Parents asked what the barriers are to getting children into exercise
A CANTON rugby club for four to 16-year-olds is asking parents to help it understand potential barriers to the sport.
“If you really want to help somebody just shut up and listen, and that’s kind of our motivation for the survey,” said Peter Hughes, chairman of Canton RFC mini and junior rugby club.
“We wanted to gauge community opinion just on what might be preventing kids accessing sport so we can to remove the barriers,” said Mr Hughes, 30, who also plays for the club’s senior team.
The survey, which has already received about 40 replies, was launched in response to Covid.
“We see sport as one of the key things for children, keeping healthy and exercising regularly in a way that they enjoy is key for us,” said Mr Hughes.
The mini and junior rugby club is open to four to 16-year-olds and while it has some ideas about barriers to entry – such as the cost involved for buying a kit or kids participating in other sports – it is looking to parents for answers.
“If there is any child out there who is struggling to access sport, we want to know what we can do to help. Although our numbers are good, we do have scope to do better and to help more kids,” Mr Hughes added.
Safety concerns could be another barrier, said Mr Hughes, as people who don’t know much about rugby could perceive it as being dangerous for the kids.
“It’s not though, there is a proper pathway and place to introduce things slowly,” he added.
Another goal for the club is to engage the BAME communities and European families in Canton.
“There are so many different ethnicities in all the primary schools in Canton but we are only really seeing lots of the white children come through. We’re thinking there may be a cultural element to it,” Mr Hughes said.
With rugby training re-starting on the March 28, parents have been in touch saying their children can’t wait and are excited to go back.
After a year of Covid “the kids all know the drill by now,” said Mr. Hughes, and the club has put in place risk assessments and issued guidance.
