TOMORROW, the Year 7 girls at Holy Family Catholic School in Keighley play in the Girls’ Rugby League Yorkshire Festival in Castleford.

The school have high hopes of repeating their previous Carnegie Champion Schools Rugby League tournament success but it will be a tough ask.

Following a hiatus in playing – due to Covid-19 and lockdown conditions in the region and elsewhere – the current Year 7 girls are training to participate in tomorrow's regional round of the competition.

Trained by staff at the Community Cougars Foundation (CCF), they are excited to represent their much-beloved school, and to represent themselves, their families, and the local area.

Training for the girls has been a long process, with weekly after school sessions at Holy Family’s playing fields since September 2021.

In addition to training though, the girls are also taking part in the CCF's “Inspiring Others” programme (funded by the National Lottery Community Fund).

Aimed at keeping girls away from the dangers of crime in the local area, the programme also delivers a series of educational workshops to build the pro-socialisation skills and behaviours of the girls, to support them as future community leaders who can also play tough sports such as rugby league.

The girls are representative of the wider student body at Holy Family Catholic School and have been nothing short of delightful to work with.

Indeed, CCF are honoured to have worked in partnership with the school for the last four years, changing the lives of young people through positive educational experiences.

With International Women’s Day celebrated earlier this month, the past and present sporting engagements of girls is worth celebrating.

Indeed, the legacy of women’s sporting excellence is demonstrated by more recent generations not only playing at school level, but joining local clubs such as Keighley Albion Rugby League Football Club.

Current club manager of the girls’ team, Sarah Lancaster, recognises the growth of the women’s game in northern regions such as Keighley.

Moreover, she understands and values the power of the sport to address social issues in society, and to foster social inclusion.

Lancaster is keen to work with CCF to support the transition of girls from Holy Family Catholic School to recreational, and competitive formats of the game, at both club and community levels of play.

Lancaster, like CCF, recognises such school-club links are key to not only keeping girls active – to be physically and mentally strong – but, also, to enable the most talented players to progress to elite levels of the game: that is, to play for both local club and country.

On March 15, CCF remembered the sporting histories of girls at Holy Family, and inspired them to new sporting achievements.

On a day of mental and physical preparation, the town’s mayor, Julie Adams, attended the event to provide an inspiration talk about her own life experiences, and the importance of virtues such as being resilient, confident, respectful, and working together with others.

Holy Family and CCF salute the girls - and those who came before them - and are thankful to the Rugby Football League governing body for organising and hosting the one-day tournament in Castleford tomorrow.

The girls will play in a round robin tournament, with the top two teams qualifying for the national rounds.