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SINGAPORE: Rugby Sevens for girls will be introduced to secondary schools and junior colleges for the first time next year.
The Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) is starting a pilot project to groom more youths, now that the sport is part of the Olympics.
Singapore's women's rugby team won a silver medal at the 2007 SEA Games, and SRU, which has been successful in introducing the sport to tertiary institutions, wants to extend its reach.
"Unlike the men's game where the boys start playing at a very young age, the women's model sees us going from top down, where we actually started with the senior girls and go down to polytechnics and junior colleges. And maybe some secondary schools would be the next logical step for us," said Ridzal Saat, head of rugby, Singapore Rugby Union.
Bukit Batok Secondary will be one of the first to be part of the pilot project, as the school already plays touch rugby now. And four Junior Colleges - Raffles, Anglo Chinese, St Andrews and Serangoon - will also be included.
While the boys play it in primary school, SRU feels that Asian parents may not want to expose their girls to a contact sport at a very young age.
"We definitely want to start at the secondary school levels so that there is enough foundation to build, so that they can be ready when they take on the international stage," said Low Teo Ping, president, Singapore Rugby Union.
SRU added that they are in talks with the authorities to get the sport accepted as a co-curricular activity. The union plans to include more secondary schools and junior colleges in the long term, and wants to have a competition similar to the 15s game.
SRU is indeed serious about promoting the sport among women, with even a separate coach for the women's sevens team. The development plans to groom youngsters have one ultimate aim - to get a team ready for the 2020 Olympics.
- CNA/sc
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