YHS President David Pool commented, “Ignite is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the sport and our belief in the power of the youth game to drive the overall growth of the sport in the United States. As our SYROs and youth rugby community continue to drive forward, we recognize the need to provide opportunities for passionate individuals to establish clubs that will become the bedrock of rugby’s future.”
“The Ignite Growth Fund is broadly based on our very successful New High School teams program, supported by the US Rugby Foundation,” noted Giovanni Vaglietti, YHS Executive Director. “There will be a strong emphasis on sustainability and building out of the entire rugby ecosystem within the framework of approval. We will look to create a tiered funding structure that provides incentives to those who add Boys and Girls teams to the club. In addition, working to build out the coaching and referee pool with us will provide some further funding incentives.”
Key Highlights of Ignite:
● Financial Support: The program offers financial support to individuals and groups interested in creating new rugby clubs. Building a club from the ground up can be challenging, and our fund aims to ease the financial burden of initial setup and operation.
● Community Building: Rugby’s strong culture, values, and ethos make rugby clubs the center of their communities. This fund hopes to build off that culture and provide communities where everyone can come together and benefit from it.
● Sustainability: The Fund emphasizes the long-term sustainability of new clubs.
We aim to support initiatives that will establish clubs and ensure their continued success and growth for years.
● Coaching and Administration: As part of the YHS support the new Clubs will get a 1-year subscription to the Customizable YHS/Six Degrees Coaching Platform along with the YHS best practice Administration guide.
Applications for Ignite will open in Fall 2023, with further details on application contents to be announced shortly.
We invite passionate rugby enthusiasts to take this opportunity to establish clubs that will nurture the love for rugby in their communities.
About USA Youth and High School Rugby:
USA Youth and High School Rugby is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organized in Washington, D.C., an affiliate of USA Rugby. USAR has named USAY&HS as the Sanctioned Governing Body for all youth rugby in the United States, this includes community and school-based programs for players ages 5 – 18. The mission of USAY&HS is to provide a fun and safe environment for the development of youth rugby in the United States; develop well rounded rugby community members both on and off the pitch; and be the conduit to connect the game at all levels to promote a lifelong love of the sport of rugby.
About Imagine Rugby:
Imagine Rugby strives to make rugby available to the youth of North America by working in partnership with schools, recreation departments, nonprofits and MLR teams. Youth players learn leadership development, mentorship and healthy lifestyles through the power of sport.
Imagine Rugby is the 501(c)(3) arm of MLR, working in partnership with USA Rugby and USA Youth & High School Rugby with support from World Rugby.
Imagine Rugby’s goal is to increase Youth Rugby participation in North America to 1 million active youth by 2030 in support of the 2031 and 2033 World Cups in the U.S.