Contact Ready making an impact on the community

The Community Impact Award celebrates projects that have a meaningful and positive impact on children, young people and their communities through the provision of play, active recreation and sport, with a particular focus on barriers to participation.

Contact Ready is New Zealand Rugby’s dedicated programme designed to help teenage girls, aged 12 to 17 years, build the skills and confidence needed to safely transition into contact rugby. Through a series of fun, supportive sessions led by trained coaches, participants learn the fundamentals of tackling, being tackled, and safe body positioning in a carefully managed, learn-first environment.

With a strong focus on player wellbeing, Contact Ready places safety, capability, and connection at the heart of the experience. It equips players with the skills to thrive in the game while creating a space where they feel supported and ready to take the next step in rugby.

As a key part of New Zealand Rugby’s Women and Girls strategy, Contact Ready helps remove barriers to participation and ensures more young girls can enter and progress through the game. By creating a positive first experience of contact rugby, the programme is helping build a stronger, more inclusive future for the women’s game.

We’re incredibly proud to see Contact Ready acknowledged as a finalist in this category. This recognition is a testament to the outstanding work of our Women and Girls team, so well done to everyone involved.

Learn more about the programme here: Contact Ready | NZ Rugby