didi rugby have secured a new kit deal with one of rugby’s most recognisable brand names.
SAMURAI will be didi rugby’s official kit suppliers.
The business is one of the most respected kit producers across the world of rugby, cricket, netball and hockey. They also offer some stunning leisurewear for both men and women.
SAMURAI are Leicester Tigers official kit suppliers in 2022
SAMURAI have been making premium products for over 25 years and continue to shine as a leading global team-wear brand.
They are official kit suppliers to another one of didi rugby’s high-profile partners, Leicester Tigers (see above).
Vicky Macqueen
And there is a special link between the two businesses as didi rugby owner and CEO Vicky Macqueen explains.
“We are thrilled to be partnered with SAMURAI,” said Vicky. “I have personally represented SAMURAI on the rugby Sevens circuit and love the values and the ethos behind the brand.
“didi rugby’s values and mission is to grow the game at grass roots level getting more young children and their families involved in our amazing game.
“We are looking forward to working on this with SAMURAI for the good of the game and utilising our place in the market to inspire more young children and their parents to get involved in rugby.
kit
“Our bright red designs have always been popular with children and parents alike and we are excited about getting SAMURAI’s take on our kit out and about amongst our franchises across the UK.
Darren Bird, our Sales and Business Development Manager added: “SAMURAI are really excited by this partnership.
“It means a great deal to us to be able to support the next rugby generation and we’re proud to be associated with didi rugby’s fantastic vision.”
(L to R) Leicester Tigers CEO Andrea Pinchen, didi rugby CEO Vicky Macqueen, Leicester Tigers Head of Community, Scott Clarke and the didi rugby and Leicester Tigers mascots
didi rugby are delighted to announce a ground-breaking new partnership with the best-supported rugby club in the country, Leicester Tigers.
As well as being current Gallagher Premiership leaders, Tigers have won the English domestic league 10 times and the European Cup twice. Their Mattioli Woods Welford Road ground holds over 25,000 people, as well as some memorable moments from the club’s 142-year history.
Tigers also have a proud and deep-rooted tradition of support for the local rugby community and the partnership with didi rugby will provide a pathway for the very youngest didi stars, right through to Leicester Tigers senior rugby for girls and boys.
Partnership
The new partnership will also be able to explore opportunities around matchday and schools provisions together and didi rugby look forward to working with Tigers across the whole country to get more children involved in the game of rugby.
The exciting development will run alongside Tigers+, the club’s expansive new programme to encourage more children to play rugby, and we will include pilot schemes to help local clubs with under-7s age-groups as a key source of recruitment of both players and coaches.
Vicky Macqueen, founder of didi rugby and head of the new women’s rugby programme at Tigers, said: “We are thrilled to be able to announce this partnership with Leicester Tigers and I am excited to work alongside the club to inspire children and their families to become involved in the wider rugby family.
Leicester Tigers
“Leicester Tigers share didi’s values in increasing participation in rugby and physical activity, and we want to give opportunities to engage in rugby to as many children and families as possible.”
Tigers chief executive Andrea Pinchen added: “This is another great initiative for the club to be involved in. We are taking a lead in getting people playing rugby as well as watching it, and partnering with a great organisation like didi will help us do this with our Tiger Cubs right across the country.”
didi rugby provides classes for children aged between 18 months and 6 years of age. Sessions are taught under governing body, the Rugby Union’s Early Years Guidelines, which didi rugby CEO Vicky Macqueen helped to devise.
Acti-Fit have become didi rugby’s official education partner.
As a result, they will help to provide new coaches for didi rugby’s ever-growing class numbers and offer new and existing coaches the opportunity to gain a professional, chartered qualification on the job.
Based in the Midlands and driven by a host of passionate people, Acti-Fit are on a mission to push the boundaries of coaching by harnessing the power of sport and education.
With a team of experts, they provide 360 coaching consultancy, to support coaches with their educational development.
Acti-Fit director Ellis Bailey speaks at the didi rugby Conference
They embrace an ethos of getting people active and having fun through physical activity and it is an ethos which fits perfectly with the mantra that drives didi rugby and its classes for children up and down the country.
Through their knowledge and support networks, Acti-Fit will help provide didi with the right coaches at the right time for classes across the UK, in areas which are looking to expand.
This will provide not only more dedicated staff to support didi rugby’s ever-growing numbers of young members but will also allow those coaches to gain a professional qualification while doing so.
The Acti-Fit team promise to make those coaches become the best coach they can be and they will also give them the opportunity to become chartered in their respective field.
didi rugby founder and CEO Vicky Macqueen says she is delighted to confirm the partnership with Acti-Fit.
Personal development
“We have been chatting to them for a long time about having the same ethos, mentality and goals of getting kids active across the country,” she said. “It has been great to hear their ideas about making people better coaches and managers and putting them onto formal qualifications.
“We are always keen to make our didi coaches the best they can be with ongoing personal development.
“There will be a clear pathway to develop the children, their classes and the coaches who lead them.
“The partnership will also provide a clear pathway for didi coaches and franchise holders to develop and learn while they are on the job.”
didi rugby already teaches a framework which fits in with rugby’s governing body’s guidelines and with Vicky being one of only a handful of RFU Level 4 female coaches in the UK, youngsters who attend didi classes are always in safe hands.
Acti-Fit Partnership
“We are confident that the formal qualifications that Acti-Fit are adding to our coaching will stand us apart from other providers and ensure that customers get the very best from a session when they attend didi rugby with their children.
“It will be a very healthy partnership and it is exciting for me to be able to give our franchisees some great training which will, in turn, support them to support their loyal customers.
Ellis Bailey is a director at Acti-Fit and he says that he quickly realised there was lots of synergy between the two companies soon after meeting Vicky.
“When we set up Acti-Fit, we wanted to do something to make a difference,” said Ellis.
“Like didi rugby, we have a lot of things we feel passionately about like getting kids active and healthy and trying to better the quality of coaching in the UK through education.
Coaching pathway
“We were happy to start a didi franchise as part of the partnership too and we also wanted to offer franchise owners the opportunity to grow with an educational coaching pathway.
“Whenever we discuss going into a partnership with anyone, we want to invest in people and what I saw from didi rugby was a group of people with a genuine passion for what they believe in.
“It’s not a made-up story. It’s genuinely what they want to do. Vicky is a genuine person with a huge passion for sport and wanting to work for the community.
“Our partnership really is a match made in heaven.”
