The Australian Women’s Rugby Team helped York Bid to spruce up the city centre this week! Photograph: Supplied
Sat 30 Aug 2025
@ 10:18am
Rachel Rogers
News
York city centre received a refresh this week – courtesy of the Australian Women’s Rugby World Cup team who joined the York BID team to brighten up King’s Staith.
17 Wallaroos players got stuck in painting bike racks, benches, and bollards to spruce up the riverside area after a busy summer in the city.
The volunteering session marked York’s role as one of the host cities for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, with six matches set to be played at York Community Stadium.
The session was also part of York BID’s Rejuvenation Days – a volunteer-powered project to keep York looking its best by repainting tired-looking street furniture.
Since the initiative launched in January 2024, over 300 volunteers have dedicated their time to paint 1,740 pieces of individual infrastructure. A total 66 streets across York have been refreshed.
The Australian Women’s Rugby Team and York Bid
Carl Alsop, operations manager at York BID, said: “It’s been brilliant to welcome the Australian Women’s Rugby Team to York and see them get involved with our Rejuvenation project.
“We’ve made fantastic progress throughout the year thanks to our committed volunteers and are looking forward to finishing the year on a high with the September sessions.”
Australia play the USA in their first match at York Community Stadium on Saturday 30 August.
Piper Duck, Australian rugby team member, said: “It’s always nice giving back to the community – everyone has been so welcoming in the UK!
“Since we’ve been here in York, we’ve had so much love from the community so being able to give back and have some fun while doing it is great.”
If you would like to join the Australian Rugby Team in their efforts to make a difference to York city centre, York BID is calling for more local volunteers to join its upcoming Rejuvenation Days in September:
Tuesday 9 September
Thursday 11 September
Tuesday 16 September
Thursday 18 September
To find out more and to sign up to volunteer, visit the Eventbrite page here.