On Saturday 5th March Darlington Mowden Park hosted the North East Minis Festival at The Northern Echo Arena.
The event was organised by the Mowden Park Community Team in partnership with the minis section from the club.
An incredible 39 teams entered the festival across the U7 – U12 age groups. This amounted to over 300 children participating along with several hundred spectators.
Throughout the day, there were some fantastic rugby skills on show along with amazing teamwork, respect and sportsmanship within each age group. The support from visiting coaches and parents was very much appreciated by all of the children taking part.
At the end of the festival each participating child and an accompanying adult were given a free ticket to watch the 1st XV against Plymouth Albion. A number of children were chosen to be part of the guard of honour, chosen by the referees from the festival for their positive display of the RFU core values, in particular teamwork and respect.
The winning teams from the six age groups were then paraded on the pitch at half time and were presented with their winning trophies from 1st XV players Peter Homan and Alistair Bone. Huge congratulations to everyone who took part and a big thank you to the coaches and parents for bringing the children to the festival.
Special thanks to the Mowden Park minis coaches, referees and parents for their support before and during the event.