Pioneers in Inclusive Rugby, The Manchester Village Spartans RUFC teamed up with England Rugby and 02 Touch to launch the UK’s first Inclusive Rugby draft-style, one-day, Summer Touch Rugby tournament on Saturday June 1st 2019 supported by our friends at England Touch.
Players aged 18yrs+ of any touch rugby ability registered to come along and play. We had players from across the North of England with players from teams including Inclusive Rugby Clubs, The Lancashire Typhoons and The Sheffield Vulcans and allies from 02 Touch teams all over the Northwest. Players were split into mixed teams based on individual ability at the exciting and ultra-sociable event that proved to be as individual as all the players who enjoyed this day out.
Contact us below if you have any questions and keep a similar date free in your diary for the next Summer Draft in 2020 as we look to become a regular summer touch fixture for all our friends playing 02 Touch Rugby across the UK.
The easiest way to think of a Summer Touch Rugby Draft Tournament is that it’s like fantasy Football or Fantasy Touch Rugby but it’s played out in real life! If that still doesn’t mean anything to you, it works like this:
WHEN SIGNING UP
- During the sign up process, we ask for some basic info about the amount of Touch Rugby experience you (and any other attendees you’re buying tickets for) have
- Different levels of experience ‘earn’ the player different amounts of ‘points’
BEFORE THE DAY
- Once everyone is signed up, the basic player info is given to a number of ‘Captains’ to select Touch Rugby teams for the day
- Captains don’t get your name on the info provided when selecting players – so they can’t just choose people they may know. The Touch Rugby player info they receive is anonymised so the competition stays competitive, fair and a great new sociable way to play
- Each Team Captain is given a certain amount of ‘points’ to spend on touch players, the more experienced a player, the more ‘points’ and therefore ‘expensive’ they are
- This means that Captains have to balance their teams to try to build the most competitive squad that they can whilst ensuring that experience levels are divided across teams
- If we have several people coming from one team we will try to keep a couple of you together but the idea of the draft is for everyone to get mixed up, stuck in and play with in exciting, new teams for the day!
ON THE DAY
- Players had some time in the morning to get to know their new team for the day and have a warm-up practice together
- The tournament used group stages, followed by knockout rounds, to decide on final positions and the Cup, Bowl and Plate winners
- The number of matches played and length of matches was finalised near the event date of 1st June, but maximised game time whilst not exhausting everyone for their finals
EXTRA INFO
- Lunch was provided on the day – We provided Gluten Free and Vegan options as long people indicated their dietary needs in the ‘Additional Information’ box when purchasing tickets.
- Medical and physio cover was available on site on the day
- Paid refereeing staff were on site during the competition
Our thanks go to England Rugby and 02 Touch for their advice and assistance
