Member Article

Ricoh Arena's Wasps reward most loyal fans

Youngsters from a local primary school are set to fly the flag for Coventry after they were chosen to be official flag bearers at Saturday’s Wasps match at the Ricoh Arena.

Twenty pupils from St Bartholomew’s Church of England Academy in Bredon Avenue have been chosen as the Guard of Honour to bear the Wasps’ flags ahead of their Aviva Premiership match against Exeter Chiefs (5.30pm kick-off).

The school was given the honour as part of Wasps’ initiative to encourage and reward rugby fans for their support by giving groups the opportunity to get closer to the action than ever before and bear the flag for the team.

Along with getting the chance to step onto the pitch with their sporting heroes, each flag bearer will also get to watch the match for free – which is a prospect that St Bartholomew’s PE Teacher Ben Terry said the youngsters are very excited about.

“Rugby is a sport we have really been trying to develop at St Bartholomew’s,” he said. “The game is challenging and children really seem to engage with it which helps them learn important life skills such as teamwork and discipline.

“With Wasps having made Coventry their home, we thought it was a great opportunity for the school to get involved with the team.

“Last year, Wasps ambassador Paul Sackey visited the school to coach a rugby tag session and we are also hosting another one in January with members of the Wasps team.

“The area in which the school is based in means that sport isn’t always accessible and children aren’t often afforded many opportunities, so when we saw the chance for pupils to become flag bearers we seized the chance. Seeing a Premiership team play a professional game will be a really exciting experience for all of them.”

Wasps made Coventry its new home in 2014 after buying the Ricoh Arena and since moving, the club has trebled its average attendances with the highlight a 32,000 sell-out against new neighbours Leicester Tigers.

Martin Fallon, marketing manager of Wasps, said that recognising and rewarding its supporters in the community was key to the club.

“St Bartholomew’s has been a great supporter of Wasps and Our Community team is really looking forward to working with them in January as part of their drive to help pupils develop their rugby skills” he said.

“We are delighted to help them get closer to the action by nominating them as Wasps’ Guard of Honour at the match versus Exeter Chiefs.”

Echo & the Bunnymen and Buzzcocks will also performing after the match as part of the first in the Offload Series in the Jaguar Hall at the Ricoh Arena.

Tickets priced from £25 for the live music and rugby combined, at £15 for the live music only and from £15 for Wasps v Exeter Chiefs rugby only, and will be available from www.ricoharena.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .