Your Scrumhalf Connection

Reposted from Rugbystrong.org:

via Lara Gill @ valkyriesrugby.org

In collaboration with the University of Minnesota Women’s Rugby Club, the Valkyries held an impressive clinic for local high school girls on Saturday April 17th, 2010. The all-day event, which began with an exciting scrimmage vs. the U of M, was attended by over 70 local high school rugby women and culminated with a BBQ and time to relax in the sunshine.

The three hour clinic introduced new rugby players to the basics of passing, team play, and tackling, while giving some of the more advanced players time to work on specifics with the coaching staff of over 15 U of M and Valkyrie players.

Sarah Reuter, the event’s organizer says that the event was a success because of “the huge number of people from both the Valkyries and the U of M that were willing to step-up and teach the girls the drills and games we do everyday. We have such a passion for rugby and so we were excited to pass that on the best we could.”

With the large turn-out and support, the teams now plan on making the spring clinic an annual event. “Feedback about the clinic was very positive, so we are already planning on doing it next year”, said Marissa Stevens, president of the U of M club. Rugby Fun in the Sun, as it was called, proved to be true as the weather was clear and in the mid 60’s all day. Event planners say you can expect another high school clinic to roll around next year during the month of April.

from WBIR.com:

McKenzie Hawkins starting playing rugby two years ago. That was when she was 11. Now 13-years-old, she is playing on the Maryville Girls Rugby Club. McKenzie just finished 7th grade. The rest of her teammates are all in high school.

While many girls shy away from the bumps and bruises, McKenzie brags about them. She says she fell in love with rugby the first time she got hit, and says she loves the adrenaline rush she gets from the sport.

McKenzie grew up around rugby though. He dad Jay coaches the Maryville Girls Rugby Club. Jay jokes that his daughter studies the sport more than he does and can beat him on rugby video games.

McKenzie hopes to continue rugby through high school and then on to college. Her main goal is to make the 2016 Olympic Team.

You can learn more about the Maryville Rugby Club at http://mrfcrugby.wordpress.com/

from Rugby South:

Ladies,

I am proud to announce that the Palmer College of Chiropractic is now offering 5 Women’s Rugby Scholarships.

We have a 50 year history of mainly men’s rugby, now we are ready to take the women’s program to the next level.

Contact Ron O Brien obrien_r@palmer.edu if you have any players interested in continuing to play the game they love while getting an awesome career.

Check out our 50th Anniversary Video and learn more about Chiropractic and our scholarships.

Learn more about the rugby-chiropractic connection at w3.palmer.edu/rugby

Good Luck in the World Cup!

Sincerely,

Dr.J Hartley President of the Palmer Rugby Alumni

MEDIA CONTACT: Cindy Mercer, President, Trinity Sports Partners, Cell: 917-952-3613,
Cindymercer@trinitysports.biz

2010 Mayor’s Cup Rugby Champions Crowned: Mayor’s Cup Rugby Festival A Huge Hit!

Canarsie High School Boys & South Bronx Girls take inaugural PSAL Championships, IS392 representing Romania and Epiphany School representing Ireland, win third Mayor’s Cup Middle School and Elementary School Championship Titles.

June 8, 2010 (New York City, NY) – The NYC Mayor’s Cup Rugby Festival this past Saturday, June 5th did not disappoint. Over 1000 people made the journey out to Randall’s Island under bright blue skies that brought humid heat but thankfully without rain, where 56 teams competed in nearly 120 matches for the coveted City Championship titles.

S. Bronx Girls celebrate a well deserved victory as the 1st ever PSAL Championship Rugby Sevens Team

The event now in its third year and sponsored again by HSBC Bank USA, N.A. (HSBC) continued to build upon past year’s success. A colorful opening ceremony showcasing 32 different national-themed jerseys and boasting bagpipers courtesy of the American Scottish Foundation and a Didgeridoo courtesy of the Australian Consulate General engaged the audience prior to the US Marine Corp’s presentation of the colors. The National Anthem was then sung perfectly by High School student Kiara Rodriguez before the players were sent off to their fields for a 15 minute early opening match kick off at 9:45am.

72 pool games were hotly contested on 12 fields prior to 11:30am at which point the administrators carefully seeded the teams for the playoffs. The playoffs consisted of a Cup, Plate, Bowl & Shield for elementary and middle school players enabling all teams a chance to win some silverware.

After the quarter finals 32 elementary and middle school teams remained in the running for the semis and took a welcome break to watch the inaugural Public School Athletics League Championship Finals which were contested in both boys’ and girls’ divisions between South Bronx Educational Campus and Canarsie Educational Campus (Brooklyn). Both games showcased some great rugby considering the students had only picked up a rugby ball for the first time just 7 weeks prior. The Canarsie Boys got the better of South Bronx on the day however, with a 20-0 win (in rugby you get 5 points for a “try” – similar to a touchdown in Football). There were no conversions (field goals) for this first Championship. The result was almost reversed for the girls whereby South Bronx defeated the Canarsie girls albeit with a late Canarsie fight back which resulted in a try to leave the final score 20-5.

At the middle school level the Plate, Bowl and Shield trophies were lifted by PS328 representing Kenya, Riverdale Community Center representing the USA and PS223 representing Canada. They defeated IS113 (Spain), School of the Future (South Africa) and PS52 (China) respectively. All games were tightly fought encounters with no winning margins being more than 1 or 2 Trys apart.

Epiphany School celebrate their third Mayor’s Cup title in the elementary school division

That left the elementary and middle school Cups to finish off the action for the day. For the third year running Epiphany School representing Ireland and IS392 representing Romania had made the finals and were defending their titles. For the youngsters PS178 representing the USA did themselves proud taking Epiphany to extra time after a 10-10 draw. In the sudden death however, Epiphany managed a well worked play down the sidelines to score the final Try to end the match victorious 15-10. In the Middle School Final IS49 representing Jamaica put on a huge effort not only to compete closely against IS392 but even to have made the final after their first ever

season of rugby. The match was fast paced, with end to end attacks and heroic defense leaving the score 20-15 in what was probably the best display of flag rugby in the last 3 years of the Mayor’s Cup Rugby Festival.

The Cups and individual player awards were then presented by Sir Alan Collins, KCVO, CMG, British Consul General; Ashley Parker, EVP HSBC; Donald Douglas, Executive Director, NYC Public Schools Athletics League; Lori Benson, Director, Office of Fitness and Health Education; and Jeff Mohl from NYC & Company and the NYC Sports Commission.

The tournament represented the best of New York City with the addition of 5 invitational teams from outside the city that work alongside Play Rugby USA. In total 19 teams participated from Manhattan, 12 from Brooklyn, 10 from the Bronx, 7 from Queens and 1 from Staten Island.

For a full listing of play-off results, and individual player awards, visit Play Rugby USA’s homepage. Photo highlights will be displayed later this week on Play Rugby USA’s Facebook Fan Club and the Rookie Rugby Club will full size images available for download at Play Rugby USA’s online Gallery. Spectators, players, parents and fans can also upload their images to this gallery.

IS392 students lift the Mayor’s Cup Rugby Festival Trophy after their third Championship victory!

———————————–
About Play Rugby USA®

Play Rugby USA is the youth development program run by Play Rugby, Inc – a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that focuses on “developing youth through rugby”. Play Rugby USA places careful emphasis on having fun, improving fitness and developing life skills through delivery of specially designed curriculum. For more information visit www.playrugbyusa.com.

Re-post from Rugby Buzz:

“We have players here who have been raped and molested. They have to let down their walls and get into each other’s comfort zones with this sport. Before you know it, they trust in humanity again.”

Today’s heartwarming story comes from Lakeland, Fla., where the New Life Academy uses rugby to help young women recover from personal traumas and tragedies. It’s another example of the healing power of a sport that requires the ultimate in determination and aggressiveness but then, when the game is over, you socialize with the opposition. Truly incredible.

“There’s a new attitude in the house,” New Life Academy director Greg Del Valle says. “The girls are taking ownership. Rugby promotes character, trust, loyalty and honor. You represent your program on and off the pitch. It really promotes behaving.”

And what do the girls say?

“I like the unity it brings,” says Anna Butler, 19, of Georgia. “You knock the crap out of somebody . . .”

“And at the end, both teams are nice to each other,” adds teammate Gabby Carretero, 18, of Fort Lauderdale.

I like the deck headline: “A little pain, a little peace.”

The NRU U-19 Girls All-Star tournament will be held at Gawet Memorial Field in West Rutland, Vermont, this year on the weekend of June 12th-13th. U-19 teams from NERFU, NYS, MetNY, and the Capital District LAUs are participating.

The Holiday Inn in Rutland, VT has $89 rooms for participants. Mention “girls rugby” when making your reservation to receive the rate. (http://www.hivermont.com/, (802) 775-1911‎, 476 US Route 7 South, Rutland, VT)

Interested in participating? Please contact your LAU representative:
New York State: gfehrman@cscos.com
METNY: gary@heavner.net
NERFU: cstonge41@yahoo.com
Capital District: cdyrugby@nycap.rr.com

Additional questions may be directed to Rosie at u19nrugirls@gmail.com.