JADE BOTTERILL was newly-elected last July as the MP for Ossett and Denby Dale.
Last Wednesday she gave a speech in Westminster Hall about what Rugby League offers the communities in which it thrives.
We are grateful to her for allowing us to print her words for readers of Total Rugby League.
There was recently a debate in Westminster Hall about rugby union, and I am glad that now that the Six Nations is over, we can get back to talking about real rugby, especially on the day that the return of the Ashes has just been announced.
From the grassroots to the biggest stages, I know all too well how sport is an essential part of our lives. The value sporting clubs bring to communities cannot be overstated, but in my view, there is something truly special about Rugby League because it is entirely embedded in our communities.
Those deep roots come from the history of the sport, with northern towns and working-class players wanting a competition that better represented and reflected them. We may see players making TV big hits on a weekend and scoring match-winning tries, but in the week we see them doing the big shop at the local Asda, coaching their kids team, at the school drop-off and even, sometimes, down the pub.
Rugby League players are not invisible heroes driving around in Ferraris and posting their lavish lifestyles on Instagram. These players and their teams are in their community, not above it. Their victories are our victories as much as we also share their defeats.
The impact, involvement and contribution of players is represented perfectly by Kevin Sinfield and the late, great Rob Burrow. It would be remiss of me not to mention these two gentlemen who perfectly personify Rugby League and did so much to increase awareness of motor neurone disease, including securing investment for West Yorkshire’s very own MND research centre.
That grit, loyalty, purpose and solidarity, alongside a commitment to others and their community, leaves real, positive, lasting change. We in this place could learn much from them.
Community spirit is an over-used phrase, but not with League. It is what we are about, who we are, the game and the fight, but it is also the people as well—the places, families, clubs, and community. That is League, and that is why I am so proud of it.
We can see the spirit of Rugby League in the finances of the clubs, from the charitable foundation that almost every club funds and operates, to the shirts sponsored by local businesses. For example, in recent years my local team, Wakefield Trinity, has had Horbury’s Bistro 42, Evenfinish Groundworks, and Wetherby Whaler fish and chip shop on their kit—and now their entire stadium is sponsored by DIY Kitchens. That is local sport and local enterprise coming together for the benefit and enjoyment of the whole area.
What a team Wakefield Trinity are! I was at the game on Friday against Hull FC; it was not quite the result I wanted, but that is by the by.
I should declare an interest in Wakefield Trinity, not just as a fan but because the club gave me one of my first proper jobs, teaching PE in schools right across Wakefield.
Being the community development officer for my local team showed me the true value of what sport could do for young people. It also confirmed to me how post-industrial communities such as mine were suffering, having been failed and ignored by previous Governments. Indeed, it was through that job that I became political, as I saw the damage the closure of the Sure Start centres did to the families of the children I was teaching.
Because of the spirit of localism and community, where Government had failed towns like mine, Trinity rolled up their sleeves and stepped in.
During my time at the club’s community foundation, I worked on projects providing education, confidence, development and opportunity to children right across the M62 corridor. As part of the programme, I took thousands of children to Wembley. More often than not, that was the first time some of those kids left their home towns.
Wakefield Trinity Community Foundation continues to do so much important work across our community today. The club’s Safety Net project runs training sessions for children with challenging behaviour, helping them build friendships, gain confidence and understand themselves; its Trinity All-Stars programme provides physical activity sessions and support groups for children with physical or learning disabilities; and its One Trinity initiative gives people living with dementia an afternoon a month to relive fond memories of Rugby League.
During the election, I was proud to take part in a roundtable with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Movember and Rugby League Cares, to discuss the importance of mental health. I was so moved to see former players, known for their gruff, gritty exteriors, talk openly and honestly about their mental health.
In the area where I grew up, and now have the privilege to represent, too often men bottle up their emotions. It was so impactful to see players and the club aware of their role in the community, and so keen to use it proactively to break the stigmas that keep so many from opening up. That work – opening up conversations about mental health – is exactly the value that Rugby League can provide to communities like mine.
In post-industrial northern towns, as jobs and industries have disappeared, the institutions and communities that came with them have fallen away.
However, Rugby League teams have survived, embedded in our communities through thick and thin, providing place, meaning and an entire team to look up to.
In our towns, where young people, especially young men, lack direction and are too often denied the opportunity warranted by their aspiration, League can provide role models and structure, a hand on the shoulder, a word, sometimes stern, always caring, when it is needed most. That is mirrored across the north: what were once jewels in the crown of thriving towns are now needed to bind our communities together.
No one will be surprised to know that I believe the new Labour Government truly understand that, and I will support them in bringing opportunity and hope back to these areas, so Rugby League teams and their communities can thrive once more. Our sport has already survived so much, but it is vital we provide for its future, so its value to the community can continue for generations to come.
Securing and growing the sport ensures that future generations have access to the many developmental, physical, mental, social and community benefits of the clubs. That is why I support calls for the Government to drive greater access and opportunities to enjoy Rugby League in schools, particularly in the towns that love the sport so much. We want to see more people being physically active, building stronger communities and tackling inequalities.
As a woman who loved League both from the stands and on the pitch, I would love to see more women enjoying the sport. The RFL are doing some incredible work in growing the girls’ game and crucially, their position within our communities means clubs can also bring working-class women into the game, something other sports struggle to achieve at the elite level.
However, blockers to better integrating the game remain in the facilities and pitches. Will the Minister look at how we can use the recently announced grassroots sport package to tackle this problem?
As I have described, the power of Rugby League comes from the grassroots and localism.
I welcome the success of larger clubs in bringing our sport to wider audiences, but the Government must continue to support the smaller clubs who remain its beating heart.
Much like the communities that play it, Rugby League, from the grassroots to the finals at Wembley, deserves support, attention and care.
For all northern post-industrial towns, I urge the Government to continue their work to provide that.
Image credit: House of Commons