| Perfect Motion Touch is made successful by the normal people who come together to play the sport. The majority of them have no rugby background and have found Touch easy to pick up and enjoy. Here are a few of their stories:
Jo Lindsey - (Captain of FC Fraggle Ruck) I started playing Touch 2 seasons ago, as two girls from work had previously played and said how much fun it had been. We spread the word around the office, and gained a lot of interest so decided to sign up a Freeth Cartwright team. Although slightly unnerving at first, having never touched a rugby ball before, and seeing how sporty all the other teams looked practicing on the pitch, it wasn't long before all the girls had splashed out on new football boots and were loving it! It was a great way to interact with colleagues as well as meet new people from the area. It is easy to pick up, and something you can really get your teeth into. The exercise is great and the game is a lot of fun. All our team members have improved tremendously and we even find ourselves talking tactics at the pub after the game! I look forward to each week and can't wait to get my boots on! I'm now captain of our Freeths team and have made lots of new friends as a result.
Chris Wade - (Plays for Sage in Newcastle) I got into Touch when I moved from London to Newcastle a few years back. I was looking for something different to do in the evenings and came across Sage’s Touch team on the intranet at work. I’d never really played rugby before and hadn’t heard of Touch so I was a bit unsure what to expect but I’m glad I went along. Some of the rules were a bit different from what you see in rugby on TV but the its easy to pick up the basics and the games are always fast and good fun. We play all year round which is great for keeping fit! The sport, and the club, is just the right balance of being really friendly and fun but competitive at the same time. There’s rarely a bad word spoken even during the hardest games (a fact I appreciate even more now I’ve started refereeing) and afterwards there’s always plenty of socialising. Most people that play are into it to have fun and stay fit so it makes for a great atmosphere. I would urge everybody and anybody to at least give it a try.
Joanna Simon - (Captain of the Black Eyed Bees) I got into Touch through my husband. I'd heard of it before as my friend had played in the Cardiff league but I never considered it as I was still into water polo then. I retired, "gracefully", from water polo after I had my second child - I was starting to spend more time under the water than on top of it!!! I needed something to fill the sporting gap though. I took up running which is great for fitness but I much prefer team sports and have always played ball sports (netball, hockey and mainly water polo). I also wanted a bit of a social life of my own having moved to Nottingham to be with my other half and left all my close friends in Bristol (the water polo team!) The Bees have been great for me - we are all mad for Touch! We all get on really well and seem to have come from bottom of the league to top of the league in just a few years.... we are currently looking to set up a trophy cabinet! This shows that anyone can do it and that the sport really is for everyone. I've now had a third child and continue to play and enjoy it as much as I've always done. Go on, give it a go!
Laura Vesty - (Captain of Old Warwickians) A colleague at work moved to Warwick from Manchester and was trying to set up a Touch Rugby group on a Monday night. I said I'd come along for one practice to show my support but didn't think I'd like it. I'm not a particularly active person and I didn't really want to commit another night of the week. I tried it the first time and really enjoyed playing. It took a few weeks for us to get into it and get used to the  rules and since then it's just got better and better. It's now over 2 years on and we moved from playing in the park to playing at the Warwickians Rugby Club in Warwick with floodlights so we can play right the way through the winter. The more I learn about the game and tactics the more enjoyable it gets. I love playing Touch Rugby because it's not often you get the opportunity as an adult to run as fast as your legs can possibly carry you with people chasing after you. The adrenaline rush and endorphine release is amazing. It's a great way of keeping in shape too. The team are also fantastic with a great variety of people and we have loads of social nights out. Playing in tournaments has been the icing on the cake with us all being on the same side with great team spirit and really having to raise our game against excellent opposition teams.
James 'Pazza' Parratt (Plays at Derby and has represented our Touring Squad) "I only got into Touch by accident. I played rugby when I was younger but I started to lose my interest as it started to get really serious. I stopped playing for about 7 years and had just focused on keeping fit in the gym. I randomly got a call from a mate one night and he asked if I fancied giving Touch a go - so I did. "The first match I played was tough - I wasn't in as good a shape as I thought! I was surprised with how fast the game was and how much constant movement was involved. I was thankful for the rolling substitutions as it allowed me to have a breather! "The rules were easy to pick up and there was no pressure to play like a Jonny Wilkinson, I could be me. People didn't mind if you made a mistake and as a result my confidence grew really quickly. It's great playing with the girls too as it makes the guys play properly. "On the back of playing in the Leicester League I was able to play as part of the Perfect Motion Touring Team and played at Cambridge, Thames Valley and Newcastle. We won the last 2 tournaments we played in and had a great time. I have some cracking memories from this Summer and some new friends and it's all thanks to Touch!"
Ruth Lewin (Plays at Derby & Leicester and has represented our Touring Squad)
“I had my second son thirteen weeks ago. After eight weeks of doing nothing other than mothering I decided it was time to get myself back in shape and feeling good about myself again. So I went and played Touch and the results have been dramatic. "Touch, is a form of rugby that focuses on mixed participation, social interaction and fun. It is a minimal contact sport where men and women can co-exist together, irrelevant of skill, fitness or previous experience.  “I visited the Leicester league with my sister and joined her mixed team. There were only five weeks of the season left, but it looked a lot of fun. I must admit that I was nervous about playing against men, as rugby is seen as such a tough sport, but this was completely different. If anything I was making bigger tackles than the men! “It was always obvious that the women were the focus, the men were only there to enable us to play. The rules even state that a team can be penalised for not using their women. It was a very enjoyable experience with gorgeous guys helping us learn how to play and encouraging us to take an active part. “The sporting aspect made the exercise fun, but the most impressive part, for me, was the weight loss. After five weeks I was within touching distance of my pre-pregnancy weight, a considerable loss considering that I was only doing 40 minutes of exercise a week! “The really great part is that I didn’t have to do anything different in my day to day life. I still ate the same foods and spent the majority of my time looking after my two boys, and yet the weight still kept coming off. "It really is great fun and I look forward to the matches every week!" | 
