‘Befriend a Bear Match’ May 7th v Keighley Cougars

Watching sport at home on the TV is fine but doesn’t compare to actually being there, feeling involved with your local team, experiencing the knocks, facing up to adversity, enjoying the victory and just being part of a live, exciting and often unpredictable event.

It’s also a great way to make friends from different backgrounds through a common interest and can form part of a healthier and happier approach to life as a whole.

Over the past couple of years, Coventry Bears have been actively making a lot of new friends across Coventry and Warwickshire, whether its attending the games, joining in with fitness sessions or being one of the thousands of youngsters enjoying their first touch of a rugby ball.

Bears supporting Age UK Coventry

But there are a lot of lonely people out there, and that’s why the Bears are teaming up with Age UK Coventry for the next home game. Age UK Coventry are one of Coventry Bears’ Charity Partners and they do great work locally in the City.

Age UK Coventry provide advice on matters facing older people and their relatives and carers free of charge, and they help older people keep more independent for longer. They also run a ‘befriending’ scheme, where befrienders are paired with older people to help combat loneliness.

It is this ‘befriending’ that Coventry Bears want to support at the next home game against Keighley on May 7th. Players, staff and volunteers will be reaching out to different sections of the local community, hoping to bring some new faces to join their established family of friends at the Butts Park Arena.

Here’s how you can help

The fans and supporters can also play their part in ‘Befriend a Bear’, and here’s some of the ways you can do this;

The spirit of the event takes Age UK’s befriending scheme, and the combatting of loneliness as its inspiration, so how about inviting an older person that you know, maybe a relative or a neighbour and inviting them along for their first taste of Bears Rugby League?
Alternatively, you may have had a conversation with a friend or work colleague where you told them how you spend your summer Sunday afternoons, so why not take it a stage further and properly introduce them to the greatest game?
Or maybe just reach out across the dinner table and invite your spouse, partner, kids or parents along for their first game? Very soon they could be part of a much bigger family,

How the event works

Coventry Bears are encouraging people to book tickets online for this event and to buy a discounted Bears match ticket for a friend, family member or person within your community who could benefit from a day out at the Bears.

Tickets will be at the discounted price of only £9.00 for this special event to encourage new people to attend.

There will also be a charity raffle on the day with all proceeds going to the Age UK Coventry.

The spirit of the event is about encouraging new friends, family and the older and more vulnerable people in the community to come along. We would also encourage fans to promote our offer to local community groups.

Hope to see you there!