For Jess Skinner, the Ronny Gibbs 7s has been the biggest part of her rugby league journey for almost as long as she can remember.
As a young student from Trangie, Skinner travelled four hours by bus to Bourke to compete in the tournament, with no idea that it would be the pathway for her future.
Now, as coach of the Australian Jillaroos, Skinner is back in Bourke as an ambassador for the event that helped shape her career.
And at the centre of it all is the man who has spent 30 years giving bush kids a chance to dream, Ronny Gibbs.
The former Easts, Manly, Gold Coast and Wests enforcer has poured his heart and soul into keeping rugby league alive in regional NSW, using the game as a tool to give young people opportunities they may never have had.
“Over the past 30 years it’s been unbelievable,” Gibbs told NRL.com.
“A lot of hard work went in, and a lot of good people supported me over the years.
“Not only with rugby league, but what we’re trying to achieve using rugby league as our vehicle to keep them at school, get an education, keep them on the straight and narrow health-wise and keep them out of trouble.”
The Ronny Gibbs Sevens will celebrate its 30th anniversary when the 2026 tournament begins in Bourke on Monday, with more than 500 children expected to take part across three days.
For kids travelling from some of the smallest communities in the state, the tournament is about far more than rugby league and netball.
It is an opportunity to travel, compete, meet other kids and understand there are pathways beyond the boundaries of their own town.
“I'm just giving them an avenue now in their chosen sports, but it's mostly to stay at school and get an education, stay healthy and fit and be good people," Gibbs said.
“I like to give back to the people and support the people who need support.
“I’m one of those lucky people who can help and support, and that’s all I’m doing."
Skinner knows exactly what that opportunity can mean.
Growing up in Trangie, she was one of the students making the trip to Bourke, playing netball because girls were not playing rugby league at that stage.
“For us it was a four-hour bus trip, you got to camp overnight, then go home, so it was a mini excursion with all your mates who love to play sport,” Skinner told NRL.com.
Years later, Skinner returned to the tournament as a teacher and coached the boys rugby league team.
Gibbs remembers the first interaction he had with the now Jillaroos coach.
“I was sitting there talking to Jess and asking, ‘Who’s the coach?’ She said, ‘I am', he said.
“I asked, ‘Have you ever coached before?’ She said, ‘No'.
“What we had, we had to work with and do our best, and we did.
"I saw Jess was a leader right from the start.
“And look what happened five or 10 years later, she’s the Australian national coach so I’m very proud of her.”
For the Jillaroos coach, that was the moment that shaped her career.
“Ronny is actually passionate about watering his own backyard, which is inspiring to me because there is no me without him,” she said.
“He was the first male that actually invested his time, education and knowledge into me as a female coach.
“A lot of men were gatekeeping how to play the game or upskilling female coaches but he was the first one that took me under his wing.”
Now, Skinner is helping carry that same message to the next generation.
“The schools really buy into it, especially our small schools,” she said.
“The opportunities they get to actually play the game, a lot of them, it’s their first time playing rugby league.
“They come to this really cool experience, love it and join their local league team.
“If they can walk away saying, ‘That was fun, I’m going to play again’, that’s awesome.”
For Gibbs, that is exactly what the tournament was designed to achieve.
“To get a start and opportunity in life, you’ve got to grab it,” he said.
“That might be only once or twice in your lifetime that you’ll get opportunities, and that’s when you’ve got to take them."
- Main photo courtesy the Western Herald, Bourke
