The NSWRL Try League program for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities will celebrate its fifth year when it returns to The Ponds and Parramatta this week, with more than 2500 children from backgrounds including Indian, Chinese, Lebanese, Sri Lankan, Pakistani and Filipino being introduced to Rugby League since 2018.
The program is supported by Multicultural NSW and is part of the NSWRL's strategy to engage and integrate multicultural communities into the Rugby League family. This year alone more than 1000 children from diverse backgrounds have been introduced to Rugby League through various initiatives.
True Blue and Try League Ambassador Craig Wing, who is of Filipino descent through his mother, has also invested in the program, assisting in clinics that provide opportunities to communities that otherwise would not have been exposed to the sport.
During the COVID-19 pandemic the program went online to combat the effect on community sports with participants going through four 30-minute sessions with a focus on the core skills including scoring tries, kicking and passing.
"Try League is an important program for the growth of our game and it is fantastic to see children from non-Rugby League backgrounds becoming involved and having a great time in the process," NSWRL Chief Executive David Trodden said.
"The program is designed to be non-contact to ensure the children have an understanding of the various skills involved in the game before they transition into Community Rugby League."
The Try League program aims to break down the barriers and social isolation for people from diverse backgrounds by introducing them to a non-competitive format of Rugby League.
Following the success of the pilot program in 2018 which involved 70 children, NSWRL has run 22 Try League programs at areas including Blacktown, Parramatta, Fairfield, Revesby, Woolgoolga, and Lismore.
