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USA Rugby Announces its Spring 2008 Championship Venues

Posted on December 11th, 2007 in National Championships, USA Rugby by DJLitten

BOULDER, Colo. – After careful consideration, USA Rugby is pleased to announce the locations of its spring 2008 National Championship Series.

The 2008 season features the official sponsorship between USA Rugby and the Army National Guard, an alliance that includes the title sponsorship of USA Rugby’s College and High School Championships as well as the select National Team.

“We are working with many new partners this year and looking forward to again raising the quality and visibility of the National Championship Series,” said Kim Brock, USA Rugby Director of National Championships.

The championship season will kick off in a new way in 2008. For the first time, all 48 teams competing in the USA Rugby National Guard Collegiate Playoffs will compete in one location. This collegiate rugby festival will provide endless opportunities for many ancillary events. USA Rugby will partner with the Albuquerque Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) in hosting this flagship event.

“We believe Albuquerque will provide everything to make this event all that it can be. Albuquerque offers a centralized, affordable location with an accessible airport and a city that is very easy to travel to and within,” Brock said. “The Balloon Fiesta Park offers pristine fields exclusively for this rugby festival.”

“Albuquerque is very excited and honored to be apart of this new event, which we think can trigger an outstanding growth in the sport of rugby,” said Tara Alarid, Sports Marketing Coordinator for the Albuquerque CVB.

The nation’s top men’s and women’s college squads will once again take the field at Steuber Rugby Stadium in Stanford, Calif. for the USA Rugby National Guard Collegiate Championships on May 2-3. The event will be hosted by Stanford University.

Having played host to the Senior Women’s Club Playoffs in this past fall, in May 2008 the Austin Rugby Club will host the Division I, II and III Senior Men’s Club Playoffs, which feature 40 of the country’s best Men’s Club teams. Last year the Austin Rugby Club finished in second place at the Division I finals.

Following the final approval by the Rugby Committee, the date of the USA Rugby National Guard Boy’s High School, and Boy’s and Girl’s U-19 Championships has settled on May 30 - June 1. The Pittsburgh Harlequins will host the event at Founders Field.

USA Rugby will also start another new relationship with a top notch facility close to home in Glendale, Colo. The city of Glendale is set to host the Senior Men’s Club Championships at Infinity Park. The stadium opened its gates in September 2007 and is home to the Glendale Raptors. Infinity Park is the first municipal U.S. rugby stadium and seats 5,000 spectators.

Army National Guard Partners with USA Rugby

Posted on October 31st, 2007 in National Championships, USA Rugby by DJLitten

Boulder, Colo.  (October 31, 2007) – USA Rugby and the Army National Guard announced today that they have signed an agreement that will make the Army National Guard an Official Sponsor of USA Rugby.  This deal includes title sponsorship of USA rugby’s College and High School Championships as well as select National Team.

This strategic partnership will enhance the support provided to the nations’ top performing rugby athletes in premier matches throughout the United States.  The National Guard’s sponsorship of USA Rugby will include events such as the U.S. National College Playoffs and Championships, the Boys and Girls High School Championships, the National Guard Military Challenge and select Men’s and Women’s Championship events.

“The National Guard is looking forward to partnering with USA Rugby,” said Col. Mike Jones, chief of the Army National Guard’s Strength Maintenance Division. “This initiative will reach communities across the nation, increasing awareness of the Army National Guard.  USA Rugby’s beliefs of lifelong camaraderie beyond the game and the greatest asset being the players are beliefs the Army National Guard shares.  These shared values are a big part of the reason I think both organizations will benefit from our partnership.”

In addition to title sponsorships, another added benefit of this new partnership is that in conjunction with official USA Rugby licensees, USA Rugby and the National Guard will also launch a comprehensive college kit campaign that will provide apparel and equipment to 300 college teams across the U.S.  All colleges in good standing with USA Rugby will be eligible to apply for the free college kit.

This partnership between USA Rugby and the National Guard also includes an array of highly visible sponsorship programs that will be announced throughout the ’07-’08 rugby season.

“This is great news for the sport of rugby in the U.S.,” Vice President of Business Development David Voth said.  “USA Rugby is always looking for the right kind of partner.  USA Rugby and the National Guard share several admirable traits among members, including character, strength, vision and intelligence.  A partnership with the National Guard will ensure positive exposure for both organizations at the highest level of play.”

USA Rugby Changes High School National Championship

Posted on October 25th, 2007 in High School Rugby, National Championships, USA Rugby by DJLitten

In a release sent out this week, USA Rugby has announced that they will change the structure of boys high school national championship as part of a long term transition to reshape the high school rugby game in America.

The changes for 2008 include the creation of an eight team competition Boys High School Championship for single high school teams (e.g. St. Edward, Gonzaga, Xavier, etc.), and a separate eight team competition championship for Boys’ U19 club teams (e.g. Westerville, Penn, Highland, etc.).

According to USA Rugby, the goal of the reorganization is to support the development of rugby as a mainstream high school sport, conceivably to allow rugby enter the various high school organizations, such as the OHSAA.

“The strategic goal for USA Rugby is to have rugby formally recognized and supported by High Schools,” said Peter Steinberg, Age-Grade Manager for USA Rugby.  “The new championship structure will support this goal by encouraging the formation of single high school teams, while allowing multi-school club teams to continue to compete.  The end of the transition will include separate tracks for high school and club teams so the game can be as inclusive as possible.”

Along with the format change and an addition of a girls U-19 national championship, the dates of the 2008 High School Championships has been changed from May 24-26th, 2008 to June 6 - 8, 2008 at Founders’ Field in suburban Pittsburgh.   The date was changed so teams could prevent traveling on Memorial Day at a premium cost.

You can view a run down of the changes at the Gainline blog.

Dates of Importance

Posted on August 30th, 2007 in State Championships, Fundraising, National Championships, Schedule by DJLitten

As we move forward this offseason, we thought it was a good idea keep in mind a few tentative dates that should be on everyone’s rugby calendar (in pencil of course).

October 27, 2007 - Clambake at OLA

March 21-30, 2008 - Easter Break

May 9, 2008 - St. Edward Prom

May 17-18, 2008 - Ohio High School Rugby State Championships

May 24-25, 2008 - USA Rugby High School National Championships

As always, these dates and locations are tentative.  In addition, we hope to have our league schedule completed in November.