Women and girls rugby league is alive and kicking in Calderdale

With England hosting the Rugby League World Cup in 2021, including men’s, women’s and wheelchair competitions, it is an exciting time for the sport, which is thriving in Calderdale.
Players from Greetland u12s and Illingworth u12sPlayers from Greetland u12s and Illingworth u12s
Players from Greetland u12s and Illingworth u12s

In 2017 there was just one club, Illingworth, which ran two girls teams at under 14s and under 16s and had 33 girls registered. They now have teams at under 10s, 12s, 14s and 16s.

Elland introduced an under 14’s team in 2018 and added an under 16’s in 2020.

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Greetland added to the mix with an under 12’s in 2019 and an under 14’s in 2020.

Greetland under 14sGreetland under 14s
Greetland under 14s

The number of girls playing rugby league has increased by 194 per cent since 2017.

All clubs in Calderdale running a female section share a common goal, to improve the numbers of girls in rugby league at all age groups.

Illingworth, Elland and Greetland will all have an under 12s, under U14s and under 16s next year, which is excellent progress for the local area improving participation and introducing girls to one of the fastest growing sports there is.

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Boothtown Terriers recently launched a girl’s section and Siddal ARLFC and King Cross Park ARLFC have plans to start offering opportunities in the near future.

EllandElland
Elland

Halifax RLFC launched a women’s team out of Brighouse Rangers last year to play in League 1 of the Rugby Football League Women’s competition. They had massive success which saw them promoted into the Championship.

This year Elland ARLFC and Illingworth ARLFC have also launched women’s teams, with impressive numbers turning up to initial training sessions.

Illingworth girls were formed in 2013 by Stephen Stead on the back of one of their under 11s players who was very talented and didn’t want to travel out of the area to play as there were no local opportunities for girls.

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During their seven years they have seen hundreds of girls play the game at their Mason Green home.

Illingworth under 14sIllingworth under 14s
Illingworth under 14s

In 2018 their under 14s won the Grand Final with a very special squad of talented girls and were crowned the top team in the country in this age group.

In the last four seasons they have competed in every age group under 16s, under 14s and under 12s. The under 12s went on to win Division Three in the 2019 season and for the past three seasons they have seen girls come through their ranks and progress to the women’s professional game. 2021 promises to be a big season for Illingworth as they venture into the women’s game and continue with their new under 10s girls team.

Training and contact details: Wednesday 8pm-9pm – Open Age Women - @ Trinity Academy 3G pitch. Contact Shaun Keoghan on 07999 392280. Email: [email protected], Facebook: Illingworth Women and Girls ARLFC.

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Elland’s dream was born from a girl with immense talent that they were about to lose to the sport.

Illingworth under 16sIllingworth under 16s
Illingworth under 16s

When players reach high school age they can no longer play in mixed teams. Elland put out an advert to try and get their player some team mates, held an open training session and over 20 girls turned up on their first night.

With a helping hand from England international player Shona Hoyle after just six games Elland were placed in Division One.

In the first year of playing Rugby League four of their players went on to represent Yorkshire.

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2020 has brought its challenges and being unable to play games Elland have used this time to focus on strengthening their squads, growing the number of teams they have and ensuring the wellbeing of their players was the main focus.

Elland is a family club and have girls from the age of three, so it was a natural progression to add a women’s open age team. Numbers are rapidly growing on a weekly basis and they have welcomed players of all experience.

Elland have secured an experienced coach in Paul Carlos, who has coached Super league 2017 winners Bradford Bulls, Wakefield girls, Huddersfield Giants academy, Yorkshire women’s State of Origin team and the England future girls’ team.

To see what Elland RLFC are about, search ‘Celebrating women in rugby’ or ‘We are Elland’ on YouTube.

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Training and contact details: Ladies from 16 – Tuesday 7-8pm @ Greetland Goldfields, Girls – Thursday 6-7pm @ Greetland Goldfields. Contact Gemma Redford on 07411 300104. Facebook: Elland RLFC. Instagram: Elland_RLFC. Twitter: @EllandRL.

Back in 2018 Greetland Allrounders had two girls playing their last season with the boys, who were both desperate to stay at the club.

So Greetland made the daunting leap and decided to set up the girls section, putting a three year plan into place to run under 12s in the 2019 season, under 12s and under 14s in 2020, and adding under 16s in 2021, so they could offer female rugby league to all ages.

Greetland Allrounders currently have more than 30 girls training between their under 12s and under 14s teams, and are on course to add the under 16s next year.

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The club have experienced coaches, making the rugby sessions fun, whilst sharing the knowledge gained, playing at the higher end of the female game and coaching in the Women’s Super League.

The club has invested in new changing rooms to accommodate the growing number of girls teams and have flood lit training facilities, junior pitches and two full size pitches all owned by the club and its members, enabling them to train all year round and accommodate the growing number of teams at the club.

Training and contact details: Head coaches: Mark Seal 07833 682813, Emma Morrison Twibill 07703 576364. Under 12’s Monday 6:30-7:30 @ Greetland Allrounders. Under 14’s Thursday 6:00-7:00 @ Greetland Allrounders Saturday 10:30-11:30 @ Greetland Allrounders. Twitter @GreetlandGirls, Facebook Greetland Allrounders RLFC.

Halifax RLFC Women training and contact details: Training Wednesday 6:45pm-8pm @Brighouse Sports Club. Contact Sarah Kennedy on 07824878824.

Boothtown training and contact details: Training Sunday 11am to midday. Contact Paul Farrell on 07936 641144.

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