More on the wee ones...

I just want to put out there that the Oconomowoc and Waukesha park and recreation programs are both off to good starts with youth (1st-4th grade) rugby. The Oconomowoc program is in its 3 week this Saturday and has 12 participants. The Waukesha program has 15 registered participants, but on the first day 22 kids showed up.

It has been great to see the rugby community pull together to offer this program to area youth. While some of the participants are children of rugby players, a majority of kids and their families are being exposed to rugby for the first time and having a very positive experience.

New Girls Play-Off Format..

The Wisconsin Girls Rugby teams have divided into 2 pools or conferences for the Fall Season play. All teams will play a five week season, which includes playing each team in the pool and one non-conference match against the ranked team in the opposing pool. At the end of the five weeks of pool play, the top 8 teams will enter into a three week play-off. All the final matches will be held on October 28, 2007 at Nagawaukee park. Final rankings from the Fall season are used to determine who advances to the Midwest in the Spring and Pool seedings for the following fall.

Brookfield Bruiser's site posted a handy summary of the new play-off system on their website. Right below the Bruiser's schedule, the new pools are listed and if you click on the link to State Playoff Schedule, it will take you to the brackets for the last three weeks of the season.

Picture of the Week

A Fond du Lac (FDL) defender takes down a Brookfield ball carrier during Brookfield's 23-12 victory over FDL on June 2, 2007. I think this was the actual last game of the Spring 2007 season. FDL played a strong game, keeping Brookfield on the defensive for much of the fist half. However, Brookfield triumphed with speed out-wide and relentless goal-line defense. It is going to be an interesting fall with so many teams beginning to hit their stride.

Youth Rugby Update

This is an update about Tag Rugby programs this summer for youth (1st to 8th Grade) Wisconsin:

In the City of Waukesha, the particulars are as follows:

DATES: Saturday Mornings, from June 9 through June 30;
TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (the hour goes quickly)
LOCATION: Mindiola Park (off of Sunset Dr. in Waukesha)

The program has 12 participants registered, but we are hoping for a bump in the final week of a few more kids. Their website is www.ci.waukehsa.wi.us. and I believe they are still accepting registrations.

The City of Oconomowoc is also running a four week program, running saturday mornings, starting on June 2, 2009. Information is available on thier website, www.oconomowocusa.com.

The West Bend Boys and Girls Club will be running a tag rugby program for elementary school aged children. They will be holding a high interest day on June 23, 2007, starting at 2:00 p.m.

Fond du Lac Rugby Club, in conjunction with the Fond du Lac park and recreation department is holding tag rugby programs, starting July 30 for children in grades 4-8. More information is available at www.fdlrugby.com..

All of these programs are co-ed and are a great introduction to rugby for players (and parent) with no experience or knoweldge about rugby.

If anyone knows about other programs, plesae leave a comment and spread the word.

The last games of Spring..

CMH travels to take on Northshore at Friedenfeld Park in Germantown at noon this Saturday.

On Wenesday, May 23, Brookfield defeated Muskego 20-0 and Muskego-B downed CMH-B (score unreported).

I think next week will wrap-up everyone's Spring season. KM is hosting an alumnae game June 6, 2007 at 5:00. KM's alumnae game is a real tribute to the success of that program. Last year, the Alumnae showed up in force and KM played a full 15-a-side game. While the alumnae dominated play the first half using the wisdom of experience, age caught up with the alumnae in the second half. Good luck KM alum!

Also up-coming is Brookfield's and Fond du Lac's final game. They meet on June 2, 2007 at Minooka Park at 1:00 p.m.

I am pretty sure that these games are the wrap-up for the Spring Season for anyone that wants to get out and see one final game before the summer.

Youth (6-8 year old) Rugby begins...

On May 21, 2007, The Oconomowoc Park and Recreation Department held its first high interest day for 1st and 2nd grade students. Six little tykes showed up and learned about tag rugby from two Kettle Moraine Girls RFC players. By the end of the hour, these little kids became little ruggers, and played a 3 v. 3 game of tag rugby.

Oconomowoc and Waukesha Park and recreation departments are both sponsoring co-ed tag rugby programs this June. Hopefully these programs will grow and expand in the fall as well, depending upon support and interest.

Announcing our newest arrival ....

Oak Creek RFC. The Wisconsin Girls Rugby Conference welcomes this new addition. The OC is already gearing up and training for the Fall 2007 season under the auspices of Tony Oliver, former head coach for Northshore RFC. Check out thier website to great links to rugby promotional videos.

Northshore is continuing with a new coaching staff, Katie Ehr and Pam Waters. Katie and Pam formerly coached the Whitefish Bay RFC which merged with Northshore in the Spring of 2007. Katie and Pam are alumnae of the DSHA RFC. As the Girls Rugby league grows and ages, we are looking forward to more alumnae, from all our teams, returning to coach, referee and help-out.

As always, girls interested about joining (or starting) a team can follow the links on the side of this page to their local club and contact the coach. All teams (except DSHA and Catholic Memorial) accept high school age players from their local community or neighboring communities.