Wooden Spoon's Vets Fest 22 back with a bang in Birmingham

Wooden Spoon CEO Sarah Webb believes the resounding success of this weekend's Vets Fest 22 event can help spread rugby fever across the country. The event celebrated its second year, this time at Moseley Rugby Football Club in Birmingham on Saturday, with over 700 players — from 16 men's and 10 women's Vets teams across the country — coming together for a rugby tournament aiming to raise money for vulnerable children and young people.

Ad Ahead of World Mental Health Day on 10 October, the focus of this year's event centred around supporting mental health projects, with an estimated £1.5 million children and young people needing mental health support as a result of the pandemic. RugbyPressure no match for the Red Roses, says Alphonsi06/10/2022 AT 17:35 And with around 374,000 children under 18 currently on a waiting list for NHS mental health services, Wooden Spoon — the children's charity of rugby — want to do more to help the children and young people that are affected.

Vets Fest was created to bring the rugby family together and give something back for the positive experiences as rugby players and supporters of the game. The men's and women's winning teams won the Olly Stephens and Maddy Lawrence Memorial Cups respectively to commemorate the lives of two young rugby players.

And Webb said: «I think everybody who is engaged is a parent or has young people in their lives, so to be here honouring Olly and Maddy is a real honour for us. »And I think everybody here is just pleased to be playing rugby together in a competitive tournament where they can play with their peers and then have the fun afterwards.

«This is one of the largest Vets festivals and it just keeps growing. »We've already got teams who said they want to