SP Energy Networks has celebrated the success of their annual Warriors Championship, which saw a record number of schools participate in a rugby tournament.

The annual event is part of a number of SP initiatives, designed to support local communities.

At the latest SP Energy Networks Warriors Championship, over 1000 young people from 28 schools were competing for the Championship title at Scotstoun Stadium from February to April.

In addition to improving access to grassroots level rugby, the Championship allows young people to develop teamworking, leadership and communications skills whilst also learning more about science behind rugby and STEM opportunities.

Balfron High School claimed the 2023 SP Energy Networks Warriors Championship title after a thrilling final against Stonelaw High School. To celebrate the end of the 2023 Championship, all participating schools were invited to an awards dinner where SP saw teams' competitive side come out again for a STEM quiz, battling it out for signed Glasgow Warriors merchandise.

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Speaking about the event, SP said: "Balfron not only won the championship title, but their coach was nominated as our 2023 Community hero award, Steven McCooney, alongside Caroline Campbell from Montrose RFC. Both were clear winners because of their dedication and commitment to inspiring future rugby players and growing the grassroots rugby. They both excel in their drive to raise awareness of the game and the work they do behind the scenes to make it all possible – building a supportive and inclusive environment to nurture the emerging rugby talent. To recognise their outstanding commitment to supporting their local community, we have crowned them both our Community Heroes for 2023.

"As part of our continued community outreach, we launched our first Development Day to foster rugby and STEM skills among young people in the communities we serve. This one-day rugby tournament was a great opportunity for the schools without fully formed teams to try out rugby and develop new teams before the next SPEN Warriors Championship. In their breaks between rugby games, pupils had a chance to learn more about STEM, while finding out who we are and what we do at SP Energy Networks through our STEM quiz and experiments. We have seen over 130 young people participate in our STEM competition, with over 90% suggesting that they would consider a career in STEM after taking part in our activation.

"It was great to see the emerging talent boast their rugby skills and STEM knowledge at the Development Day. We're proud to play our part in supporting young people across our communities as they embark on their rugby and STEM journey."