SCHOOLS from South Ayrshire are competing in the ScottishPower Warriors Rugby Championship.

Representatives from Queen Margaret Academy, Belmont Academy and Kyle Academy were at Scotstoun Stadium last week to launch the event.

The schools competition will promote active, healthy lifestyles amongst young people and provide 20 schools from across Scotland the opportunity to play against others at a professional club while looking for the future stars of the game.

Pupils teamed up with several members of the Glasgow Warriors squad and coaching team, including Gregor Townsend and Scottish Rugby Ambassador Al Kellock.

The event was incredibly successful last year, however this year’s tournament will see the number of schools increase from 16 to 20 including the three Ayr secondaries. Each school will take part in qualifying events played at Scotstoun throughout March before the winners from each day progress to the semi-final stages.

The winners of the semi-finals (to be held in April) will then face off at Scotstoun in the final of the tournament ahead of the 1872 Cup clash between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh on Saturday, May 6.

The champions, which may include a school from South Ayrshire, will get the chance to meet their heroes with a team coaching session run by Glasgow Warriors stars and gain brand new rugby kits for their school.

Aileen Campbell, Minister for Sport in Scotland, said: “Increasing rates of physical activity is a key aspect of our drive to make Scotland healthier and fitter, and having programmes like this will help us achieve that as well as introduce possible future stars to the game.

ScottishPower and Glasgow Warriors have made a huge success of establishing this new competition - to have 20 schools and over 800 students taking part in the tournament is fantastic. 

“The opportunity to play at the home of Glasgow Warriors will be a memorable experience for these young players and I wish everyone the best of luck.”