Vectis under-nines player Max Hill is tackled by two US Portsmouth players. Picture by Robin Crossley.
PICTURE GALLERY
YOUTH RUGBYUSUALLY, when a festival is held at Seaclose Park, the only noise you can hear is the screaming of fans over booming rock music.
But last Sunday, a different kind of festival covered the fields at Seaclose, with cheering parents and team mates as its soundtrack.
This year’s Vectis Rugby Festival was the biggest yet, with more than 1,700 players and thousands of families and supporters spread across the entire IW Festival site, and part of Medina High School’s playing fields.
Teams from across the region, including Basingstoke, Dorking, Bracknell and Reigate, took part, with competitions from under-seven through to under-12s.
For the younger teams there were three shots at silverware, with the main cup and a plate and bowl competition for those knocked out in the earlier stages.
For under-11s and under-12s there was a cup and plate to contest. Sadly for the host club, their best success came via the under-12s, who were beaten in the final of the plate competition.
Joint organiser David Norman said: "The opposition this year, as always was very strong so we knew it would be hard for our lads. Our best hope was with the under-12s but they have had a long season and have had lots of injuries, so they did really well to get as far as they did.
"The most important thing was that everybody had a good time and I think all the teams enjoyed the day very much. We have had plenty of compliments from the other teams so I think we can safely say it was a success."
Winning the under-sevens cup was Bracknell, with Trojans A winning the under-eights competition. The under-nines cup was shared between Bracknell and Chichester, with Beccehami-ans winning the under-tens cup.
The under-12s cup was won by Ampthill B. The winner of the under-11s cup is unknown.
In the plate competitions, Alton won the under-sevens, Chichester won the under-eights, Trojans won the under-nines, Dorking and Basingstoke shared the under-tens, US Portsmouth won the under-11s and Bracknell A won the under-12s.
In the bowl competition, Trojans B won the under-sevens, Dorking won the under-eights, US Portsmouth won the under-nines and Old Reigations won the under-tens.
This year’s festival was part of the Sacla Rugby Festivals programme, which is supported by former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio. All the children received a pack including skill cards, healthy recipes and an RFU wristband.
The festival was also raising money for Hearts and Balls, a charity raising funds for injured rugby players worldwide.
• Pictures from our online gallery www.iwcpgallery.co.uk below.
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Reporter: sport@iwcpmail.co.uk