NCA Rugby is very pleased to announce we have teamed up with Movember, the world’s leading men’s health charity.

Next month, Movember returns for its annual fundraiser which challenges men across the UK to grow a moustache in order to raise awareness for men’s health issues.

Movember will be entering its 12th year, and by growing a moustache, you can help fight male suicide as well as prostate cancer and testicular cancer. By partnering up with Movember, our aim is to encourage everyone connected with the National Leagues to raise funds and awareness for a good cause. In rugby, men’s health is a topic which is being talked about much more and more, but there’s still a long way to go in destigmatising men’s health issues.

The recent interview in The Guardian with former Wasps player Kearnan Myall highlights this as he discussed his battle with mental health – we believe it is important to use rugby and the National Leagues as platform to continue to raise awareness.

Bishop Stortford’s Dan Elsom is currently the press officer for the Movember Foundation whilst team mate George Cullen, who is one half of the Hairy Handlebars, is currently over in Japan after cycling to the Rugby World Cup all the way from London.

From the beginning of October to the end of November, we are asking clubs across all three divisions to help raise awareness and funds in as many ways as possible, whether that be a whole squad growing moustaches or running half-time competitions, match day collections, fundraising events…it is entirely up to you!

What we encourage you to do as an individual or a team is to sign up to Movember.com and you can then join our NCA Movember network where the money you raise will contribute to the overall NCA page total.

Also over the next two months, the latest NCA Podcast will be based on promoting Movember.com and the excellent work they do. Round 11 of the National Leagues will be the ‘Movember Round’ so we would love to see clubs double their efforts on the weekend of the 16th November.

Throughout the month, please do send us your best photos, videos etc so we can showcase your brilliant fundraising efforts across our website and social media.

For those who do not know too much about the Movember campaign, here are  a few stats which emphasise how important it is to help raise money and awareness for men’s health.

  • To date, through moustaches grown, connections created, and conversations generated, Movember has proudly welcomed over six million supporters and helped fund 1,250 innovative men’s health projects across twenty countries. But there is still plenty more to be done.
  • One man dies every 45 minutes from prostate cancer, while more than 333,000 are living with the disease. Twelve men a day take their own lives and three out of four suicides are by men, making it the biggest killer of males under 45 in the UK. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men, and although in most cases the outcome for men with the disease is positive, a 95% chance of survival is of no comfort to the one in twenty who won’t make it.

Movember is the leading charity dedicated to changing the face of men’s health in the UK and around the world. The charity recognises that globally, men are dying six years earlier than women due to common health issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide. Movember is aiming to reduce the number of men dying too young by 25% by 2030.

The charity’s vision is to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health. To donate or learn more, please visit Movember.com.