Rugby League superstars Billy Slater and Johnathan Thurston are among the 230 players from 13 NRL Clubs who have taken part in 2012 Community Carnival activities over the past week, visiting more than 40,000 students at 280 schools across 60 towns in Australia.
Slater’s visit to Wodonga, Victoria, with the Storm and Thurston’s visit alongside Cowboys team-mates in Perth, WA, were among the many events held across the nation in week two of the Community Carnival this week, with players delivering important literacy and healthy living messages through programs such as ‘Eat Well, Play Well, Stay Well’ and ‘Rugby League Reads’.
The Community Carnival spirit continues tomorrow, with Broncos star Petero Civoniceva returning to the field where his career began, coaching aspiring Rugby League players at the Redcliffe Dolphin Oval.
Civoniceva will lead his Broncos team-mates, including Sam Thaiday and Jharal Yow Yeh, in visits to four junior clubs in the local Brisbane area, delivering skills clinics to more than 600 children.
The visits will mark a third full day of activities for the club, having already toured the Sunshine Coast over two days earlier in the carnival, giving young fans the opportunity to meet their Rugby League heroes ahead of the start of the season.
Kicking off on January 29, the first two weeks of the 2012 NRL Community Carnival has seen over 300 players visit 330 local schools, as well as joining in community barbeques, “Come and Try” clinics, hospital visits and community group visits across 90 regional areas throughout NSW, Queensland, Victoria, WA and New Zealand.
The 2012 Community Carnival will enter its third week of activities on Monday, with clubs gearing up for visits across Australia and New Zealand, including the Storm (Hobart, Tasmania), Sea Eagles (Northern Beaches, NSW), Knights (Muswellbrook and Singleton, NSW), Warriors (Whangerai, New Zealand) and Wests Tigers (Campbelltown, NSW).
Throughout the 25-day Community Carnival - which ends on February 22, eight days before the 2012 Telstra Premiership season kicks off - NRL players and Development Officers will deliver 10,000 ice coolers, 10,000 rulers and puzzles, 100,000 packs of select NRL Champions, 25,000 Chase cards and 15,000 Rugby League Reads magazines.
NRL players will be available for interviews at each Community Carnival visit. The table attached will be updated and distributed throughout the Community Carnival period and includes activities and contacts for each location.
For more information about Rugby League’s Community Carnival, visit www.rloc.com.au.
