Canterbury Rugby Fans Immortalised through Competition

Region’s Most Passionate Rugby Fans Immortalised through Competition

Canterbury’s keenest young rugby fans have been identified. Last month The Palms Shopping Centre offered local children the chance of a lifetime, to become the face of the ‘Take a Kid to Footy’ initiative. Dedicated youngsters from around the region donned their best red-and-black gear, posed for photos and submitted their entries, hoping to be immortalised as their favourite team’s greatest fan.

After a flurry of public voting, two winning groups have come out on top and will be recognised as the official faces of Take a Kid to Footy for the 2013 season.

To enter, local kids were required to submit a photo of themselves (with two friends or family members) displaying their pride in and support for Canterbury rugby. The winners had a taste of stardom with a professional photo shoot at The Palms on Wednesday 7 August. The resulting photo will accompany all signage and marketing materials used to promote Take a Kid to Footy this season.

Eleven-year-old Jay Hill-Cattermole and his younger siblings, five-year-old Piper and nine-year-old Max, received the highest number of votes with 487, followed closely by Rangiora’s Jimmy Lousetti and his siblings Martha and Max, who garnered 380 votes.

Nikki Luisetti, mother of Jimmy (8), Martha (6) and Max (11), says her kids just can’t get enough of the sport. “Max and Jimmy both play half-back for their school and social teams – Medbury School and Oxford Rugby Club, and Ashgrove School and Saracens Rugby Club respectively. Martha plays touch rugby in the summer.

“They spectate at most games and stay after every game for autographs. They know all of the players’ names and some of the players now recognise them. My kids play rugby with each other every day, which involves a lot of tackling.”

The Palms centre manager, Simon Carter, believes the love of rugby flows through Cantabrians’ blood. “It is no surprise that we had such a fantastic response to this competition. Any young red-and-black fan worth their salt would love the chance to front a campaign such as Take a Kid to Footy.

“The Palms made the conversion from team fan to official sponsor of the Canterbury Rugby Football Union’s Take a Kid to Footy initiative in 2012, and we look forward to celebrating at the Canterbury ITM Cup again with our community this season.”

About The Palms
The Palms Shopping Centre in Shirley (four kilometres from the Christchurch CBD), is an asset in the AMP Capital Shopping Centre Fund (ASCF). The Fund has 11 properties under management with a total fund size of over AU$2 billion.

The Palms Shopping Centre is proud to sponsor the Canterbury Rugby Football Union’s Take a Kid to Footy programme, which helps kids get involved in rugby and attend CRFU games at a lower cost.

ENDS

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