Published: 31st December 2021
Our Vision: To be recognised and supported as a charity and the number one provider of fun, sport, education and social inclusion, whilst meeting the needs of the local community.
Huddersfield Giants Community Trust, the official charity of Huddersfield Giants operates throughout the district of Kirklees. Including from it’s home, The Zone – the multi purpose facility in the heart of Huddersfield alongside surrounding areas of the local communities. Engaging with participants of all ages, we deliver an array of projects that befits our key areas – Sport, Education, Health and Social Inclusion.
At HGCT we are deeply committed to understand, create, learn and become accountable for the work we do. We are always striving to improve the impact of our work through reputable methods.
Over the course of 2021, we have always maintained a positive mindset even though the first quarter was under lockdown restrictions. Although times were tough we continued to adapt as everyone else did too.
Here we share a small proportion of the positive outcomes in the last 12 months.
HGCT always strives to work in unison with local organisations building strong relationships that will help support our programmes and provide opportunities into the local community. In the last year we have welcomed Brighouse based, assistive equipment providers Medequip, First Aid and Mental Health trainers Purple Dog and safety pressure trainers CoffeeSafe, alongside others. We also continue to be supported by BNI Terriers who notably support the Trust through fundraisers and time given.
Using the power of sport and Rugby League we engage thousands of individuals through our delivery programmes improving community cohesion, fitness, well-being, keeping active and raising hopes and aspirations of all individuals.
School Programmes
In Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield we continue to create partnerships with local primary, middle and secondary schools. In 2021 we have delivered over 90 hours of coaching per week into our partner schools which has included a broad range of mainstream sports. The SkyTry initiative has seen HGCT coaches reach thousands of children in school setups with specific Rugby League coaching. We have worked with local grassroot Rugby League clubs providing taster sessions for children who have partaken in the SkyTry programme to then increase participation within Rugby League.
A new project in 2021 is the Youth Endowment Fund which is to help prevent young people from getting caught up in violent crime through work in the classroom, local community and with their families. We have been working in three schools with 45 children, engaging with individuals through the three stands; Aspire, Educate and Connect. We have been delighted to work with a set of fantastic organisations; Talks from Huddersfield Fire Service and Police Force, gaining First Aid qualifications with FlatStan, receiving advice on Mental fitness from Rugby League Cares and Drugs and Alcohol abuse from The Base, Huddersfield.
An initiative together with Kirklees Council, the Rugby League World Cup Women’s project has allowed us to coach over 845 girls aged 11-16 across 6 High Schools, encouraging girls to join up at one of 4 local grassroot Women Rugby League clubs that we have supported with their junior setups.
The Evolution Pathway also known as England Talent Pathway saw us engage with over 300 boys and girls aged 11-16. Competing in high intensity programmes, players also competed for the first time with foundations of Bradford, Salford and Wakefield.
Huddersfield Giants Women
A historic first season for the Giants Women. Their first ever season in Super League, ended with a trophy. On Grand Finals day the Women took battle to Featherstone Rovers where a 2 point victory sealed the Shield Trophy! Alongside the trophy this now means that the Women will be competing in the highest competition in Super League in 2022!
Cheerleading and Gymnastics
In the last 12 months we have seen a huge growth in the number of athletes looking to enrol into either Gymnastics or Cheerleading. The timetable has expanded and we have over 200 athletes enjoying our classes on a weekly basis. In July we held our Giants Elite team placement try-outs for competitions. Our Pro-squad who perform on GiantsRL Match days now has a full squad of 20 girls.
All athletes ended the year on a high, with a Christmas show spectacular. With over 90 athletes showcasing their talents to a live audience, bringing everyone into the Christmas spirit!
Education (Post 16)
Learners completed their 20/21 academic year in the summer with a 100% BTEC Sport level 3 pass rate, including, achieving a certified First Aid qualification and Level 2 Sports Leader Award. Through the academic year learners successfully ran and delivered primary school coaching events as part of their study programme assessment.
On completing their post 16 education, 50% of learners progressed onto higher education or into an apprenticeship. Three players received Giants first team contracts, four learners achieved semi-professional contracts at other clubs. Congratulations to Will Pryce, Kieran Rush and Fenton Rogers on their achievements into the Giants RL First team setup.
The National Citizen Service is a personal and social development programme for 16-17 year olds that is designed to give young people a clearer idea of how they would like their future to look.
In 2021 NCS Huddersfield saw 243 local 16-17 year olds from 13 different schools take part in the NCS programme over the summer and autumn programme.
Within the programme all young people complete the Social action, where in total over 500 hours were completed in 2021. HGCT has partnered with some fantastic charities and organisations to help deliver the social action initiative; Give…A Few Words, Yorkshire Air Ambulance, The Kirkwood, RSPCA, Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, FOCAL Group, Salvation Army, Aden Court Care Home, Almondbury Cricket Club and The Welcome Centre.
55 young people from summer have continued to be involved in meaningful social action in their community.
Our graduate Maya Rajab spoke at the national EFL Trust conference held at St George’s Park.
After starting the year closed and in lockdown, it was a long five months until the doors could re-open for indoor activities. Lots of planning, structural changes and new ideas were implemented in that time which now create a calmer and controlled atmosphere for our customers. Having implemented new birthday party layouts, sessional play times and delivering activities in the Giant5 hub, The Zone is looking forward to move into 2022 continuing to grow. To end the year, Santa made a visit to help host the first ever Christmas party where 75 children came along to enjoy a festive time. A great way to end the year!
There is so much excitement for projects in the pipeline and all the other activities, projects that we currently run but you can read up on everything that we deliver through our website.
It’s been a tough 12 months, but one we can be very proud of.
Thank you for reading, lets hope 2022 will be a positive year for everyone.
Happy New Year!
Huddersfield Giants Community Trust
