To celebrate Warrington’s role as a host town for the Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021), Golden Square will be hosting an exhibition which aims to educate young women and girls across the north of England about the women role models who pioneered Women’s International Rugby League .
‘Life with the Lionesses’ will be launching on Saturday 17th September in the Golden Square mall, in front of Customer Services.
To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, there will be an exciting programme of entertainment in The Old Market Place, Golden Square from 11am till 4pm which will include:
Interviews and Q&A with former lionesses, including legends such as Jane Banks, Wendy Charnley, Bernie Melbourne and Angela Carter, who were all part of Great Britain’s Lionesses squad during their successful careers.
(Jane was the youngest player to be called up for the GB Lionesses squad at age 17, to play the 1996 tour of Australia, where she scored 2 tries. She then joined the GB Lionesses squad for the 1998 tour of New Zealand, where she received the much deserved ‘Player of the Tour’ for her performance throughout.)
Wendy was called up for the GB Lionesses squad, playing in the position of scrum half and hooker for the 1996 tour to Australia. Wendy then went on to join the GB Lionesses for the 2000 World Series in the UK, followed by the 2003 World Cup in New Zealand.
Bernie was called up for the Great Britain team in 1989 for the tour of France, where she captained the team.
Angela toured France in 1989, becoming part of the first British women’s squad to play an international event.
Hear from Julia Lee, Chair of the International Rugby League Women and Girls Working Group who is currently leading the vision and strategy to globally grow the involvement of women and girls in rugby league. Julia was the first woman to qualify as a men’s rugby league referee in Great Britain and Australia, achieving professional and international honours as a Match Official in any code. To date no women in the UK has surpassed this achievement as a referee.
In the afternoon, we will be welcoming traditional Papua New Guinean dancers to celebrate PNG Independence day 16th Sept. For the duration of the tournament, Warrington will be hosting the Papua New Guinea men’s team. Musical intervals will be provided by Vocal Infinity, Warrington’s all-female A Capella singing group, and Beautiful Noise Choir from Creating Adventures, a charity which enriches the lives of adults with autism and learning difficulties.
The day will be rounded off with an exclusive showing of the award-winning documentary, ‘Power Meri’ which follows Papua New Guinea’s first national women’s rugby league team, the PNG Orchids, on their way to competing in the 2017 World Cup in Australia.
The film documents the fascinating journey these inspirational women take from their home towns to the world stage. Power Meri explores how the women playing this male-dominated sport in the public eye for the first time could change mindsets in a country where the status of women is one of the most troubling in the world.
The exhibition will be open Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday to Sunday 25th September from 9.30am – 4.30pm, as well as a special opening on Tuesday 20th September when the World Cup trophies will visit Golden Square.