Category: News

didi rugby founder and CEO Vicky Macqueen writes about some new figures from the National Child Measurement Programme which shows a worrying percentage of young children are obese.

It really is a startling fact.

Latest statistics from the National Child Measurement Programme show that almost 10% of four to five-year-olds in England are obese.

As the owner of a business that tries to encourage children of that age to be active and healthy, it’s a fact that really hit home.
Clearly, as a country, we need to be doing more.

Not just because the benefits of being active will help kids avoid becoming part of that 10% right now. But also because it can help them avoid some really serious issues in later life.

Reacting to those figures, a well-respected doctor, who is battling to reduce childhood obesity, is warning that children in England are already developing life-threatening illnesses because the issue is not being tackled properly by the Government.

Dr William Bird MBE has been a GP in Reading for the last 25 years.

“Something is going badly wrong. Childhood obesity didn’t exist 100 years ago. It’s a man-made creation,” he told Sky News.

“What we are seeing is in the fat cells in the body, particularly in the tummy, they create inflammation which attacks the brain and arteries and that leads to diabetes, dementia even, depression and anxiety and cardiovascular diseases.”

None of us want those conditions to emerge in just one child, let alone what must be a staggering number of children who are classed as obese under these findings.

While Dr Bird criticises the Government for not doing more, it is down to parents to up their game too. Governing parties can put any number of schemes and ideas forward as ways to keep our youngsters active – but parents are the ones who make the decisions as to what activities will be done as a family.

What is didi rugby?

Watch this video to learn more about didi rugby and find out why our classes provide the ideal start for getting young children active and healthy, while having fun and picking up confidence and key skills along the way.

See action from some of our classes covering all age groups from 18 months to 3 years, 3 to 4 years and 4 to 6 years of age.

Hear from parents whose children have been part of the didi rugby experience and have plenty of good things to say about how classes have helped their children develop in more ways than one.

• “It’s a really good form of exercise for them and it incorporates all sorts of games and that is why they enjoy it so much.”
• “It is not strict and they know they are going there to have fun.”
• “It’s not just about the game of rugby, it’s about learning how to be with other children and that is really good for them.”
• “Their confidence has really grown, not just in terms of their sporting abilities but them as little people and how they interact with others.”

Listen to founder and CEO Vicky Macqueen explain some of the benefits that didi rugby has given to children who have taken part in classes.

The didi rugby Reading team have celebrated an amazing year of growth by holding its first franchise Presentation Day at Reading RFC.

Owners Craig Hunter, Donna Clark and Clare Swadling have seen classes grow at an incredible rate in the area while formal links have been built with local clubs like Aldermaston, Reading and Thatcham.

The team is starting to work with Crowthorne RFC soon too.

didi rugby Reading’s inaugural presentation day attracted over 45 children from their classes, along with parents and relatives who played their part in a day of fun, activities, certificates…and burgers!

“We are delighted that so many people came along,” said Craig. “We have had some positive feedback from the parents and some lovely comments on social media too.

“We are hopeful of making it an annual event now.”

didi rugby Reading host 21 sessions a week at schools and venues across Berkshire and visitors on the day came from across that area.

“We held didi sessions for all three age groups on the day,” said Craig. “Every child got a didi medal at the presentations and we had a fantastic barbecue and photos afterwards.

The certificates were presented by Will Cowen who has been selected to represent GB at the Tumbling World Championships in Tokyo later this year.

DIDI RUGBY WINS ‘AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE’ FROM LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE 
It has been a wonderful week for the didi Rugby team after the company picked up an award from a lifestyle magazine.

The Living in the Shires Magazine has presented didi Rugby with an ‘Award of Excellence’ for the ‘Tried and Tested Activity of the Year’.

Living in the Shires has a readership of over 30,000 people and it read by over 3,000 businesses.

The award is given for a high quality of service that the magazine believes didi offers to thousands of children and parents.

Owner Vicky Macqueen said it was an honour to receive it.

“It is a fantastic feeling to get honoured for what you do and I am extremely grateful to the Living in the Shires Magazine for giving us recognition.

“The magazine is a well-respected part of the community covering business, lifestyle and leisure and for them to pick didi out of dozens of nominations is a huge feather in our cap.

“I am very proud of the team behind didi Rugby and for the coaches who promote our values around the country in our classes. This award is for all of you.”

We are thrilled to annouce didi Rugby Reading have joined the didi UK team under the awesome leadership of Craig Hunter.  Craig is currently Mini/Junior Chairman of Reading RFC, after five years of Club Chairman, his commitment and dedication to Reading Rugby Club is second to none.

Vicky – Founder of didi Rugby – said
” I am so excited to launch didi Rugby Reading with Craig Hunter at the helm, I know his passion and enthusiasm will ensure all the little ones of Reading get the opportunity to enjoy didi Rugby, and therefore get lots more children physically active and involved in our wonderful game!”

Craig said

“I was involved with football ever since I can remember and playing rugby was not really on the radar until the latter part of my time at secondary school, when I joined Reading RFC as a 14-year-old.

That was 41 years ago. Since then, I have been fortunate enough to play for Reading RFC from Under-15s through to Colts and 1st XV level and have also represented Berkshire at Colts level too.

I retired from playing due to injury but I continued my connection and have been part of running the club in many capacities, mostly in a voluntary capacity.

I have had the privilege of being club chairman for five years and over the last three years, I have held the post of youth chairman; this most recent role is something I have really enjoyed; watching the young future players learning to develop and love the sport.

Over this time I have witnessed how rugby and its core values, TREDS – Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship – have literally changed lives and created life-long friendships, not only at Reading but across the world. My recent trip to New Zealand to watch the British & Irish Lions reinforced this!

At Reading RFC, we provide many variations of the game for boys, girls, men and women – the latter through a highly successful girls section, which is growing all the time.

Over the last few years, we have added Walking Rugby, and currently I am involved in developing Berkshire Banshees Wheelchair Rugby Club, for the county of Berkshire and surrounding areas.

Like many clubs, we provide youth rugby from the age of Under-6, however one area we have not managed to cater for is the Under-5s – until now that is.

Having been introduced to Vicky Macqueen and didi Rugby, I firmly believe what she is offering is an excellent developmental programme for children from 18 months through, until they start at Under-6s or Under-7s at club rugby.

I am delighted to announce that didi Rugby is coming to Reading and will be launched in February 2018, at Reading RFC and the surrounding areas. The aim is to offer educational, developmental and fun sessions to as many young children (boys and girls) as possible, to help start their love of sport and activity.

This is open to all children from 18 months; you don’t need to be from a rugby family and may know nothing about the sport, but if you are looking for something to engage and excite your children from an early age, why not let them have a go and have a little taste of the sport we love so much?

We invited Geraldine Ross – Head of Schools Westwood Farm Schools Federation – to let us know what she thought of a taster session we held at a school recently.

• 11 England rugby caps
• Current Harlequins FC player
• Level 3 Personal Trainer
• British Red Cross Event First Aider
• Teaching Assistant in a Special Educational Needs school for 5+ years.

Hannah has been a member of the didi Rugby team since April 2017 as head coach for the didi Rugby Harlequins division.

She is about to head-up the latest didi franchise to launch in the UK with the Ascot and Windsor branches set to provide quality coaching for children in the area.

Hannah has 11 caps for England’s Red Roses (5 for 15s, 6 for rugby 7s) and currently plays for the women’s branch of Harlequins in the Tyrell’s Premier 15s League.

She is a certified Level 3 personal trainer, as well as a volunteer first aider at the British Red Cross. She has previously worked with Abbey Ladies RFC and the Berkshire College of Agriculture 1st XV rugby team as a strength and conditioning coach, which has given her first hand experience of the need to develop key motor skills and athletic components during children’s early years.

Hannah says she cannot wait to get started spreading the didi values throughout Ascot and Windsor.

didi rugby is proud to announce didi rugby Swansea which will be running under the awesome duo Robyn Lock and Andrew O’Sullivan who both live and breathe the core values that under-pin didi rugby.

They are super excited to start their didi rugby journey, already planning sessions at different venues with some dynamic and exciting coaches coming into the team!  ​Their ultimate aim is getting more children physiclly active and a part of the rugby family.

Vicky Macqueen founder of didi rugby said;

” I am so excited to have Robyn and Andrew on board, they are just perfect to run didi rugby Swanse, their passion and enthusiasm for getting little ones involved in didi rugby is awesome.”

” I cant wait to support them through their journey!”

Robyn began her rugby career at Swansea University having played netball for 10 years and went on to play for the Uni team, Swansea RFC and then the Ospreys. She is now a qualified Welsh Rugby Union coach.

“I have always been in love with sports, but rugby has been the one to help me grow as an individual,” said Robyn.

“Thanks to rugby, I am now more confident, happier and healthier and am surrounded by my friends all of the time. I love every second that I am in a rugby environment, whether that be recreational or competitive.

“My role as an Active Young People Officer has allowed me to witness the positive impact that play and physical learning can have on youngsters. By combining that with the experience and opportunities that rugby can provide, with an added element of fun, children will develop a positive association with physical activity.

“Just as rugby allowed me to grow, I believe that didi Rugby can help children grow too. I see didi rugby as a great gift to your child because you are enabling them to gain fundamental skills which will act as the building blocks their physical activity journey.”

Andrew started his rugby early on in his life, playing touch rugby for Glais RFC. He began to find his feet in his mid-teens and was selected for Swansea Schoolboys , as a prop.

Andrew is still an avid Ospreys fan and long-time season ticket holder at the Liberty Stadium and his passion for the game remains as strong as ever.

“I have always loved sport because it has created some of the best moments in my life, whether that is through the thrill of the game or more importantly, through the friendship and bonds the sport creates,” he said.

“For this reason, I believe so strongly in the didi Rugby programme. Getting kids to realise what a fulfilling life experience sport and physical activity can be as early as possible can only set them up for a physically, socially and mentally healthy life.”

Opportunity to be an Athlete Mentor was a Privilege” – by Vicky Macqueen

‘I was very privileged to be recently selected to be an athlete mentor for this year’s National School Games at Loughborough University.

The four-day event was a fantastic taste of a multi-sport event on a huge scale for young athletes. It basically amounted to a Mini Olympic Games!

The young athletes had come through several rounds of competition within the school games competition pathway before they reached the pinnacle of National school  games.  There were teams representing Ireland, Wales and the different England regions ; North, the Midlands, south east and south west . I got the privilege of working with them all…

The young athletes enjoyed the whole experience from wearing accreditation to gaining access to areas where media and press conferences are held.
Athlete mentors delivered sessions to inspire and motivate the athletes with the core values of the games such as: honestly, respect, team work, passion, determination and self-belief.

We also delivered an athlete mentor Q & A session to hundreds of athletes that opted for the workshop on ‘gaining the edge’.

It was a fantastic experience to be involved in such an occasion. I had the privilege to make an impact on the performance and experiences of young athletes that will remain with them throughout their career. Hopefully, it will also inspire them to achieve success in their chosen sport.

My highlight was when the Ireland squad won the final, and came running over to me to thank me for their talk in the morning which they say inspired them to victory!

I am not sure it was down to me but it was lovely that they felt that they had gained from me being there as a mentor for them. And it was great to know that I had made a difference to those determined young athletes”

didi rugby is moving onto the next stage of its development and becoming a franchise.

The business, founded and devised by former England Women’s international, Vicky Macqueen has grown at a rapid rate since its inception in 2015.

Now, just two years later, more than 1,500 children are enjoying didi rugby classes on a weekly basis all around the country.

And a number of franchises are about to launch around the UK. Opening up a didi franchise will not only enable interested parties to develop their own businesses but it will be done with all the branding and infrastructure of the didi family already in place.

It will also give franchisees the chance to learn ideas and structures from founder, Vicky Macqueen, whose knowledge and skill-base gleaned from an international career, an RFU Level 3 Coaching qualification, and a teaching degree in physical education, has helped to devise the didi coaching guidelines for each separate age group.

Franchise owners will become part of a tight-knit and dedicated didi family.

didi rugby franchises aim to create active, confident and skilful children in a safe and fun environment. That physical activity they enjoy then will provide a base for them to remain active in later life.

“We are all very excited about hopefully giving more children access to the game of rugby and the fun and skills it can provide,” said Vicky.

“The success of the didi family so far has delighted us and enabled us to open dozens of centres around the country.

“I believe in what we are doing and so I want to keep pushing and have more and more people in place to get more and more children involved in the fun and values that rugby offers.

“We are hopeful that children who both try and enjoy didi rugby will go on to play for local clubs when they have come through our learning environment.”