The North Queensland Toyota Dealers and the Cowboys will continue the proud tradition of the annual junior rugby league training shirt handover to junior players across North Queensland this weekend.

Every junior league player in 47 clubs across North Queensland will receive a training shirt over 6-7 February in a joint effort across local Toyota dealerships in Townsville, Ayr, Charters Towers, Ingham, Mackay, Mareeba, Bowen, Proserpine and Mount Isa.

League juniors and supporters are invited to attend, with the opportunity for autograph signings and photographs and to enjoy a sausage sizzle with Cowboys players during the visits.

The local North Queensland Toyota Dealers are committed to supporting local junior rugby league and to nurturing the next generation of Cowboys stars, and are also proud to be principal sponsors of the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys, now for the seventh year.

North Queensland Toyota Dealers’ Chairman Robert Filby is delighted that the dealer network will be hosting the junior league event again in 2010.

“Rugby league is part of our community’s foundations and the benefits it generates for our young people through the junior league competition are priceless,” Filby says.

“We look forward to an excellent season of junior rugby league in the North and also wish our team, the Toyota Cowboys, every success in the national competition.”

Cowboys Executive Director Peter Parr says that the ongoing support for junior rugby league from the North Queensland Toyota Dealers demonstrates the dealer network’s commitment to the region.

“There’s no doubt that some of the best parts of living in North Queensland are the close-knit communities and the connection with local business, and the Toyota dealers are very much a part of that,” Parr says.

“Their ongoing contribution to rugby league in our region, through both the Cowboys and local junior league, is testament to their community spirit and belief in the importance of our code to North Queensland.”

In 2009, Toyota and the local North Queensland Toyota Dealers donated a Cowboys team shirt to nearly 7,000 children playing rugby league in the junior leagues clubs throughout North Queensland.

Almost 4000 new juniors aged 6 to18 years registered with rugby league clubs last year, to create a new junior participation record of 124,319 nationally.

Locations & times:

Mike Carney Toyota, Townsville
Date: Saturday 6 February, 9am-11am
Address: 154 Duckworth Street, Garbutt

Don West Toyota, Ayr
Date: Saturday 6 February, 10am-12pm
Address: 282 Queen Street, Ayr

Charters Towers Motors
Date: Saturday 6 February, 9am-11am
Address: 96 Mosman Street, Charters Towers

Ingham Toyota
Date: Saturday 6 February, 9am-11am
Address: 8-10 Halifax Road, Ingham

Mackay Toyota
Date: Sunday 7 February, 2pm-4pm
Address: Cnr Nebo Road & Shakespeare Street, Mackay

Mareeba Toyota
Date: Sunday 7 February, 9am-11am
Address: 279-283 Byrnes Street, Mareeba

Filby’s Motors, Bowen
Date: Sunday 7 February, 10.30am-12.30pm
Address: 49 Powell Street, Bowen

Filby’s Motors, Proserpine
Date: Sunday 7 February, 2pm-4pm
Address: 62 Main Street, Proserpine

Bell & Moir Toyota, Mount Isa
Date: Sunday 7 February, 6.30pm-7.30pm
Address: 86 Camooweal Street, Mt Isa