Touch tournament in Maddy's Memory
A university student from Birmingham is organising a charity tournament in memory of her friend, Maddy Lawrence.
Maddy Lawrence was just 20 years old when, in 2022, she picked up an injury while playing rugby for the University of the West of England (UWE) against the University of Bristol. The injury was not life threatening but Maddy later sustained a bacterial infection in hospital and died on March 25, 2022.
Described as “always looking forward, ready for new experiences”, her legacy lives on through Maddy’s Mark, a charity set up by parents Karen and Simon to promote positive mental health and wellbeing in young women through rugby.
Now, childhood friend Lucy Wynde is organising a touch rugby tournament at her university in Birmingham to raise money for Maddy’s Mark. At least ten teams have entered already and Lucy wants to see this number grow.
“The major motivating factor for organising this tournament in Maddy’s memory is that she loved rugby so much at university, and so it felt super fitting,” Lucy said. “I also knew that she would have loved to take part in an event such as this as she was always up for a good time, and with touch being such a social sport I thought it would be possible to get lots of teams together.”
“The tournament is being held at the University of Birmingham where I play touch and am on the committee for the sport. It is happening on the 18th February for four hours in the afternoon, and at least 10 teams will be involved.
“As well as the actual tournament, there will be a raffle at the event with prizes from local businesses and other prizes as well.”
Lucy would like to raise £700 through entry fees and raffle sales, with all proceeds going to Maddy’s Mark. It’s a cause that feels close to home for Lucy, and the aim is to make the tournament an annual feature in the University of Birmingham calendar.
“It has been a consideration of the committee to keep this tournament running as an annual thing from now on in Maddy’s memory, and to support other women’s rugby and mental health charities as well. It has certainly been very popular so I am sure making it an annual tournament is a feasible task!”
Moving forward
Maddy's Mark continues to grow with the support of the rugby community. Maddy's Aunt Janine Gillard and her fiancée Phil Taylor recently cycled from Liphook to the Acropolis in Athens, raising over £15,000 for the charity. Maddy's Mark continues to move forward and has big plans for 2023.
Their first project is well underway, working to support the Bristol Bears community and the engagement of 11-13-year-old girls with rugby union. Simon Lawrence, Maddy's father, said: "Its roots lie in their two time parliamentary award-winning programme, the Eagle Project, with local schools being helped with more of the challenges girls and young women are facing in this day and age.
"We are really keen as this will complement the RFU funded school projects. We are hoping that this can be replicated at other clubs, so we have started to talk to London Irish, Saracens and Exeter."
The charity is also providing support to students at Maddy's university in Bristol. Simon continued: "We have also decided to support two students per year at Maddy's old uni, University of West England, with financial help so they can pay for their rugby sports kit, and we are paying for a team builder for the whole UWE squad to attend the Red Roses game on 29th April."
To support Maddy's Mark and for more information, visit www.maddysmark.com.
