A highlight of the award-winning community partnership, the tournament kickstarts this week with its first qualifying matches at Scotstoun Stadium and was officially launched on Wednesday 21st January with six schools and Warriors’ Hooker Gregor Hiddleston in attendance. The final will take place in May.
The Championship has been established to improve access to grassroots level rugby by enabling schools across the country to compete on the biggest stage, whilst also exposing students to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) opportunities that they may not have previously considered. 20 schools will compete for the 2026 trophy, with Troon’s Marr College looking to secure the crown for a third straight year.
Kenny Brown, Glasgow Warriors Managing Director, commented: “We’re proud to once again launch the SP Energy Networks Warriors Championships and continue a partnership that delivers real impact for young people across Scotland.
“The Championships go beyond rugby, shining a spotlight on the importance of STEM education while helping to widen access to the game.
"By bringing sport and learning together, we hope to inspire pupils both on and off the pitch as they begin their journey in this year’s competition.”.
In an exciting first, this year’s launch event was hosted at our Dealain House training facility in Cumbernauld, giving students the chance to tour training areas for teams including jointing and pole climbing.
Iain Divers, Head of Distribution Networks at SP Energy Networks, added: “It was great to be able to welcome the students to Dealain House and show them a small selection of work we do to keep the lights on. I hope we were able to inspire some budding future engineers.”
From a schools perspective, Rory Cooper, School of Rugby Lead at Irvine Royal Academy, also noted: “This is our second shot at the Championship. As a new rugby playing school, we have introduced lots of pupils to rugby for the first time. The growth in our programmes been massive, with SP Energy Networks being one of those drivers. The pupils are desperate to come up and play at Scotstoun again, the home of the Warriors”.
