Scotland Women are hosting open trials for the senior squads at Lasswade this September. The trials will begin on 14 September with successful entrants being invited back to a second round of trials on 20 September. Click here to download a registration formScotland Women are hosting open trials for the senior squads at Lasswade this September. The trials will begin on 14 September with successful entrants being invited back to a second round of trials on 20 September. The list of players to attend the second round trials will be posted on the website www.scottishrugby.org by 16 September 2008. From the second round of trials, the top players (with Scottish eligibility) 26 players will be selected to form a Scotland Women squad while a further 24-26 will be selected for the Scotland Women Development Squad. SCOTLAND WOMEN TRIALS 2008 Open trial Date: 14th September 2008 Venue: Lasswade Rugby Club Hawthornden Rosewell Road, Bonnyrigg Midlothian, EH19 3PR Player Registration: 10am Finish Time: 3.30pm-4pm Trial 2 (by invite) Date: 20th September 2008 (2nd round invite only) Venue: Royal High Costorphine (School) East Barnton Avenue Edinburgh, EH4 6JP Player Registration: 10am Finish Time: 3.30pm-4pm All players must bring x2 passport photos (with full name on the back) and hand them in at registration. A.M – Skills based sessions | P.M _x0013_ Trial match Players need to bring Rugby kit | waterproofs | medical tape | strapping (lineout tape) | medical requirements | lunch | refreshments Any queries please contact: Jo Hull, SWRU Performance Development Manager Email: [email protected] ,Tel: 07780 660519 PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME EXPLAINED The SWRU Performance Programme is committed to achieving excellence for the Scottish Women’s Rugby Union. The aim of the performance programme is to develop and enhance players over the age of 15yrs old in preparation for the 2010 and 2014 Womens Rugby World Cups. Scotland Women are currently ranked 6th in the World and our aim is to improve this world ranking over the next two World Cups. SWRU Trials – SCOTLAND WOMEN Scotland Women is the elite Team which represents us on the international stage. The squad of 26 players will undertake an elite level programme of individual skills development and team preparation. Scotland Women fly the flag of womens rugby on behalf of Clubs and University teams in Scotland, both at home and abroad. Players will be selected from a tiered trials programme carried out by the SWRU. The emphasis for 08-09 season is based on the RWC 2010 qualification and preparation. Scotland Women will be undertaking the challenge of the following competitions this season: Autumn International – Nov 2008 RBS 6Nations _x0013_ 2009 European Cup – May 2009 (to be confirmed by IRB / FIRA) SCOTLAND WOMEN DEVELOPMENT SQUAD Scotland Women development squad is intended to provide the strength in depth on which Scotlands international performance will depend in the build up to the Rugby World Cups in 2010 / 2014 and the annual 6 Nations competition. Players will be selected in the same way as Scotland Women, from a tiered trials programme. Scotland Women Development will be competing in the following fixtures: Scotland Women Development v British Army, Feb 09 Scotland Women Development v France A. TBC Feb 09 Scotland Women Development / Academy v British Police, Mar 09 SWRU ACADEMY The SWRU Academy is intended to provide an opportunity to support talented young players in Scotland, including Scottish Students and those players who have turned 17yrs of age but are not quite ready for the Scotland Women development/Scotland Women programmes. It is hoped that through a programme of individual player support and regular training, the skills and fitness levels will be raised. It is envisaged that the average age of players in the SWRU Academy will be around 19years, with a high proportion of the players being drawn from Universities in Scotland. Players will be given a 3 year performance plan. They will be expected to progress within the SWRU performance programmes within this 3 year period. The SWRU Academy is the primary entry route into performance rugby for University players. SWRU U18 PATHWAY PROGRAMME The SWRU U18 Pathway Programme has been developed to support two U18 squads for 2008. The squads were selected in July 08, and are currently training / competing over the summer months with the programme coming to an end in Oct 08. Those players from the U18 Pathway squads who are 17yrs will be offered the opportunity to trial for the SWRU Academy in Jan 09. The U18 Pathway squads are based around the long term player development (LTPD) principles, with the aim of identifying and nurturing talented young rugby players for the 2014/2018 Rugby World Cups. The two squads comprise of 26 players in each squad; with one squad based in the South-East of Scotland and the other based in central Scotland. The minimum age for SWRU Youth Talent I.D and player development is 15yrs old _x0013_ the age range of the youth squad is 3 years to reduce the risks of injury to the younger players and to enable the coaching team to provide more focused support.