INVITATION TO TEAMS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO ATTEND

The 2009 CANTERBURY GOLD COAST RUGBY CARNIVAL

Venue:  The Southport School (TSS)

Carnival Week:  5th - 11th July 2008

Match days:  Tue 7th / Thu 9th / Sat 11th

Who: School & Club Teams Welcome - ( U18) / (U16) / (U15)/(U14)

The Aim: To enjoy a Gold Coast holiday as much as playing your favourite sport

Any School or Club team of school age is welcome at the Canterbury Gold Coast Rugby Carnival.

"Local" teams from the Gold Coast and nearby districts who require neither accommodation nor transport can participate in the event for as little as $25.00 per player. Such teams strongly encouraged to come along and test their skills against teams from other parts of Qld, interstate, NZ, the UK, Ireland, South Africa, the South Pacific and other parts of the world!  Click here for further Local team information and a LOCAL team application form.

For interested groups from regional Queensland, interstate and overseas, click here for printable NON-LOCAL team information brochure and NON-LOCAL team Application form

SUPPORTERS

Team supporters may choose to be part of the "Player" group and participate in all that group's activities or have a separate supporters itinerary taylor made for them.  If the latter option is taken the supporters application form should be downloaded, completed and returned to Worldsport for processing.  Supporters may be more interested in activities such as whale watching, deep sea fishing, hinterland drives, golf etc., than theme park visits

 No matter where your team is from simply complete and return your application form or contact Worldsport and get ready to enjoy a fantastic week of fun and an appropriate level of rugby or netball competition. 

Please note that the application form that you download is EDITABLE which means after that after downloading and opening the form you can fill in all the necessary information on your computer.  If you choose to complete the form electronically, simply save the completed form and then email it as an attachment back to Worldsport

Competitions are played at Open - U18, Under 16, Under 15 and U14 levels with teams being placed in pools with others of similar standard.

This is not an elite event; all teams are welcome regardless of their playing ability.

The objectives of the Carnival are for players and officials to:

• enjoy a guaranteed number of competitive matches without the pressure associated with most school association competitions
• revel in the spirit of attacking rugby
• respect the time honoured ideals of amateur level Rugby
• relish an opportunity to improve playing/coaching standards
• enjoy a holiday on Australia's Gold Coast, one of the world's premier holiday destinations

There is no overall champion at the Canterbury Gold Coast Rugby Carnival - although one deserving group each year is presented with the coveted "Willem Boshoff Award for Carnival Spirit", decided on a vote of all participants: schools, clubs, referees and organisers. There is also a "Barbarian" side selected from the participating teams.

Each pool ideally consists of 8 or 16 teams and trophies are awarded at the Closing Ceremony to the top teams within each pool.

The goal of the Carnival has always been to attract both the traditional rugby schools and others who may have only recently discovered the wonders of our great game. Club teams, particularly from areas where there is little or no school rugby, are also most welcome at the Canterbury Gold Coast Carnival (and the Palm Beach Currumbin Tens Festival).

The standard of rugby is always high and despite the quality and competitiveness of matches, the Carnival spirit and philosophy has always been evident.

The format of the draw and the length of matches etc. is decided once the exact number of teams in each division has been finalised - usually 3-4 weeks prior to the Carnival commencement.

In previous years, for a number of different reasons, teams have come to the Carnival with less than 15 players.  In keeping with the spirit of the event, larger squads have been willing and keen to even up player numbers or to play a match of "Fourteens", "Thirteens" or whatever.  In 2007 Mt Roskill Grammar provided no fewer than 10 players who enjoyed the experience of playing with lads from other teams that had run short of numbers late in the carnival week

A highlight of the week is the combined rugby and netball Spirit & Sportsmanship Dinner, where the players are encouraged to entertain each other in song or other performance.