High School Rugby League kicksoff in the USA

The only way for Rugby League to take off in the United States is for it to become a school sport, meaning kids must have the opportunity to play the sport at their school, especially at the High School level.

Since 2011, the American Youth Rugby League Association has operated after school programs. The focus of the majority of programming has been in one of the largest school districts in the North East -  Providence, Rhode Island. Since 2011 in partnership with the RI Rebellion and the Boston 13s, AYRLA has been able to develop a template for developing rugby league in the USA. AYRLA holds rugby league competitions in 4 out of 6 Middle Schools in Providence (11-15yr olds). AYRLA also launched in Spring 2013 a U23 Competition in Massachusetts and Rhode Island with the teams comprising of local college rugby union players and also two teams from the RI Training School (Youth Prison aged 15-19). The best players from this competition go on to a select side to compete on a Representative team in the USA Rugby League 9s tournament.

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Currently there are a few hundred kids who have played rugby league during middle school who have now moved onto high school. This means that we have reached the critical mass needed to get a high school competition going.

AYRLA is slated to operate in 6 out of 8 Providence High Schools comprising 4 teams in an 8 week competition. We are hoping the programs success will launch a domino effect for getting other programs going in surrounding areas.

In order to deliver this successfully we must raise the funds on our own. Since few in the USA have heard about Rugby League, combined with the massive cuts that have taken place in state and municipal government, the schools can provide zero financial support to launch this.

This is a massive opportunity for Rugby League to actually get a foothold in the USA. Please consider helping us spread this great game. (Donations are tax deductible in accordance with the United States IRS guidelines, please consult a tax professional for specifics).

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To be fully transparent these are the costs to launch the competition.

• Team Kits $5,200
• Fields (rental costs) $7,000
• Balls $405
• Cones $100
• Hits Shields $1,200
• Awards $200
• Travel $4,000
• Total $18,105

If you would like to contact us prior to donating Email - This email has been obfuscated. and This email has been obfuscated.