Sub union approach proves popular for touch

Junior representative sport has been a hot topic of conversation lately, with many sporting organisations making decisions to cull junior representative programmes.

Touch Southland have endeavoured to flip this script somewhat, in fact completely.

Over the past seven weeks, more than 300 children around Southland have played in three tournaments organised in Queenstown, Invercargill and Winton. Teams were sub-union based with Invercargill, Queenstown, Central, Western and Eastern Southland teams all taking part in a festival atmosphere. Touch Southland recognises that children still have an immense amount of pride in representing where they come from. In the past this has been out of reach for many. However in our representative teams there were no final selection cuts meaning any player who wished to take part was included. Additionally, teams were single gender, allowing more young females the opportunity to play amongst their peers.

Training commitments were minimal, a one-hour practise after playing in their local school module each week. Players in country areas did not have to travel into town to be a part of something more than playing in a school team. Also, by moving the festivals around the region, Touch Southland not only demonstrated its commitment to the whole region we serve, but gave most children an opportunity to represent on their home turf.

There were no participation awards and no trophies for the winning teams. Yes, the scores were kept, results recorded; and in the final tournament finals were played.

However more importantly, children learnt the value of being part of a team, learnt how to play touch, developed skills and had plenty of game time. Above all, they had fun and played with their mates. At the end of it all, we hope there is an urge to want to come back and play touch again next season.

Spearheading this programme were a group of dedicated parents and volunteers who put their hand up to coach and manage these teams. Assisted by Touch Southland, these passionate mentors provided players with an enjoyable experience and gave children the chance to take part in something bigger than themselves.

Finishing off in their last tournament, for a reasonable cost, all players and management were given a Touch Southland hoodie and polo shirt, all the same colour, a sign of inclusiveness and Touch Southland’s desire to bring our people and community together.

The touch season continues to roll on for our other young representative players, with the Southern IPS just over two weeks away in Christchurch. Southland will be represented by 10 teams at the tournament from under-12 through to under-16. The best under-16 and under-18 players in the province are also building towards their pinnacle tournament, the 2020 junior nationals, taking place in Auckland in February.