With the introduction of Rugby Sevens into the 2016 Rio Olympics, there was a surge in new rugby projects opening up in Brazil. Some were targeting social development, some looking to developed high performance and others simply to boost the numbers of people playing rugby in Brazil. Most having great success in their chosen areas as rugby has been accepted here with open arms. To mention just a few, the Try Rugby project, which sent 12 English Premiership coaches to Sao Paulo in its first year and now has coaches in more than four states. The Serevi Sevens coaching program which delivered high level coaching based around Sevens and Rugby para todos which is an in country program designed to bring rugby into the poorest parts of Sao Paulo. These programs are all working together for the same goal of increasing and developing rugby here in Brazil though perhaps the one that has set its targets of bringing the culture and the values of the games as a priority is Alma Rugby.
Alma, which means soul in Portuguese, is a new initiative in Brazil having had its official opening ceremony five months ago in Porto Seguro College. The mission statement of this program from the very start was ‘ more sports, more values’, aiming at using rugby not just for its ability to capture the interest of athletes and children here but for the culture and the values that are so deeply intertwined with the sport. Working in schools, clubs, businesses and local parks, Alma Rugby is bringing the sport in the best way possible, values first. With an initial base, here inside Porto Seguro College Alma Rugby is now growing through new sites and social media. With a desire to bring the culture first, hand President Giuliano Passini traveled to England to film the first of the Alma YouTube series ‘the home of rugby’. Giuliano stated that ‘the dream of Alma is to impact society through change in the kids’ using ‘rugby as a tool’. Although still in its early stage Alma has already targeted large numbers of kids, exposing them to the rugby culture and lifestyle and also opening doors into Sao Paulo rugby clubs where the students may further their rugby careers.
With Alma growing in Brazil now the future seems set to have Alma institutes allowing students to experience the rugby culture in its birth place with centers based in England. Although a while away yet the vision and aspiration of Alma to impact society will hopefully cross international waters. For now the mission remains to bring what is in essence a mentality of a sport to Brazil and continuing to effect change here in Sao Paulo.
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