News
28/09/2005
2e2 Group sponsors England Women's Touchrugby team
2e2's support will help fund the team's participation in the All Nations Championship in New Zealand
2e2 Group Sponsors the England Ladies Touchrugby Team
28th September, 2005 - 2e2 Group plc, the leading managed IT services provider, is proud to announce that it has become an official Friend of England Touchrugby. The support that 2e2 is giving the England Touchrugby Association (the ‘ETA’) will be used to help fund the England Ladies team tour to the All Nations Championship in Christchurch, New Zealand at the end of October.
Touchrugby (‘Touch’) has been developing as a sport in the UK over the past 10 years. Touch originated in Australia in the 1960’s as a training game for Rugby league. Since that time, Touch has become established as a sport in its own right, played socially by close to 800,000 people in Australia and 300,000 in New Zealand alone. The Federation of International Touch - the sport’s governing body – has 30 member nations across the world.
There are currently approximately 12,000 people (men and woman, aged predominantly between 18 – 35) playing Touch in leagues around the UK including: Bath, Bedford, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Canterbury, Chesham, Edinburgh, Glastonbury, High Wycombe, Manchester, Oxford, Reading and Slough. From these leagues, a squad of 14 England Ladies representatives have been selected to tour to New Zealand and compete in the All Nations Championships in Christchurch. 60 teams will be taking part in the Championships, which makes it the largest Touch championship in the world outside of the World Cup. It is only through the support of companies such as 2e2 that England are able to send a team, as the sport presently only receives corporate funding. The England Ladies team are current European Champions and hope to build on their success as they play in this exciting championship.
Terry Burt, Chief Executive of 2e2 Group, commented “The 2e2 Group consists of many companies which all believe in the same ethos of excellence, and specialism. We are thrilled to be able to support an England team which promotes the same attributes. As England looks forward to 2012 and the Olympic Games, I hope that more people in the UK will start playing all kinds of sports, such as Touch, at every level, and I hope that 2e2’s support now will help to build a strong team for the future, and inspire the next generation of touch players from around the country.”
Jeremy How, President of the England Touchrugby Association, commented, “The amazing growth of Touch in the UK over the past 10 years has been great to see. Touch is a fast, evasive game which can be played by people at all levels of fitness and skill. Not only is it a great introduction to full-contact rugby for youngsters, but it is also an excellent game in its own right. The England Touchrugby Association is committed to developing the sport throughout the country, and we hope that the experience gained by our National teams at the All Nations Championship will help us as we prepare for the World Cup in 2007. The support of companies such as 2e2 is invaluable and we thank them for their generosity.”
For further information, please contact:
Caroline Evans-Jones, ICIS PR: Tel, 020 7651 8688
Jeremy How, ETA: Tel, 07799 642635
About 2e2
2e2 is a managed services provider consisting of a balanced portfolio of companies operating in the UK and the Netherlands. 2e2 has developed a highly differentiated and effective operating model, encouraging our subsidiaries to provide specialism, flexibility and cost competitiveness for clients, each of which is regarded as a partner. 2e2 provides the skilled resources that organisations need in order to manage and maintain large and increasingly complex IT infrastructures. 2e2 is funded by Gresham LLP, the mid-market private equity house, and HSBC Bank plc.
About the England Touchrugby Association
The England Touchrugby Association is a not for profit organisation solely funded by membership fees and are responsible for the sport’s governance, development and National teams. Our organisation provides anyone interested in the sport with support and guidance in setting up and operating leagues, tournaments and teams. We can provide referee training and development through the England Touchrugby Referees Association. All you need to get started is a willingness to learn and have some fun. You can start by simply getting a bunch of friends together, a set of the rules and a ball.
The sport is renowned for its social appetite and caters for all genders, skill levels and age groups, from 10 year olds to over 60's. Due to the minimum contact nature of the sport injuries are minimal and it provides an attractive alternative or training option to full contact rugby. There are over 575 affiliated teams in England.
