Aquis Titans players will head to great rugby league town Tamworth tomorrow for three days as part of the NRL’s Community Carnival visits.
David Shillington, Jed Cartwright, Nathan Friend, Karl Lawton, Matt Robinson and Oshae Tuiasau (pictured in Ballina last week) will make the trip to Tamworth and surrounds on 3–5 February to meet locals and educate school students on the importance of wellbeing, with a particular focus on proper hydration and sleep and encouraging a strong sense of belonging.
NRL Community Carnival visits will be in full flight throughout the months of February and early March, with every NRL club, together with NRL ambassadors, visiting schools and communities right across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.
This is the sixteenth year of the NRL Community Carnival, with more than 250,000 students reached as part of Carnival visits in 2015.
This year, clubs, players and ambassadors are estimated to travel more than 40,000kms, visit over 1,000 schools and conduct up to 80 Junior League clinics.
Titans prop David Shillington said he was looking forward to the trip and relaying some of the healthy tips that he follows as part of training on a day-to-day basis.
“As a player and as a person, it is really important that I keep my mind and my body healthy so that I am performing at my best,” Mr Shillington said.
“I am looking forward at getting out on the road, meeting the locals and providing people with some really simple tips to keep happy, healthy and active.”
Players and ambassadors will be armed with two education resources as part of local visits:
Ø NRL Wellbeing: delivered to primary school students, focussing on empowering students to value health and wellbeing in their own lives.
Ø Dream Believe Achieve: delivered to high school students, focussing on the important link between having hope and aspirations for the future and maintaining a positive wellbeing.
NRL chief operating officer Suzanne Young, said the NRL Community Carnival visits were an opportunity for rugby league to reach out to thousands of supporters and club fans in regional and remote areas and give back ahead of 2016 Telstra Premiership season.
“Our fans are the lifeblood of our game and our clubs and ambassadors do an amazing job in local communities right throughout the year, spending time with kids and educating them on the importance of eating well and staying healthy,” Ms Young said.
Players will be joined by NRL game development officers in delivering wellbeing programs to locals, which include interactive activities, together with educational resources.
Programs are curriculum linked and endorsed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), responsible for the national curriculum, assessment and reporting of students from Kindergarten to Year 12.
