Author: admin

I attended a mini rugby festival the other weekend at my local club, Hinckley RFC.

It’s one of the clubs that didi rugby have partnered with to provide a place to send any children that come through the didi ranks when they become too old for our sessions.

It enables us to make sure our didi stars can continue their journey in our wonderful sport with a club that we are sure will continue their development as they grow from six and seven year olds.

The festival was well attended as I expected in a county like Leicestershire where junior and mini rugby flourishes.

What really struck me, however, was the amount of children in the Under-7s section with Hinckley shirts on. They had five teams of eight players entered for the competition and most of them were faces I recognised from didi rugby classes.

It was wonderful to see and I don’t mind admitting that it bought a tear to my eye on several occasions seeing children that I had coached enjoying their rugby, demonstrating some tremendous skills and showing the values of respect, team work and friendship that we hold dearly at didi rugby.

It is certainly not about winning at that age but it was nice to see how well the Hinckley teams were doing and what skills their players were putting on show.

didi rugby founder and CEO Vicky Macqueen is hoping a new children’s book can further promote the values of didi rugby classes.

Dougie Can Catch has been written one of didi rugby’s franchise owners, Robyn Lock, and will be appearing in classes up and down the country in the coming months.

The main character in the book is based on one of didi rugby’s mascots Dougie, who was named after Vicky’s grandfather, so it is no surprise that she is so excited to see it in print.

“It is really special to me and with Dougie being named after my amazing grandfather, it’s so special that his legacy lives on through the book,” she said.

“One of our franchise owners Robyn Lock came up with the idea and it’s great for all of us to see that idea come to life.

“We wanted to produce the book so we can engage with literacy and encourage didi kids to read the book with their parents. Through the storyline, we hope it helps children increase their confidence and want to try and have a go at new things.

The director of school sports activity provider, Coach Unlimited, believes didi rugby is an ‘amazing concept’.

Teresa Hames is a qualified secondary school teacher and is raising two boys of her own.

“I have been following the expansion of didi rugby and it is such an amazing concept on so many level,” she said.

“It is important to teach boys and girls to get active and to teach them fundamental skills in a fun environment.

“It also encourages them to get involved and feel good about being part of something. To feel good about being part of a group and doing well in an active and physical environment.

“All of the staff at didi rugby are doing a great job at encouraging children to be active from an early age.”

The venue for the first didi rugby Cheltenham classes has been announced.

Following a grand launch party at Cheltenham Civil Service RFC on Sunday 5 May, regular classes will take place in Uckington from Sunday 12 May.

New franchise holder Keith Smith says he can’t wait to get started and spread the values of didi rugby to as many children in the area as possible.

“I am a firm believer in kids being active and getting them off their consoles and getting them outside their houses to have fun and play sport. Hopefully, we can get plenty of children involved in the Cheltenham area,” he says.

Keith has a long and proud rugby-playing career behind him with appearances for Gloucester, Lydney, Cinderford and Cheltenham Saracens.

Before setting up didi rugby Cheltenham, Keith was a senior coach with didi rugby Gloucester in Highnam. His experience here inspired him to spread the values of didi rugby to the Cheltenham area and set up his own franchise.

There will be plenty of fun and games at the grand launch party at Cheltenham Civil Service RFC, Tewkesbury Road, Cheltenham, GL51 9SL on 5 May between 10am and midday.

And then Uckington Village Hall will be the venue for regular classes from Sunday 12 May onwards with all three didi rugby age groups being catered for from 10am until midday.

The full address of the venue is: Uckington Village Hall, Uckington, Cheltenham, GL51 9SR.

Book your child in for a free place at the launch of didi rugby Cheltenham at Cheltenham Civil Service RFC by clicking here.

Dozens of school children had a fantastic time as didi rugby held its first schools tag festival in Leicestershire thanks to great support from Hinckley & Bosworth School Sport and Physical Activity Network (HBSSPAN).

Having formed strong links with Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council, the event was set-up by didi rugby and HBSSPAN to promote fun and activity for Year 1 and 2 school children in the area.

didi rugby CEO Vicky Macqueen said events like this were a natural progression as the company began delivering classes at more and more schools in the area.

HBSSPAN’s School Games Organiser, Steph Tirrell was behind her organisation’s part in the day, which took place at Hinckley Rugby Club – a didi partner club.

“It has been a brilliant day and it is so nice to see children enjoying themselves and playing rugby, which is what we want,” said Vicky.

“Today is about the transition from didi rugby to tag rugby with lots of former and current didi players taking part and their little brothers and sisters watching them.

“I have seen lots of kids who used to go to didi rugby when they were a year or two younger and it has made my heart melt seeing them do so well.

Parents Chaminda Janaka and Nishita Kumara have spoken about what a ‘great bonding experience’ didi rugby is for their family.

Both parents have been actively involved in bringing eldest Suraj (7) and youngest Noaha (4) to classes in didi rugby Midlands’ Hinckley area for several years.

And as well as saying their children have gained in both confidence and valuable ‘life skills’, they believe the classes have also been great for providing a fantastic family bonding experience.

“didi rugby has been good for the parents too and is a real bonding experience,” said Chaminda. “Spending time with them doing something they love makes you feel good.

Nishita added: “Suraj did didi rugby for three years and he gained in skills and coordination. They are life skills aren’t they? The improvement in balance, agility and flexibility help them in all aspects of life and helps their stamina too.

“The skills he learned and the confidence he gained from didi has made him into the person he is now.

“Our youngest Noaha has also done didi for two years now and he has progressed too with his coordination and skills. His confidence has grown hugely.

“They are pushed at just the right speed and the coaches are doing a brilliant job.”

There are so many reasons to love didi rugby.

Young boys and girls love running around, having fun and learning new skills while making new friends and growing in confidence.

Their parents, carers and grandparents love seeing their children grow in confidence and have fun knowing they are being taken care of in a safe environment.

Coaches love seeing the children in their classes getting really stuck in, mixing well and forming really strong bonds with those who share their fun every week.

Franchise holders love seeing their businesses grow with strong, passionate and committed support from didi rugby UK – a team of people who help with their delivery, planning, financial structure, marketing and much more.

And didi rugby UK, led by influencial founder and CEO Vicky Macqueen BEM, love seeing more and more people engaged, having fun and being active.

“We all love didi rugby!”

didi rugby stars took centre stage at Wasps Rugby’s Fans Village before a Gallagher Premiership game at the Ricoh Arena.

Following an invite from the Wasps Community team, founder Vicky Macqueen and a number of coaches from didi rugby franchises around the country demonstrated the classes that thousands of children around the country are now enjoying.

Young didi members had great fun showing off their skills and confidence in front of a good crowd at the ‘Wasps Nest’.

Some didi stars were interviewed and shown on big screens around the Fans Village.

Then, children and their parents were able to go through and watch the game between Wasps Rugby and Newcastle Falcons.

Parents made comments like: “Louie loved the didi rugby session and his first ever rugby match. Thank you for the experience.”

During a time of national division, I am sure we can all come together and agree that life tends to fly by at a rapid rate.

We all do our best to get through from day to day – and then move on to the next one.

In an ideal world, there would be time to reflect and look back to see what we have done right and what we have done wrong. The good bits, we can try again…the bad bits, we can learn from.

As busy people, that time for reflection never seems to arrive, however.

So when my good friend Vicky Cropp asked me to go to India with her to spend a few days in a yoga retreat, it sounded amazing, but totally unrealistic.

The support I received from my husband and extended family though was amazing and they encouraged me to make the trip for all the reasons I have just mentioned.

Vicky and I have been on a long journey together since we both left Redmoor Academy school in Hinckley, Leicestershire in July 2016 to focus on our respective businesses.

I set up didi rugby and she launched The Yoga Loft. Two-and-a-half years down the line and we are both really pleased with our progress.

Being in the middle of spreading didi rugby’s values every day has made me a good judge of that business’ progress and I have also been close to The Yoga Loft with two visits a week as part of my routine.

I have found a huge mental benefit of spending a short time to myself doing yoga. That headspace allows me to gather my thoughts, reflect and look forward. As well as the physical and mental health benefits, it also allows me the chance to do some physical activity with my mum who can ‘crow pose’ and stand on her head at the age of 72!

didi rugby Gloucestershire are opening their first venue in central Gloucester after forming an exciting new partnership with Longlevens RFC.

The launch will take place on Sunday 28 April and will give those children and parents who book their free place a chance to play, have fun, tackle the obstacle course and not only meet didi rugby mascots, Dougie and Daisy but also meet didi rugby ambassadors from England and Gloucester’s Hartpury WRFC.

The launch party will last from 9am to 11am and then regular 40-minute classes will follow every Sunday afterwards at the same time for all three didi rugby age groups from 18 months up to 6 years of age.

didi rugby Gloucestershire launched in June 2018 with ex-England star Susie Appleby as head coach. Classes are now thriving in centres at Lydney RFC, Cinderford RFC and Highnam C of E Academy.

The fourth venue will be their first in Gloucester and Susie’s fellow director Suzanne Appleby-Jones says they cannot wait to get started in what is a hotbed of rugby activity.

“Our fourth centre and our first in central Gloucester, will launch at Longlevens RFC on 28 April,” she said. “We are delighted to be working with this inclusive and family-orientated club.”