Photograph Lloyd Phillips 

Pembrokeshire college rugby development officer

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Schools Give Fairtrade Rugby A Try

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Keeping in line with their healthy schools focus pupils at Tavernspite County Primary school are taking part in rugby coaching sessions, led by Lloyd Phillips the Pembrokeshire college rugby development officer.

The sessions give Pembrokeshire pupils the chance to enjoy playing rugby and thanks to Wales Council For Voluntary Action grant funding they are now using Fairtrade Bala Team rugby balls too. Sharron Hardwick of the Fair Trade In Football and Rugby Campaign, Kilgetty, presented Tavernspite with 2 Fairtrade rugby balls and donated a further 10 Fairtrade rugby balls to Lloyd for his rugby sessions in schools.

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“The children have thoroughly enjoyed improving their rugby skills with the coaches, one of whom is an ex Tavernspite pupil! As we are a Fairtrade School we are thrilled that the rugby balls we are playing with are all Fairtrade. The pupils care very much about Fairtrade issues.” said Class 4 Teacher Julie Houghton.

After several months of extensive development and testing, Bala Sport are really proud of their quality Fairtrade rugby balls made at the new factory in India. The production facility, in fact, has made a little bit of Fairtrade history by becoming the first sports ball factory outside of Pakistan to gain Fairtrade certification. All the elements of these hand-stitched balls are locally sourced.

The spec of the balls was developed with three Scottish rugby clubs, two in the Premier League and one in the First Division. The hand-crafted durability and high specifications of the Bala Team rugby balls donated to Lloyd make them a great choice for schools and grassroots clubs.

“It is great to see these excellent rugby sessions taking place, the children really enjoyed the session I visited and they loved the Fairtrade rugby balls too. The coach said that he liked the balls especially noting their great grip. The fact that they provide all the benefits of Fairtrade to the workers adds a new element to the game meaning both local schools and the rugby ball stitching communities are supported.” Shared Sharron.

To find out more about Fairtrade visit: www.fairtrade.org.uk
Fairtrade Sports Balls: www.balasport.co.uk

Fair Trade In Football And Rugby Campaign - www.fairtradeinfootball.com