More than 13,000 adults played in this summer's league, run by the Irish Tag Rugby Association (ITRA).

ITRA recruited and trained over 270 referees in this year's competition, making it the biggest and best so far, with 65 of the top tag teams in the country getting a chance to represent their venue on a national stage in the Volvic All Ireland Finals.

ITRA extends its congratulations to all the players and supporters who took part in the Volvic Summer League, especially all 850 captains for rounding up the troops each week, arranging team jerseys, making sure everyone arrived for kick off on time by arranging lifts, public transport time tables etc. Well done captains!

Thanks also to the ITRA tag players for their good humour, enthusiasm and friendliness both during and after their matches, making the nine weeks so enjoyable for everyone involved.

Helen Kenny of the Irish Tag Rugby Association said:

"On behalf of ITRA, I would like to thank everyone who played a role in making the Volvic Summer League such a success, including the Captains, ITRA Venue Managers, ITRA Referees, the bar and BBQ staff of each venue, and especially our Title Sponsors Volvic, who rehydrated all Tag Players throughout the season with complementary water.

Over the course of the season, they handed out a staggering 63,000 bottles of Volvic water to ITRA tag players over 130 nights of tag action."

Kern Kinnear, Country Manager for Volvic, agreed with these sentiments by adding "The Volvic All Ireland Finals have been the high point of a great year for both Volvic as a brand and our association with ITRA.

"Volvic has been the Title Sponsor for the Summer and Spring Tag Rugby Leagues in 2006, as well as supporting the One Day Blitz events nationwide.

We at Volvic Natural Mineral Water are now delighted to announce that our sponsorship will continue for a further three years and we look forward to playing our part in the growth of this fantastic sport."

Volvic All Ireland Finals Winners and Runners Up 2006 From the action on display over the summer, it is clear that the standard of play has improved dramatically from previously years.

The tough training sessions which teams put in over the cold, wet spring months in parks around the country obviously paid off with the 2006 Volvic All Ireland Finals being the most competitive and skilful event in ITRA's seven year history.

Overall 65 teams from the 13 ITRA venues took part in the Volvic All Ireland Finals with the winner and runners up in each event listed below.

After the presentation of prizes, players retired to the bar to celebrate their successful seasonand enjoyed the social side of Tag Rugby until well into the night!

Volvic "Spirit of Tag" Winners 2006 To encourage the true spirit of Tag Rugby, Volvic presented one team in each ITRA Venue with the prestigious 'Spirit of Tag' award. This award, which was voted for by the referees of that venue, recognises the teams who showed the best enthusiasm, good humour and positive attitude on and off the pitch and throughout the season.

Congratulations to the 13 teams listed here who were proud recipients of the Volvic Spirit of Tag award for their venue.

Each captain was presented with an exclusive trophy and a complete set of limited edition rugby jerseys for their team, courtesy of Volvic.

Raymond Weil Team Player of the Year Many teams wouldn't have been playing Tag Rugby this year, or doing so well, without the effort put in by certain members of their team.

To recognize the significant influence of these individuals, Raymond Weil awarded one Male and one Female player a Tango Sport watch for their efforts over the season and crowned them the "Team Player of the Year".

The winner of the Male Award was Eugene Canavan of Hospital Pass, while Angela Haran of the Stelfox Stunners picked up the Female Award.

Well done to both players!

Next Year ITRA is looking forward to seeing you all again next summer . . . make sure you are signed up to the ITRA Newsletter to find out when registration for the 2007 season kicks off.

To sign up for the Newsletter, go to www. tagrugby. ie and enter your email address in the box on the top left hand corner.

To register your team for one of the end-of-season Volvic One Day Blitz tournaments, simply go to the ITRA website (www. tagrugby. ie) and click on "One Day Blitzes" in the Main Menu.

Places are limited so register today to avoid disappointment.

Remember, it's only just over ten months until the Volvic Tag Summer League of 2007!