Good human beings with good values – these are qualities that John Evans, Rugby Team Manager believes BATs rugby can instil in young people.
A club whose alumni include world-class players like Dave Denton (Worcester Warriors) and Jamie Farndale (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland 7s), BATs has played an integral part in the support and development of youth rugby in north Edinburgh since 2004.
Who are BATs Rugby?
BATs is a community amateur sports club (CASC) and combines youth sections from Edinburgh Accies, Broughton RFC and Trinity Accies. For young people aged 12 to 18 Edinburgh BATs Rugby uses Edinburgh Accies’ ground at Raeburn Place as its main base.
Here at Edinburgh Self Storage, we’re delighted to be able to support the great work of BATs Rugby. Our sponsorship helps the BATs team to grow, in turn making the sport more accessible to young people in the community and developing Scotland’s next generation of senior players.
Helping nurture young talent are BATs team Ian Berthinussen, aka Bertie, BATs Lead Development Officer and Callum Black, Development Officer. Together they provide support to schools to develop rugby talent and provide equality of access to the sport for young people.
One of the main principles of BATs is to provide access to opportunity for young people in Edinburgh who would like to try rugby or develop their skills – and the sky’s the limit. Opportunities for development include not only developing rugby skills – some youngsters have also gone on to learn refereeing skills and coaching younger members, and there’s even the possibility of foreign travel.
BATs continues to be a great success and is a real community effort between the team, the young people and parents – with the latter even offering their services including, for example, first aid skills.
Everyone is equal, regardless of background or opportunity – BATs can provide kit and membership for those who need it.
As well as the opportunity to burn some energy, parents are keen to point out some other benefits that participation in BATs brings – teamwork, structure and discipline. And it’s one extracurricular activity that youngsters don’t need too much encouragement to leave the comfort of the house for!
References: www.edinburghbatsrugby.co.uk
Relevant links: Edinburgh Accies
