In its 17th year, the National Rugby Camp in Armidale has proved it is as popular as ever with around 260 young athletes signing up to take part.
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The three-day camp began on Sunday with junior rugby players put through their paces at SportUNE.
The participants travelled from all over the region as well as across the state, with a few even travelling from overseas to join in.
"All over Australia - we have Perth, Darwin, Roma, Cairns, a kid from Alice Springs, two from Tasmania, four from Singapore, two from New Zealand and then all around the region,” organiser Paul Schmude said.
"The kid from Alice Springs is a new first-timer. He just wanted to have a go at it and we have been able to accommodate him here, which he is very much looking forward to and very excited by that.”
The participants go through the basics of the game including passing, alignment and positional play. Schmude said although they learnt on-field techniques, there was a heavy emphasis on off-field relationships.
"Sport, you get friends for life, so we don't just instill them about playing rugby, also mateship, respect for the game, respect for themselves, respect for your players and coaching staff because the coaches give up their time to do this in their holidays and that is what they need to understand,” he said.