11 January, 2022, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR: Pot Bellied Pigs RFC continues support for LRF as a Champa Ban Connect sponsor for 2022
Founded in 1997, the Pot Bellied Pigs RFC are a social touring rugby team based in Hong Kong, committed to the development of rugby union and supporting children in Asia. The club’s membership boasts over 300 playing and social members from across the globe, including a number of ex-international players. The Lao Rugby Federation (LRF) is the governing body for all rugby activities within the Lao PDR and focuses on developing sport through school and community development initiatives for youth and senior domestic and international representative teams.
The Pot Bellied Pigs has been a crucial long-term partner for the LRF. The partnership, established in 2017, was instrumental in creating the first rugby teams in Paek District, located in Xieng Khouang Province in the northeast of Laos. Their continuous support since has allowed the players and coaches in Paek to found one of the most vibrant and active rugby communities in the country. Over the course of the partnership, the rugby community in Paek has grown to encompass one blossoming rugby club, 35 coaches and over 600 players.
For the 2022 season, the Pot Bellied Pigs is continuing to support LRF’s Champa Ban Connect programme, a programme that supports the development of youth rugby in Paek District. “Champa Ban” means blossoming flower in the local Lao language, and the programme currently involves over 2,000 young players across the country who participate as part of their local rugby teams. Local youth coaches aged 16 to 25 are trained by internationally accredited rugby trainers, life skills instructors and first-aid trainers to coach teams in their respective communities.
A central component of the Champa Ban Youth Rugby Programme is the Pass It Back curriculum, which combines rugby skills with life skills through four modules; Understanding Gender, Planning for the Future, Staying Healthy and Feeling Safe. The LRF has delivered over 30,000 sessions to over 10,000 players and has trained over 300 community-based coaches since 2015. Pass It Back in Laos has been recognised by two separate external evaluations as “amongst some of the best in the world for connecting sport and development outcomes with significant impacts in quantitative indicators that connect to resilience, leadership, community connection, gender inclusion and safeguarding” and that the programme’s “approach and achievements make it a best practice example of transformative gender programming.”
2022 represents an exciting year for the rugby community in Paek District. Thanks to this support from the Pot Bellied Pigs, five Champa Ban teams each with 12 to 15 players and two coaches will be able to participate in the next two seasons of rugby and life skills. The coaches deliver these sessions not only to prepare the players for the local competitions, but also to empower the local youth by equipping them with life skills. These sessions are also critical opportunities for the Coaches to hone their organizational and leadership skills which they can apply to their lives outside of the programme. It is the intention of the programme to empower these youths through the sport of rugby so that they can have an impact on their local communities.
The LRF would like to thank the Pot Bellied Pigs for their support for Champa Ban Youth Rugby in Paek District, which enables children and youth to pursue their passion, obtain life skills and hone leadership through the sport of rugby.
For more information about this press release, please contact:
Phone: +856 21 315 795
Email: info@laorugby.com
Website: www.laorugby.com