May 11, 2022 – Rugby Americas North is pleased to be hosting the 2022 Rugby Americas North Women’s Forum from August 18th-21st in Glendale, CO, USA.
The in-person event offers a unique opportunity to identify, train and educate female leaders throughout North America and the Caribbean in the hopes of accelerating women in leadership positions that will further develop rugby in the region.
The three-day forum, hosted in RugbyTown, USA, will feature guest speakers, panel discussions and professional training in the areas of Team Management, Match/Event Management, and High-Performance Administration. More than 17 representatives from ten RAN Unions are currently enrolled to take part in the forum.
"We have a number of incredible women in our region who are dedicating their time and energy to helping rugby grow in their home countries,” said RAN’s Regional Development Manager, Erin Kennedy. “By hosting this forum, we are turning our attention to upskilling these women in areas that will have a direct impact on the game of rugby.”
Further, the event will provide an opportunity to forge networks of like-minded individuals who will help champion and promote gender equity initiatives in their communities, while sharing their new knowledge and experience with their home Unions.
RAN hosted its inaugural Women’s Forum in 2020 which was broadcast online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The highly successful series, which featured monthly presentations over Zoom, was watched virtually by more than 450 attendees in over 30 countries.
The forum topics, which consisted of discussions on player welfare, making 15s more inclusive, and recruiting/retaining more female coaches and referees, were developed by RAN’s Women in Leadership Directive (WiLD) recipients from World Rugby’s scholarship program.
In 2021, RAN hosted a one-day Women’s Strategic Meeting in conjunction with its Annual General Meeting, which featured more than 25 attendees from throughout the region. This meeting focused on the next strategic cycle for women’s rugby in North America.
“Our hope this year is that we can provide a worthwhile experience and valuable knowledge that our participants can implement back home and make a true impact,” said Kennedy. “We are excited to have so many women who are able to attend this event and hope that it is a catalyst for more women to get involved in future opportunities.”
