Connecting Communities Inspires an Historic Occasion for Mount St Marys School
Published on: 30th March 2011
For the first time ever the school entered into the Carnegie Champions Girls Schools tournament and booked their Y7 and Y8 teams into the next round. The girls with many of them experiencing their first taste of rugby league had only been given a basic six week coaching programme.
The Y8 team won three games out of four with the Y7 team winning one game out of a possible two.
‘The girls did ever so well and we are so proud of them. They are a credit to the school and to their families. We have been very fortunate to have been coached by Saima Hussain,who has this tremendous ability to bring the best out of the girls’. Stated Yvonne Pearson, Head of P.E. Mount St Marys School.
Saima Hussain, who has been involved in the England women’s set up and is currently employed as a sports development worker for St Lukes was delighted with the way the girls performed on the field of play. ‘It was wonderful just watching the girls enjoying playing rugby league and of course its evening more satisfying when they win.
Yvonne added ‘I would like to thank St Lukes for providing the coaching staff along with Steve Parnel form Hunslet Hawks, East Leeds and the Leeds Service Area for their continued support. I must give a special mention to Ikram Butt, Connecting Communities Manager, for his invaluable support in way of mentoring and creating an atmosphere of confidence which has inspired the girls to do so well.
The event was successfully organised by Sian Hills, Leeds Rugby Foundations Women & Girls Officer and the tournament was held at the Leeds Rugby Academy playing fields.
The Carnegie Champion Schools Tournament is a great way of more and more secondary schools and colleges to Rugby league, as well as creating them to play alongside friends and enjoy a fantastically beneficial experience.
Ikram Butt
Connecting Communities Manager
Ikram.Butt@leedsrugbyfoundation.org
Leeds Rugby Foundation
RUGBY LEAGUE TO FEATURE FOR PRINCE CHARLES AT SEVILLE CONFERENCE
Leeds Rugby Foundation's Connecting Communities Manager, Ikram Butt, has been invited to be a principal speaker at the Mosaic Speakers Bureau Conference in Seville on Friday 1st April.
The Mosaic organisation, set up by HRH Price Wales – who will be in attendance – is a charity which has, as its principle aim, working towards a more integrated and thriving society where all individuals, regardless of background, are supported in realising their potential.
The Conference, which is organised by the British Embassy in Madrid to coincide with the visit of Prince Charles, will take place in the Three Cultures Foundation in Seville and centres on the integration of Muslim communities in Spain and the UK.
Ikram will be one of four speakers in a seminar entitled, ‘Unlocking Muslim Potential: Diversity for Competitive Advantage’ which will bring together practitioners and opinion-shapers working in the fields of education, employment, the media, politics and civil society.
The objective is to share best practice on integration and public policies affecting Muslim communities and to learn from each other’s experiences.
His address will focus on the work of the Leeds Rugby Foundation and specifically the Connecting Communities Project and will outline case studies that use sport as a vehicle for change, while also talking about his own experience in professional sport and the challenges he faced.
Afterwards he will partake in a debate on the issues raised, sharing the platform with former African Footballer of the Year Frederick Kanoute, who currently plays for Seville.
Ikram Butt, the first Asian rugby league international when he played for England in 1995 commented, “I am honoured to be asked to attend and address such an august body. The conference and the vital networking events that surround it enable me to promote the core values of rugby league, the invaluable and wide ranging work of the foundation and the city of Leeds.”
Other delegates and representatives travelling over from the UK on behalf of MOSAIC include; National Director Jonathan Freeman, Aleena Ahmed of the BBC, Cllr Mahroof Hussain, MBE Rotherham cabinet member and Birmingham Councillor Nargis Rashid.
