CHARITY and VINTAGE RUGBY

Since its inception the organisers of the World Vintage Rugby Carnivals has supported a nominated charity in the region in which the carnival have been staged – to leave behind a sort of legacy in exchange for a week of enjoyment on and off the field. Previous charities have included a special children’s playground in Limerick and the Bone Marrow Cancer Trust in Christchurch.

The selected charity for the 2010 Cape Town Carnival was the ‘Bobs for Good Foundation’ whose vision is to put shoes on the feet of the 7 million children in South Africa that do not have them. Through a variety of fundraising initiatives a total of R45,389 was raised which enabled the Foundation to provide 450 brand new pairs of 100% leather South African shoes to every child at the Makanyu Primary School.

Many of the teams at the Cape Town Carnival also responded enthusiastically to the invitation to leave their rugby gear in Cape Town when they returned home. They were supporting an innovative project ‘Out of the Closet ..Onto the Rugby Field’ backed by the Western Province Rugby Union which aims to encourage current and former rugby players to rummage through their closets and donate their unwanted rugby gear to needy clubs and schools.During the Cape Carnival over 80 items of clothing were donated by the visiting teams.

A similar charity will be chosen for support during the 2012 World Vintage Rugby Carnival in Hawaii.