Sport - page 4

GRFU was formally incorporated in 1945. The structure in place at the time accommodated both military and civilian teams, who competed in a league, usually played across the border as there were no grass pitches in Gibraltar.

The GRFU continued being active even during the closed frontier days, switching to, and allegedly inventing, the ‘Tag’ variation, which was the only safe way of playing rugby on earthen pitches. The re-opening of the frontier saw the league return to grass pitches in Spain. 

It was only the reduction in the numbers of military personnel in the late 1990’s that resulted in a demise of the league, as there were only enough players to field two teams. Rugby remained active, playing visiting military units and travelling outside Gibraltar.

Fortunately, the introduction of 3g Astroturf in Gibraltar allowed the league to be resurrected as the Super IV’s (comprising Buccaneers, Scorpions, Sharks and Stormers) in 2010.  GRFU led this change, particularly as the four clubs were franchised by the Union. A practical effect of this was that members registered centrally with the Union and not the clubs. At the same time, GRFU commenced it’s (yet to be resolved) journey towards joining Rugby Europe, much as GFA (eventually) became members of UEFA.

By September 2019, GRFU were able to inaugurate the magnificent premises at Europa. In this time, though, the Union had grown to a size and at a pace that was overwhelming our organisational structures. Apart from the four senior clubs, our ladies, Vets and Mini & Youth sections were all growing. Additionally, we begun to play International matches, both at Home (initially at Victoria Stadium) and away, taking on Cyprus, Israel, Malta, Finland, Hungary, Montenegro, Denmark and Sweden, as well as tours to Malaysia/Singapore and UAE.  

All these developments and ambitions were becoming too much to be handled by a Committee of four elected Officers (Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer) and a host of volunteers working in 31 sub committees! Accordingly, during the summer of 2019, GRFU carried out an extensive consultation process involving all interested members. Splitting into four large groups, the members were challenged to identify where the Union was failing, where our strengths lay, where we could improve and how we should develop.

This massive and democratic process yielded a host of information and ideas for GRFU to digest and develop. We commissioned another volunteer with a strong background in implementing organisational change (Retired Assistant Commissioner (RGP) Richard Mifsud), to work through the suggestions and draft an organisational structure. The review revealed that whilst the Union would eventually outgrow its existing structure, the constitution was flexible enough to design the new structure without the need to amend it. In effect what has happened is that the working of the Union’s Executive Committee has now been distributed among three mutually supporting tiers. 

• Executive Board, 

• Operational Committee

• National Structure

These three bodies, taken as a collective, form the Executive Committee provided for by the GRFU Constitution. 

The Executive Board forms the Strategic Tier of the structure and provides the strategic direction for the Union. 

The Operational Committee includes the Executive Board members together with the Heads of the National Structure Business Areas and forms the Tactical Tier of the structure, managing the strategic priorities and ensuring they are met. 

The ‘National Structure’ is the Business Areas that capture the Union’s work both on and off the field and comprises Governance, Finance, Commercial, Operations and Logistics, Corporate Communications, Facilities, Player Welfare, Age Grade Rugby, IT, Development, Performance, Participation, Women’s Rugby, Discipline.

These changes were accepted by the committee, endorsed by the membership at our AGM in September 2021 and were immediately implemented. We are confident that these changes will allow us to continue growing the sport of Rugby in Gibraltar.

SOUTHERN BIG BOYS BACK ON EURO TOUR

NOVEMBER’S here and with the accompanying chill come the Autumn Internationals when rugby union’s southern hemisphere heavyweights, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, world-ranked 1-2-3 respectively, invade the British Isles with all guns blazing to remind uppity European nations just where the powerhouse of the sport burns brightest – the fulcrum that will never be extinguished despite the odd momentary flicker or two, an opportunity to reaffirm that any spark of an ascendancy-shift northwards is just another illusion, a dream destined to perish like so many before.

Reigning world champions South Africa embark on an ambitious and demanding schedule, starting with a visit to the Principality Stadium in Cardiff to lock horns with current Six Nations champions Wales, followed by a trip to Edinburgh to take on resurgent Calcutta Cup holders Scotland, and then it’s a repeat of the 2019 World Cup final, with Twickenham the amphitheatre, to go head to head with an England side thirsting for revenge, an opportunity to right that shameful 32-12 final collapse in Japan.

Memories of that tame surrender are still raw to this correspondent, having had a lumpy bet on Eddie Jones’ boys pre-tournament at odds of 8/1 to go all the way, and having disposed of the All Blacks in the semis, in my mind I had already banked the winnings, but, alas, for whatever reason England failed to turn up for the final and my once neatly folded and indexed betting slips finished up shredded, torn and tear-stained in the bin. Ouch, that pain still lingers!

South Africa start their tour of the UK buoyed by the summer series win over the visiting British and Irish Lions, a somewhat fortuitous 2-1 victory for the Boks that owed much to Lions’ coach Warren Gatland’s insistence on going head-to-head against the host’s power game rather than employ the famed running style that has long been the Lions trademark and has served them so well down the decades. Gatland’s strategy was obvious from pre-tour with the dizzying decision to leave Johnny Sexton, the world’s most creative flyhalf, at home in Dublin and then, inexplicably, as brutal onfield battle raged, to exile Owen Farrell, England’s fiercely combative captain, to the replacement bench.

With tough games over 14 days, opening with Wales on 6th November, eyeballing Scotland at Murrayfield a week later and then the Twickenham showdown, certainly no one can accuse South Africa of shirking any challenge on this tour, and a clean sweep for the Springboks over three of the home powerhouses would be catastrophic for the reputation of the Six Nations championship, unquestionably the world’s most popular rugby tournament.

Australia arrive in the UK for successive weekend dates with the same three opponents and despite enduring a double drubbing from the All Blacks in the recent Rugby Championship they still finished runners up in that tournament, comfortably ahead of South Africa, in the process beating the Boks twice, the team that had shattered England’s World Cup final dreams and shot down the British and Irish Lions – food for thought for the home nations, an Aussie hat-trick would be unthinkable, whilst the thought of sending the ultra-confident Wallabies, who all appear to be imbued with the “Crocodile Dundee” mindset, limping back Down Under with their didgeridoo between their legs, is very enticing indeed.

Reigning Rugby Championship holders New Zealand commence the European part of their tour with a mouth-watering clash with current Six Nations champs Wales at The Principality, followed by a leisurely trip to Rome to inflict more ignominy on whipping boys Italy, whose continued participation in the Six Nations has recently come under scrutiny following a disastrous run of 30 straight defeats since the Azzurri’s last victory, over Scotland, six years ago. With South Africa waiting in the wings as a possible replacement and making less than subtle overtures to be admitted to Europe’s beloved tournament, it’s way past time to get the House of Rome in order.

The mighty All Blacks then head to Dublin’s fair city to face an Ireland side who have promised much but ultimately failed to deliver on the big occasions – a monster test for the Men in Green to prove that this time there’s substance to the positive vibes emerging from the Aviva and not just another pipedream. An exciting  date with  France in Paris concludes the Kiwi tour and a brilliant month-long rugby extravaganza ends.

Sadly, rugby has joined football, boxing, snooker, darts and motor racing in selling the sport’s crown jewel events to the highest bidder, on this occasion TV coverage has been bought by an obscure internet outfit called Amazon Prime, and only the Ireland games can be seen on free-to-air terrestrial television. More money in the coffers but less audience – a scandalous short-sighted decision by the men in suits who know the price of everything but the value of nothing. Amazon Prime subscription costs a monthly fee of £7.99 to add to the sky-high Sky Sports and BT bills. No thanks, it’s time to pop down the pub and watch. Cheers!

With a few games of contact rugby under their belts, the first Gibraltar Women’s Rugby Select rugby team took to the pitch against visiting Spanish players on Sunday 20th June. Emotions were, understandably, running high. “At the start I was feeling really nervous,” said trainee psychologist Camille Lavagna, 23, “but as the match went I on I felt determined to take the win as we had all been working so hard together.” They got the win and a very closely fought game, 15-12, having to come from behind twice. There was even significant coverage of the game on GBC, a great advert for the game.

The very first attempts tentative steps at kicking-off women’s rugby on the Rock were made in 2008 following a successful schools programme. Then, around 2015, Teacher and rugby referee, Rob Azzopardi, resurrected the idea and, on an exceptionally wet and windy Tuesday night in March 2018 at Devil’s Tower Camp, Zoe Fidock, later to become GRFU Chairperson for Women’s Rugby, and Tom Tunbridge, the current GRFU Vice-President, organised an open training session. Tom’s bombardment of the email in-trays of anybody that had expressed an interest paid off; despite the conditions 24 players turned up. Unfortunately, the time just wasn’t quite right for the women’s game in Gibraltar and, with issues over access and commitments, player numbers dropped.

By the end of the summer of 2018 I joined as a new coach, and ran weekly training sessions at DTC focusing  on building on basic skills with the players that remained. Then came the move to Gibraltar Rugby’s current home in late 2019 at the newly built Europa Sports Park. Suddenly, rugby players had access to a purpose-built facility, something which they had needed for years. Numbers began to recover.

Then the COVID and lockdowns arrived in Gibraltar. Despite this setback player numbers were maintained and increased once lockdown conditions began to ease. In fact, the numbers were good enough that the first competitive game of COVID-compliant touch rugby was played between Rooke and Nelson and refereed by Rob in mid-November 2020 with Nelson running out as winners on a sunny Saturday. It is easy to underestimate the significance of a game of touch rugby but as finance director, GRFU CFO and mum Georgie Taylor says: “I never thought I would be playing rugby again, so this journey feels really special.”

Three more games, all refereed by Rob, who brought his coaching skills to the role, were played before the second lockdown hit. Online quizzes were used to keep team spirits up as well as Zoom fitness sessions twice per week, which I used to manage. During the second lockdown the GRFU was restructured and the women’s game in Gib was reorganised to mirror the men’s game with four clubs. For the purposes of the playing regular matches, these were amalgamated into two teams: Red and Black. Their first match was held on 17th April 2021. Encouragingly, this game featured debuts for a couple of new players.

As COVID restrictions were relaxed, rugby activity in Gibraltar increased quickly with the advent of the Corporate Touch Rugby Tournament in May and the announcement of the inaugural Gibraltar Rugby Sevens tournament scheduled for late June.

The touch rugby tournament required mixed teams and nearly all the players found themselves being invited to play. New to the game trust administrator Kelly Gibbins, 22, played for the winning team. “I learned a lot,” she said. “How to read the game and seize the spaces, invaluable lessons for my growth as a rugby player. Every week brought endless smiles.” That learning and enjoyment was a gift to women’s rugby as players got more game time and those introduced to the game decided to take it further.

The Gibraltar 7s tournament presented the opportunity to play a full 15-a-side rugby in front of a crowd. However, this was going to be a game against more experienced players so training had to be stepped up. The first club game involving contact was played in May with a winning debut for police constable Leila El Yettefti, 25: “Before the game I was [so] nervous, then I saw my teammates had my back, I relaxed and enjoyed the game. After the win it was such a euphoric moment.”

With a few games of contact rugby under their belts, the first Gibraltar Women’s Rugby Select rugby team took to the pitch against visiting Spanish players on Sunday 20th June. Emotions were, understandably, running high. “At the start I was feeling really nervous,” said trainee psychologist Camille Lavagna, 23, “but as the match went I on I felt determined to take the win as we had all been working so hard together.” They got the win and a very closely fought game, 15-12, having to come from behind twice. There was even significant coverage of the game on GBC, a great advert for the game.

As this article is being written, the players are preparing for a new season. They are always looking for new players. “I love the fact that, no matter your experience or skill set, there is a position for everyone,” says student Milly Head, 17, “you meet such a variety of people. Despite being the youngest, the team has always made me feel welcome.”

“The girls in the squad are such a fantastic group,” adds Georgie. “There is some really great talent for the future of the women’s game in Gibraltar.”

“It feels great to be part of a team that is growing and developing together,” says Camille. “Playing rugby has definitely made me more resilient [and] enhanced my confidence and fitness.”

It is my view that we need to keep growing the game in Gib, to achieve that critical mass. The best way to do that is with games; the ladies just want to play more matches. Our plan is to be playing every couple of weeks, either domestically or against outside teams, home and away. That way you build both character and experience and get a pool of players to select from for our first international match. That’s where we want to be.

Gibraltar’s walking footballers travelled to Denmark in August as the reigning International Super Masters 65+ Champions, after triumphantly winning the previous tournament in 2019 in Paris. 

The global Covid 19 pandemic meant that Gibraltar were unable to defend their title in 2020 as the annual tournament was postponed for a year given various lockdowns across many countries and the travel restrictions that have been in place. Actually, the postponement meant that Gibraltar’s Walking Footballers reigned as International Super Masters Champions in the over 65 age group for two years. 

Covid 19 has had some wide-ranging effects on many global tournaments and sporting events, many of which have been cancelled, shelved, and completely removed from international calendars. As soon as the Super Masters was rescheduled for 2021, Gibraltar’s Walking Footballers were determined to travel to Copenhagen safely, to defend their title. 

Yet for the majority of the Rock’s Walking Footballers, competing internationally is just a bonus and something to look forward to. Their twice weekly sessions using the facilities at the Bayside Sports Complex and the Victoria Stadium are much more important. For them, walking football provides a much-welcomed opportunity to exercise and take part in physical activity and do so in the sport they love and have loved for so many years. 

Furthermore, there is also a very important social side to Walking Football.Over a post session coffee tales and anecdotes from their younger days are frequently recounted and always with smiles and laughter across the faces of the footballers. 

As they left this August for the Danish capital though, defending their title was firmly on their mind, “Ready to go” one team member told the local press whilst previewing the tournament. They also had their eyes on the two other events in the over 65 category, the penalty shoot-out and the running event in which they would compete in for the first time. One thing was for certain, Gibraltar’s Walking Footballers had not lost any of their competitive edge!  

In the main event they were once again one of the standout teams in the tournament which was played in a 5 aside round robin format, somewhat similar to futsal, with matches lasting 15 minutes Despite a valiant effort Gibraltar were toultimately finish runners up to Wales. 

The running event, which was a first for our over 65’s saw them put in another valiant performance, finishing in 3rd place, but the best was yet to come. 

The third event in Copenhagen was the penalty shoot-out. With Eric Abudarham in goal, reigned supreme! The victory meant that they had finished in 3rd place or higher in allthree events they entered in Copenhagen, so overall hugely successful and proud week for Gibraltar’s walking footballers.  

Speaking after the tournament Gibraltar Walking Football Chairman, Eddie Guerrero, who was in Denmark said: 

“I am extremely proud of the performance of all my players and coaching staff in the three competitions that we participated in the Copenhagen Tournament. The hard training and preparation carried out prior to our departure for Copenhagen paid dividends and it demonstrated once again that despite our small catchment area we can compete with the best. We now look forward to the next international tournament to be held in Zurich in May 2022.”

 

 WHAT IS WALKING FOOTBALL? 

 Walking Football is a different version of the beautiful game.
 Walking Football is a walking pace version of football for men and women.  It is a non-contact activity where any player who sprints, runs or jogs while the ball is in play concedes a free-kick to the other team.

 HOW WALKING FOOTBALL IS PLAYED
 •  Running is not allowed. A participant always has to have one foot on the ground.
 •  Matches are played with modified formats (5v5/6v6) on smaller pitches with shortened game times
 • It is a non-contact version of the game.
 •  The ball cannot be kicked above head height.
 • There is no heading of the ball.
 • The focus is on fun and making friends. 

The full travelling party to Copenhagen consisted of: 

Players: Abudarham Eric, Baglietto Frank, Federico Eliott, Figueras Victor, GuerreroEddie(Player/Manager), Lugaro Hector, Martinez Diego, Moudden Mohamed, Pecino Jaime, Perez Jimmy, Sene Andy, Zammit Charles.

Accompanying Members: Ghio Luis, Fortunato Charles, Langston Albert.

Travelling officials: Gibraltar FA Delegate: Asquez Leslie, Physiotherapist: Mitchell David, Manager: Guerrero Eddie, Asst Manager: Britto Gerry, Coach: Stych Roy, Assistant Coach: Field George, Contingent Coordinator: Beltran Dennis, Match Delegate: Reyes Jon, Referee: Jones Dennis. 

Cauliflower Ears and mental health; how the Gibraltar Rugby Football Union (GRFU) is addressing mental health within its
membership and within the organisation.

All sports have a stereotypical image and Rugby has many to choose from, but the overriding narrative is that it’s a tough sport played by tough people.  At our domestic competitive level and above, that is superficially true – I’ll explain that statement later… But what does “tough” mean? 

Historically clubs and unions have focused on providing services that help promote and care for players physical health. We know that Rugby is a tough physical sport and at this point I’ll thank our hard-working physiotherapist, Joyce, for her sterling work in patching us all up, but for this up-and-coming season, the GRFU is putting into place a support network of trained mental health first aiders (Cauliflower Ears) to support its members, officers and the wider rugby family’s mental health, by recognising those that need help and offering information and sign posting to relevant services if required.

So, what does tough mean? In a rugby context, we generally talk about the physical demands of the game and the contact that is made when one player tackles another player, or two packs scrum down, however physical toughness does not automatically translate into a well-balanced, healthy mental frame of mind.  In fact, frequently physical toughness is often a façade used to hide behind or compensate for poor mental health.  We all have mental health (as we do physical) – some good some poor but we all have it.

Society is as a whole becoming more open in discussing our mental health, however the stark reality is that one of the highest causes of death in young men (our core membership) is still suicide.  Recognising this and its link to poor mental health, the Cauliflower Ears were formed and are a group of friendly, non-judgemental faces, that are there to listen and start a conversation, hopefully reducing the stigma of admitting you’re not well and need help.  It really is OK not to be OK – our Cauliflower Ears understand that and are happy to listen, whether that happens  in the clubhouse over a pint, or by the side of the training pitch or through a phone call, they are there to listen.

The Cauliflower Ear project was born after watching a programme on the TV that highlighted Prince’s Harry and William efforts to raise awareness of mental health issues amongst young men and implementation of support provided to football players.  This got me thinking and wondering what is being done for rugby players. 

Within the sport of Rugby in the UK there are several existing charities and initiatives across clubs and unions that provide players with help with their mental health (Looseheadz , Rugby Players Association – Restart and Lift the Weight Campaigns).  Once such initiative which offered a  potentially transferable solution was the Cauliflower Ear Programme run by the Lancashire Rugby Union (LRU). The LRU were providing a free professional counselling service to all members of constituent clubs within their union offering mental health and emotional well-being support. Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, this was not an option for the GRFU, what was required was a low cost, low risk, reliable and resilient solution that could offer members information on mental health and well-being support.  Having considered various options and gained the support of Lancashire RFU to keep the Cauliflower Ears name as well as supporting artwork the GRFU settled on the option of providing a network of trained mental health first aiders (MHFA’s) across the union to support its membership.

The UK mental health charity Mind have designed mental health aid first training that equips  first aiders with the knowledge and skills to recognise those that may be struggling with their mental health and offer information and sign post to relevant mental health services if required, in Gibraltar this training is delivered by Clubhouse Gibraltar using the Mind framework.

The Cauliflower Ear project brief was submitted for approval to the GRFU, outlining the costs, commitments and outcomes, which was unanimously approved.  It was clear from the outset that we would need help to establish how the project was going to be delivered and a steering group was formed consisting of representatives from GibSams, Clubhouse Gibraltar and ChildLine.  This group met on various occasions acting as a sounding board, advisor and critical friend in helping us establish strengths, weaknesses, personal and organisational risk contained within delivery of such a  project.  We will be forever grateful for these organisations historical and ongoing support in our delivery of the Cauliflower Ear project and it is true to say  that we wouldn’t be in a position to deliver it without their help. 

We now have six “Cauliflower Ears” trained by Clubhouse Gibraltar that will operate across the GRFU.   We have also implemented supporting procedures and processes to help us manage and mitigate any potential personal and organisational risk in the delivery of the project.  As a small (personnel wise) and volunteer led organisation it is important to have safety nets and support networks to use if required by Cauliflower ears as we are acutely aware that it is essential to look after the people that are looking after our people.  Again our steering group partners have been instrumental in helping us to understand and plan for this as well as offering invaluable help and  resources should our Cauliflower ears need help, advice or a knowledgeable and confidential second opinion. 

We will be publicising the Cauliflower Ears across all normal platforms and hope to have an event highlighting mental health in the early part of the 2021-22 season, which we hope out steering group partners will attend.   Artwork from the Lancashire Rugby Union campaign will be regularly used to encourage everyone in the rugby family that’s its ok not to be OK and it’s important to talk about mental health.

The GRFU would like to say a BIG thank you to Gary Morgan – Rugby Safe Lead at the Lancashire RFU for supporting our use of the Cauliflower Ears name and artwork and our hugely supportive steering group partners Gibsams, Clubhouse Gibraltar and Childline for all their advice and support in getting this initiative off the ground.  We would also like to extend our thanks to the local company who has generously provided financial support to get this project off the ground.

The Gibraltar FA is delighted to have officially launched its latest initiative aimed at the development of future generations of local footballers – the Gibraltar FA Academy.  

For the first time ever, all youngsters who want to play football, whatever their skill levels and abilities, will register with the Gibraltar FA Academy, instead of the Associations club members, which has been the case up until now. 

The first Gibraltar FA Academy cohort will begin in September 2021 for all children who are entering Reception and Year 1 this academic year. All other young footballers will remain with their clubs as per last year. 

The Academy, which is open for all children, (boys and girls), will run in conjunction with school years, so the children attending will be enjoying their football with their friends, as opposed to potentially being split up into the more traditional footballing age groups.  Sessions, which will will run in line with the school calendar, will take place on Wednesday evenings and Sunday Mornings, at the Victoria Stadium.  

A key part of groundwork that has been done, prior to launching the Academy, has been an in-depth recruitment process, overseen by the Gibraltar FA’s Technical and HR Departments, to ensure all the new Academy coaches are trained in basic first aid and safeguarding as well as have passed all the relevant local authority (Royal Gibraltar Police) vetting procedure. This is over and above the standard coaching badges and qualifications that each Academy Coach is required to have. 

The Gibraltar FA and its Club Members believe that every child should have the right to participate and play football, regardless of their individual skill level and ability, free from pressure of any kind placed upon them. Therefore, the new Academy will begin the process of setting each youngster off on their footballing journey, where they can hopefully progress and develop their talent and one day fulfil their footballing dream whilst simultaneously and simply allowing each child to have fun whilst playing football. All of this will be carried out in a safe and inclusive environment in which all children will learn the basics of our game.

An integral part of the Gibraltar FA’s commitment to youth development, the Academy is the product of a year-long collaborative process between the Association, Gibraltar’s football clubs and other stakeholders within the football community.

The Gibraltar FA’s General Secretary, Ivan Robba, is thrilled to have been able to launch the project:

“The establishment and launch of the all-new Gibraltar FA Academy is a hugely important step forward for youth football in on the Rock. It represents a shift in focus and a whole new approach towards the way in which our youngsters will begin their footballing journey. Young footballers will now enjoy learning and playing football, regardless of their ability, and their skill levels and this is something all of us involved in Gibraltarian football have been striving to achieve for many years.

I am particularly pleased that the Academy brings together the sterling work that has been carried out over the past year by ourselves at the Association in close co-operation with our Clubs, who have always been instrumental and hugely important in youth football in Gibraltar. This project shows everyone that the football community, as one, is pulling in the same direction, and the right direction, to ensure our children and our children’s children can have the best possible opportunities to learn and enjoy the beautiful game that we all love in a safe, comfortable and fun filled environment.”