in 2004 against England and made his first start against France the following week. Roland went on to make 19 appearances for the Azzurri.

He is now heavily involved in helping guide Colorno’s rise through the domestic ranks and says he is excited to get involved in nurturing the next generation of Colorno players through didi rugby.

“I am very proud to present didi rugby, which has become part of our programme here in Colorno,” he said.

“didi rugby is about values, sharing and having fun. It’s about learning respect, being part of a team and being part of creating something.

“I am really looking forward to didi rugby coming to Italy and Colorno and for giving the youth of Italian rugby this wonderful opportunity.”

didi rugby founder and CEO Vicky Macqueen has delivered an ‘inspirational’ speech to Year 3 students at Leicester Medical School.

Following an invite from Dr John Harrison, the Associate Professor in Medical Education at Leicester Medical School, Vicky spoke about her own international sporting career with England as well as life as a successful business woman after hanging up her boots.

Vicky was one of a series of guest speakers invited to address medical students in the four-week spell after their exams.

The idea is to help the University of Leicester pupils gain as much information as possible about the variety of different careers they could go into after they leave and look for work.

“It was very inspirational,” said Dr Harrison. “She talked about her own career and was superb at talking about goal-setting and how it has helped her in her life.

“She was absolutely brilliant and she speaks with great enthusiasm. The students loved it and she gave them a lot of things to think about.

“Vicky has been a highly successful teacher, player and coach – and now she is a successful businesswoman too. I am full of admiration for her.

England Women’s international Heather Fisher says she “can’t wait” to be a part of didi rugby’s Annual Presentation Day.

The event will take place in Leicestershire at Hinckley Rugby Club – one of didi rugby’s partner clubs – on Sunday 7 July with all sorts of fun and games planned for what promises to be a spectacular day.

Back-rower Heather has been a didi rugby ambassador since the early days of the organisation and says she is really keen to come and meet the children, parents, coaches and franchise owners that are coming from all over the area.

The World Cup winner fully knows the value of sport and looking up to role models after overcoming some personal hardships as a youngster.

“Sport was the tool which kept me on the straight and narrow as a child,” said Heather. “There were role models I could look up to and it gave me the inspiration to try and prove to people that I could be someone.

“It also saved me from anorexia and it showed me that one voice to could make a massive different to a child – and that voice was not necessarily a parent or a relative.

“Sport and programmes like didi rugby give children confidence and keeps them active. If you can increase a child’s confidence, the rest tends to take care of itself.

“It’s important to remember that with self-confidence, kids believe they can be someone.

didi rugby coach Carmel Elliott says she would recommend her role to anyone who loves having fun with kids.

The student got into didi rugby coaching after helping a friend out and now says she “could not imagine life without it”.

Carmel, who is part of the Lichfield team, says: “I absolutely love it. I love it because I am a big kid at heart. With didi rugby, I get the chance to go crazy and involve everyone in the sessions – and that makes it so much better.

“I have been doing it for 18 months and I could not imagine life without it. I have been working with Vicky Macqueen, Mollie Latham and Ros Wiggins and they are great to work with.

“I love the CPD that we do with other coaches and we always share ideas about best practice. The interaction we have as a group of coaches around the UK is fantastic and gives a real family feel to what we do.

“I would recommend didi coaching to anyone with a drive, passion and love for what they do.”

The head coach of didi rugby Cobham, Vicky Alexander is inviting you to come and join all of the fun of a franchise launch day on Sunday 9 June.

Taking place at host venue, Cobham RFC, there will be loads of activities available to get your child active, having fun and making new friends.

The launch is something that the former Wasps and Richmond player, as well as everyone at Cobham RFC, is very much looking forward to because the didi rugby values fit in perfectly with what the club is trying to achieve in its community.

“I am really excited to be launching our new franchise with didi rugby,” said Vicky. “It will get underway at 9.30am so please book your child’s place and come down with them to see what didi rugby Cobham is all about.

“I am looking forward to seeing you there.”

“After the launch, we will be holding regular Sunday sessions at the club from 9.30am and will be involving children from 18 months to six years of age.”

didi rugby founder and CEO Vicky Macqueen will also be there. “Franchise launches are always great fun and our mascots Dougie and Daisy will be getting involved too,” she said.

“It’s exciting that Vicky and Cobham are nearly there now. I know how hard they have worked to get everything in place for this and we want to make it a day to remember for everyone who comes to join in.”

Book your child’s place at the launch of didi rugby Cobham by clicking here

didi rugby has launched classes in Italy.

Following a trip to Colorno Rugby in May, which saw founder and CEO Vicky Macqueen host a didi rugby session to excited youngsters, regular classes will begin in the next few weeks.

A partnership has been put in place with Colorno Rugby and the club’s English director of rugby, Nick Scott will be driving didi’s growth in and around the local with support from an experienced and committed staff.

Colorno is situated near Parma in the north of the country – a real hotbed for the sport – and is a club which shares the same values that didi rugby has been built on.

Vicky said she was absolutely delighted to be taking the values of fun, confidence and activity to a country which has beautiful scenery and passionate people.

“It is tremendously exciting to be launching didi rugby in another country – especially one that is as passionate for the game as Italy,” she added.

“It was a pleasure to meet club staff and parents at Colorno on our visit and great to see the energy provided by the local children who took part in our demo session.

Mascots Dougie and Daisy will be joining in the fun when didi rugby Lutterworth holds a re-launch on Saturday 22 June.

The classes will take place at Lutterworth Rugby Club in the morning from 9.30am and will be run by new franchise manager Dom Osborn.

Dom knows the set-up very well having seen her daughter Victoria enjoy didi rugby classes from a young age.

And the Lutterworth classes will form part of Dom’s new south west Leicestershire area.

She is a PE teacher by trade and spends her days getting children active and having fun so her involvement in didi rugby will be an extension of what comes naturally.

The classes will cover all three didi rugby age groups from 18 months to 3 years, from 3 to 4 years and from 4 to 6 years.

didi rugby founder and CEO Vicky Macqueen says she is delighted to get someone with Dom’s passion involved in an area which is a hotbed of rugby in Leicestershire.

“I have known Don for a long while and am convinced that she will make a great success of her new coaching area,” said Vicky.

“She is keen to get as many children as possible active and having fun while gaining in confidence and starting on a healthy physical activity plan.”

Lutterworth Rugby Club is situated on Ashby Lane, Bitteswell, Leicestershire, LE17 4LW.

didi rugby Gloucestershire has celebrated its first birthday in style.

Having launched last summer in Lydney, Gloucestershire has grown to four centres now and is reaching more and more of the county’s children.

Part run by former England Women’s rugby international, Susie Appleby, the classes have grown in size and popularity across all three of the didi age groups.

And featured in this video are happy children from Gloucestershire’s newest centre at Longlevens RFC enjoying a break from their class during the birthday celebrations to do a lovely rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’!