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Carnegie Champion Schools
Carnegie Champion Schools is one of Rugby League’s greatest success stories.
The tournament was re launched in 2002 by the RFL in partnership with English Schools Rugby League and has enjoyed year on year growth ever since.
It now attracts participants from throughout the UK and is firmly established as the largest Rugby League knockout tournament in the world.
In fact, schools Rugby League has been a tremendous growth area for the sport in recent times and the Carnegie Champion Schools has been a key means of introducing the sport to an ever increasing number of young people.
In 2005 Welsh school Brynteg won the Year 7 Champion Schools final when it was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Now more schools than ever before from Wales and Scotland take part in the tournament.
In pure numerical terms 429 schools have participated in the competition in 2008.
This includes 1,318 separate boys’ teams and 185 girls teams.
In the course of the last six years more than 1,915 schools, 6,780 teams and over 111,232 pupils have taken part.
Commenting the RFL’s National Development Manager Andy Harland said, “The Carnegie Champion Schools tournament is the product of a tremendous partnership between the RFL, the English Schools Rugby League and all the players, teachers, parents and volunteers involved with the schools themselves.
Harland added, “The tournament has grown at a rapid rate and has provided thousands of young people with many opportunities to participate in Rugby League for the first time.
“It also provides young players with the chance to enjoy competing together and learning skills and generating memories that may well stay with them for the rest of their lives and Rugby League careers”.
In 2007 a group of young players became the first teams to play at the new Wembley Stadium after its re-opening. West Yorkshire schools Castleford High and Freeston High met in the Carnegie Champion Schools Year Seven final.
The match was played as a curtain raiser to the Carnegie Challenge Cup final between St Helens and Catalans Dragons and action from the game was broadcast nationally by the BBC.
This incorporated a long tradition of schools curtain raisers before the Challenge Cup Final into a modern format and provides a tremendous opportunity for a group of youngsters to showcase their skills on a massive sporting stage.
Last season Standish High School defeated Pickering High School in the curtain raiser to the Hull FC v St. Helens Carnegie Challenge Cup Final at Wembley.
The Carnegie Champion Schools tournament has also received a great deal of support and endorsement from many high profile international players.
Former Great Britain captains Andy Farrell and Phil Clarke have been among the famous faces to present some of the winning schools with their trophies on finals day and in 2007 Australian skipper Darren Lockyer took time out from a holiday in the UK to attend the event and was highly impressed by what he saw.
