Ospreys players attended a special sports day hosted by the Bridgend Active Young People team this week, where they presented medals to the winners of a number of sporting competitions.
The event was the culmination of a five-week programme running throughout the summer holidays at local leisure centres in Bridgend.
Representing the Ospreys on the day were Tom Prydie, Dai Flanagan and Ross Jones, along with Ben Rose and Tom Cole from the Community Development team, who opened the awards ceremony following a day of hard work by the Active Young People team, who include in their numbers Ospreys C Group coach Dan Griffiths.
There were a number of sporting events running through the day, including rugby, football, rounders, basketball and zumba, along with arts and crafts events. As well as presenting medals to the winning teams, the Ospreys trio took time to sign autographs and pose for pictures with the children present.
Tom Cole, Player Development Officer for Bridgend, said:
“It’s important that the Ospreys support these events which promote an active lifestyle for children in the community. While we tend to focus on rugby, it’s essential that all children get an opportunity to experience as many sports as possible, because the most important thing is that we get them off the sofa, away from their games console and participating in physical activity.”
Ross Jones, who scored two tries in Bridgend’s play-off victory over Glamorgan Wanderers in May to help the Ravens secure a return to the Premiership, said that the players had enjoyed the visit to Newbridge Field:
“It was a busy afternoon with lots of children there, but we had a really good time. Playing for Bridgend I really feel part of the local community so it’s good to be able to do these sort of events which will hopefully encourage children to participate in sport.”