Hartlepool RC has an active women’s & girls’ section with teams in the U12, U14 and U16 age groups as well as a senior team. They’re a welcoming and inclusive club that has seen several historic moments take place for some of their members recently, which we want to celebrate in this week’s Grassroots Story of the Week.
The club’s women’s senior team was re-established just last year, and they have since then done an impressive recruitment campaign to grow the women’s and girls’ sections of the club. Their women’s senior team is now competing in the NC3 North league!
Catherine Reed is one of the Hartlepool women’s senior players, who joined the club after seeing the Her Game Too campaign on social media. Recently, she played her first ever competitive rugby game against Stockton Rugby Club, in which she scored the team’s try and was awarded Back of the Match by the opposition team! England Rugby recently shared her inspirational story, where she told them that she’d always loved rugby and used to watch it with her dad when she was younger but was never allowed to play - because she was a girl. Catherine’s story proves that it’s certainly never too late to get into sport!
Furthermore, another one of the club’s success stories is from its girls’ section. The club recently shared the news that their U16 Girls Academy coach, Gemma Fox, had been invited to Twickenham to be awarded the RFU President’s Value the Volunteer Outstanding Contribution Award. We know how important coaches are at all levels of rugby and appreciate how much time and hard work must have been put in by Gemma to be awarded this.
These are only two of the many stories from Hartlepool Rugby Club’s women’s and girls’ sections. However, they are stories that truly highlight the values of rugby and how inclusive and hard working the club is. These are the things that help women’s rugby grow and we’re delighted to celebrate Hartlepool RC for our Grassroots Story of the Week!”