Local junior rugby clubs and schools are once again being called on to enter the nib Little Legends $10K Relay taking place at the Blues vs Rebels game at Eden Park on Friday, May 6.
Competing as part of the half-time entertainment, 10 teams from Auckland, North Harbour and Northland, will run the width of the rugby field, with a ball from player to player, to be the first to complete an entire team relay and win $10,000 for their club or school.
nib New Zealand chief executive Rob Hennin is delighted to bring back the relay in 2022.
“Grassroots sport creates an environment where physical activity is fun and engaging, so encouraging greater participation is one of our strategic goals. We hope this funding boost helps to do that and enables a club or school to continue to keep our tamariki active in support of their health and wellbeing,” Hennin said.
Last year’s winning team from Pakuranga United Rugby Club, put their $10,000 boost towards creating an inclusive girls’ and boys’ rugby programme in their community by upgrading their facilities to enable all genders access to changing rooms, toilets, and showers.
Pakuranga United Rugby Club general manager John East said, “Our changing room facilities were first built in 1965 for a male only environment. With the $10,000 boost from winning the nib Little Legends $10K Relay, we’ve been able to transform our club to provide first-class facilities to support all our tamariki across multiple sporting codes,” East said
“The reaction from the public and community has been overwhelmingly positive and our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion have started to be realised because of this contribution. We can now support all the multiple gender initiatives we have on-site, at the same time, which our club is so proud of.
“It was a long-time coming and something we wouldn’t have been able to realise without this initiative. We encourage teams to enter this year’s relay – you’ll have a one in 10 chance of winning and it’s a heap of fun!”
Blues chief executive, Andrew Hore said, “Seeing the results from last year’s nib Little Legends $10K relay is inspiring. Anything to ensure all genders have the chance to play rugby at a local club level is a win to the Blues. It’s so great that nib’s initiative is supporting this type of mahi.”
Hennin said he encourages all local clubs and schools to apply.
“We’re extremely proud to play a role in making the changes to the Pakuranga United Rugby Club happen and can’t wait to see this year’s teams battle it out. We’ll be cheering on these Little Legends at Eden Park and encourage all eligible teams to apply,” Hennin said.
Local clubs and schools interested in entering the competition need to simply tell the Blues and nib in 50 words or less how they’ll use the prize money to support the health and wellbeing of their junior players. The final teams will be shortlisted based on their entry.
Each finalist team must have 10 players to compete with on the day aged between 11 – 13 years. All finalists will also receive an OPRO Custom-Fit mouthguard impression kit for each player (same brand as worn by the Blues), as well as tickets to the game for their guardian thanks to nib.
- Registrations are open from today and close Wednesday, April 27 at 5pm. To enter or read the full terms and conditions, visit: https://www.blues.rugby/nib-10k-relay
