Excitement as Kirkcaldy Rugby Club hosts 'biggest ever staging' of Wee Blues Cup
Kirkcaldy Rugby Club’s Beveridge Park is the venue this Sunday for the biggest ever staging of a popular youth tournament featuring a total of around 500 kids battling it out in competitions at P3, P4, P5, P6 and P7 levels.
From 10.30am, Wee Blues Cup round robin matches of between six and eight minutes each will see Kirkcaldy youth sides of the same name take on opponents from Stirling, Perth, Kinross, Howe of Fife, Dunfermline, Madras, Dundee, Glenrothes and McLaren, before boys and girls finals in the various age groups take place at around 12.30pm, with prizes later handed over by senior Blues captains Fin Smith and Mhairi Cockburn.
Kirkcaldy Rugby Club Wee Blues coach and administrator David Barton, 45, told the Fife Free Press: “This tournament has been going at Kirkcaldy for over 25 years and this will be the largest one we’ve ever done. There’s more teams visiting than ever before.
"There’s not always huge events in Kirkcaldy but this is a big one. It’s a nice thing in the community.
"The kids all love the competition. I think it depends on the age group as well.
"For the youngest P3 players it’s all touch rugby, so it’s all about skills development and learning some basics.
"But as they get up towards the primary seven matches it’s full contact.
"Some of the kids do like a lot of the physicality of it. They have a really good connection with their team-mates and they love taking on the opportunity to test themselves against others.
"That’s why these tournaments are great because it’s not just one game, they have lots of opportunities for little wins and development.”
Barton said that Kirkcaldy’s overall youth section – from the age of three to primary seven – was “very buoyant” just now, with very good numbers and a good mixture of girls and boys within the pathway.
"It’s brilliant with lots of good kids,” he added.