USA Rugby Sevens star Ilona Maher has joined ChildFund Rugby as an official ambassador joining an alumnus that includes Charlotte Caslick, Stephen Larkham, Honey Hireme-Smiler, Lewis Holland, Emily Chancellor, Aimee Sutorius, and Mere Baker.
Following her recent trip to Laos to participate in and see firsthand the work that ChildFund Rugby does, Ilona will be helping to showcase how the Pass It Back rugby and life skills curriculum delivers sustainable game growth and positive social impact globally.
As a guest of the Lao Rugby Federation in July 2023, Maher was shown how Pass It Back, an impactful rugby and life skills curriculum, provides opportunities for players to learn and practice key social and emotional skills to build gender equity, be healthy, and to be safe.
Chris Mastaglio, Director of ChildFund Rugby added, “We are very excited to have the formidable Ilona Maher as part of the ChildFund Rugby family, and we are looking forward to working together to use the power of rugby to positively impact the lives of children and young people across the globe.”
Photo Credit: ChildFund Rugby – Ilona Maher in Laos in July 2023
Ilona Maher – USA Rugby & ChildFund Rugby
Maher is an Olympian member of the USA Rugby Sevens team and is also an influential TikTok star with over 1 million followers and nearly 80 million likes. She has helped change how the public perceives rugby – that it is no longer only about burly men roughing it out on the pitch; rugby is also about women like Ilona who, as her popular hashtag states, embody Beast. Beauty. Brains.
The rugby star has also used her platform to advocate for mental health and body positivity, empowering young people across the globe who look up to her as a role model said the official press release announcing her taking up the ChildFund Rugby ambassadorial role.
Maher said, “It’s been so fulfilling for me to be an Ambassador and align myself with an organisation like ChildFund Rugby that is dedicated to helping grow the game for everyone around the world. After seeing Pass It Back Coaches in action, I can definitely say that these young coaches and players can and are changing the world through rugby.”
She added that she first learned about ChildFund Rugby during Rugby World Cup 2021 in New Zealand, where she had the opportunity to meet some young female leaders in rugby from around the world taking part in leadership learning.
ChildFund Rugby is a global team that works with rugby unions across the world to deliver integrated rugby and life-skills learning using Pass It Back and Get into Rugby PLUS curriculum products. The organisation was the Official Charity Partner at the Men’s RWC 2019 and Women’s RWC 2021 (played in 2022) in New Zealand, and the RWC Sevens 2022 in South Africa.
Maher was impressed that Pass It Back players look up to their Coaches and that “many go on to become Pass It Back Coaches after finishing the curriculum. Many Pass It Back Coaches also go on to apply for staff positions with the rugby federation or to get advanced coaching or match officiating accreditations for example. These role models built up through and across Pass It Back are supporting and developing the game across all of these points in the federation pathway. It’s great to see.”
Photo Credit: ChildFund Rugby
ChildFund Rugby has recently launched in the USA and announced plans to start their work in Türkiye, in addition to their work across the Asia-Pacific and in Africa.
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