Leeds Rhinos Foundation - Club of the Year 2023

Leeds Rhino Foundation recently celebrated their Every Body Moves powered by Toyota Club of the Year Award with an outstanding day of Inclusive Sports! 

Throughout 2023, ParalympicsGB awarded its Every Body Moves powered by Toyota ‘Club of the Month’, to shine a light on some of the best inclusive opportunities to get active across the whole of the UK.  

The Leeds Rhinos Foundation were worthy winners of this monthly award in February of 2023, for its dedication to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to play Rugby League and engage in physical activity, no matter their ability or impairment.  

Each and every one of the clubs who were recognised for their efforts, provide amazing inclusive and adaptive sessions that break down barriers to participation, and enable even more of the disabled community to enjoy the range of positive lifestyle benefits that sport and physical activity can bring. 

After thousands of public votes, the Leeds Rhinos Foundation was delighted to hear that it had won the Club of the Year award, followed by the Trailblazers Powerchair Football Club in second place and Make Change and Brighton Table Tennis Club in joint third. 

To celebrate this prestigious award, Leeds Rhinos Foundation partnered with ParalympicsGB and the Every Body Moves powered by Toyota programme, to host its very own inclusive sports day, inviting members from each of its inclusion programmes to come and give the range of activities on offer a go! These activities included Tag Rugby, Wheelchair Rugby League, Boccia and Para Ice Hockey.  

Attendees were joined by ParalympicsGB athletes Ben Watson MBE and Hannah Cockroft OBE, who also got to sample some of the action.  

Reflecting on what was an amazing day of inclusive sport Hannah Cockroft said, “Coming to events like this really takes me back nearly seventeen years. I started at a come and try day like this and got to try out all different sports, so seeing everyone here today makes me so happy knowing that everyone will be leaving with a smile on their face having had a great experience with sport.” 

CEO of the Leeds Rhinos Foundation, Bob Bowman, commented on the event: “As a Foundation, whose aim is to ‘Change Lives Through the Power of Sport’, the Club of the Year Award was the perfect accolade to recognise the hard work of our staff members, volunteers and those involved in making our Inclusion teams and programmes a reality”. 

“This was their celebration as much as it was ours, and we were delighted to welcome members from those communities to come and join us at what was a very exciting day”. 

A massive thank you to Every Body Moves for helping us make this happen and to every person who voted for us!” 

ParalympicsGB CEO Dave Clarke congratulated all involved at Leeds Rhinos Foundation.  

“Winning ParalympicsGB’s Every Body Moves powered by Toyota club of the year is a huge achievement and a credit to all involved in the inclusive provision Leeds Rhinos Foundation are delivering week in, week out.  

“Every Body Moves works to remove barriers disabled people face when looking to lead an active lifestyle, by providing crucial information and showcasing the best examples of inclusive sport and physical activity. The Leeds Rhinos Foundation are clearly one of those great examples. 

“If other providers of grassroots sport feel empowered to follow in their footsteps and contribute more accessible opportunities of their own, then that is a fantastic outcome.  

“The 2024 Paris Paralympic Games is a huge opportunity and will undoubtedly shine a spotlight on the unique power of disability sport and even more importantly make moving in a way that works for everybody a reality for more people throughout the UK.”