The Canberra Raiders in conjunction with ACT Touch have proven to be one of the leading clubs in terms of the Strategic Alliance between the two codes, with numerous other regions interested in mirroring the relationship following a presentation by ACT Touch Manager Rod Wise at Rugby League Central last week.
In December 2013, before a formal agreement had been developed at a National level, the Raiders and ACT Touch took the initiative to meet and formulate a plan for cross-promotional activities throughout 2014.
Following Wise’s presentation, the template of the Raiders and ACT Touch’s partnership has now attracted interest from regions in both NSW and Queensland.
“We presented the partnership plan between ACT Touch and Raiders at Rugby League Central last week and gave a bit of a background on the Canberra Region Rugby League and ACT Touch,” explained Wise. “The presentation was received really well with other clubs wanting a copy of our partnership plan.
“The partnership has worked tremendously well so far. We’ve focused on growing participation, enhancing community engagement, improving communication lines and boosting the significant profile reach for both parties.
“Touch Football has over 14,000 participants, both male and female of all ages, and we’ve been really happy with the support we’ve received from the Raiders, they have been tremendous.
“Their staff are easy to communicate with and they are proud to support the communities that support them. Both organisations have been working hard together towards a common goal.”
With the Raiders Round 6 match against the Newcastle Knights at GIO Stadium Canberra celebrating ‘Junior Club Recognition Round’, ACT Touch will be fielding a team for the half-time relay against the other Canberra Region Junior Rugby League clubs.
"It’s great to be involved in the game day promotion for this Saturday’s match against the Newcastle Knights and it’s another great promotion of the two codes working together,” Wise said.
"Going forward the Rugby League and Touch Football partnership in the local area will continually be highlighted with talks well advanced in respect to having women's touch matches as the preliminary games to George Tooke Shield fixtures," added Raiders Marketing Manager Jason Mathie.
