Welsh Kids Design World Champions' Rugby Kits

Kids across Wales are getting the chance to design the kits that world champions will wear when they defend their titles in Tokyo this fall.

Specsavers stores throughout Wales have launched a coloring competition inviting children to create the jerseys for both the men's and women's Wales Deaf Rugby teams. The squads are preparing to defend their world titles at the 2025 Deaf Rugby 7s World Championship in Japan this October and November.

Two winners will be chosen, one for each team. Their designs will be transformed into actual game jerseys, and each winner receives a replica kit to keep. Two runners-up will take home £50 coloring hampers.

The competition runs through August 1st. Parents can grab coloring sheets from any Specsavers location in Wales and return completed entries to the same store.

Both Welsh teams earned their champion status in Córdoba, Argentina, in 2023. Now they're gearing up to prove themselves again on the world stage, competing against teams from around the globe.

Siân-Elin Melbourne, Chair of Wales Deaf Rugby, played on the first women's team back in 2019. "Support from Specsavers and their customers doesn't just help with travel and kits," she says. "It sends a message to our players that they are valued, believed in and backed by their communities."

The Ripple Effect

The partnership does more than fund jerseys. It covers training and travel costs that make competing possible for these athletes.

It also gives hearing-impaired rugby players visibility they rarely receive. When kids across Wales sit down to design these kits, they're learning about deaf athletes who compete at the highest levels.

Lizzie Broughton from Specsavers notes that supporting the deaf community aligns perfectly with their work as hearing specialists. The company's 11 Welsh audiology businesses have already contributed toward the team's £150,000 fundraising goal.

Young artists now have until August 1st to show the world what Wales looks like through their eyes.