Summary of the RL tournament at my school on 29.09.06
On the 29.09.06, my school, and possibly the whole of Norway, held the first ever RL tournament for children. The children who were going to participate were at different playing levels. Some had played a lot, some had some knowledge of the game, and some joined up without even knowing anything about the game. However, all the children who showed up had one thing in common. They were pumped up and ready to go! I knew this was going to be a successful tournament.
Before the tournament, 21 children had decided they were going to play in the tournament. Also, a number of other kids had decided they were just going to watch. However, when the kids met at the gymnasium, 26 children said they were going to play! That is 5 more than anticipated! Plus, some of the children who were going to play were absent, so there were about 10 children who decided to meet up without telling me beforehand! This was good and bad. The good part was that there were more children than I had anticipated. The more, the better I thought. Also, I only had 7 teams, because there were going to be 3 on each team. I originally wanted 8 teams, and I got that. Two teams had one reserve each. The bad part was that I had to rearrange the teams, because of the new players who I had not thought were going to be there. Anyway, enough of that.
The first match was played by TEAM 1 and TEAM 2. I will not name players names. The first match was a very close fought match. Nothing really seperated the teams, except a try that is. TEAM 1 scored 2 tries and TEAM scored 1. Final score 8-4. TEAM 1 advanced to the semis, TEAM 2 were eliminated.
The second match was played by TEAM 3 and TEAM 4. This match was pretty one sided. Despite TEAM 4 having two players who had never played before, these players played exceptionally well, scoring 3 tries (one scored one and the other two). The final score was 12-0. TEAM 4 advanced to the semis, TEAM 3 were eliminated.
The third match was played by TEAM 5 and TEAM 6. This match, like the first match, was a very close fought match. TEAM 5 won 8-4. TEAM 5 advanced to the semis, TEAM 6 were eliminated.
The fourth and final match before the semis was contested between TEAM 7 and TEAM 8. None of the players on these teams had ever played RL before. However, TEAM 8 were about to show the rest of the teams that they meant business after flogging TEAM 7 by 24-8. TEAM 8 advanced to the semis, TEAM 7 were eliminated.
The teams that advanced to the semis were teams 1,4,5 and 8.
TEAM 1 vs TEAM 4
TEAM 5 vs TEAM 8
In the first semi final, TEAM 5 played TEAM 8. Both teams were competitive and equally strong, but TEAM 8 snuck home by 20-12. TEAM 8 advanced to the grand final, TEAM 5 were eliminated.
In the other second final, TEAM 1 played TEAM 4. Both teams were competitive, but TEAM 4 were just too strong, winning 24-16.
The teams that advanced to the grand final were teams 4 and 8.
This match had everything. It had a lot of tries, passion, and the crowd was right behind both teams! Both teams were equally strong. The teams scored try after try; the lead changed several times. But, one of the players was about to be the hero of the day. The score was 20-20 and there was 10 seconds to go. One boy on TEAM 4 had the ball, sidestepped a few players. He had one player to beat. He got passed him, and was about to go for the try. As he was putting the ball down, the other guy jumped on him, hurting the guys leg. The try had been scored and TEAM 4 had won 24-20, but the try scorer was in so much pain he was crying. I rushed over to him and asked him if he was alright before I told him he had scored the winning try. He was absolutely thrilled, despite being in a lot of pain. The crowd was jumping for joy too, after witnessing such an enthralling match!
At the end, all players (except those who had left), received their diploma. The ones who had left will receive after the autumn break. Also, the winning team received a RL game on dvd featuring Leeds and Hull from Headingley, which was played in 2005. They loved it!
In conclusion, the tournament was a success and the kids want to have another one really soon. One girl who did not play wanted me to organise one every week, but I dont think that will be possible! Maybe once every month. It was a shame that not a lot of parents turned up, but the ones who turned up thought it was great. Hopefully, they will come next time.
Even though the tournament was a success, I am going to make the tournament even better by implementing these ideas:
-[FONT="] [/FONT]Have 2 linesmen for every game. Their job will be to tell me when a player has gone out of touch, when the ball is out of touch and if a player has grounded the ball properly, if my view is obscured.
-[FONT="] [/FONT]Have one person write down which players score and when they scored.
-[FONT="] [/FONT]Get someone to use the school video camera and film the games.
) who has supplied me with balls and other equipment, because without them, I wouldn't have been able to have introduced RL to the kids. I would also like to thank everyone else for sticking by me, and I hope you will stick by me next school year too, as I plan to continue this work! You see, my school has plans for renewing my contract for another year. The principal has actually promised me work for next year, but nothing is certain until I actually get the contract. But I am pretty certain that there will be no problems.
