Last season ended in a three way tie for 3rd place between Northshore, Brookfield and Kettle Moraine, with all three teams having a 4 and 3 record. The tie occurred because Brookfield defeated KM 29-10; Norhshore defeated Brookfield 30-7; and KM defeated Northshore 15-14.
The application of the experiminatal point system would have ranked Northrhore 3rd, Brookfield 4th, and KM 5th, but the rule was not in place at the start of the season. The pont system awards a team 4 ponits for a win; 2 points for a tie, and 1 bonus point for scoring 4 or more trys in a match; and 1 bonus point for losing by less than 7 points.
In the spirit of sportsmanship and competition, the coaches agreed to a one day, round-robin tournament this spring to see who will be Wisconsin's #3 seed. The games will be held at Nagawaukee Park, April 22, starting at 11:00 a.m. The winning team will emerge with bragging rights and the will represent Wisconsin in the open division of the Midwest tournament.
It is going to be an exciting day of rugby at Nagawaukee.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Even more on varsity girls rugby...
Given that it's spring break for most teams and this varsity status question has generated a lot of interesting responses, let's kick it around a little more. I decided to start a new post and ,link back to the post here to draw attention to the fact that the comments are on-going.
One commentator had some positive things to say which I think are worth repeating:
I agree with these points, and would add that if all individuals involved came to the table around a particular sport with these beliefs, there would be a lot of positive results. The attitude of the players, rugby coaches, parents, as well as school leaders and coaches of existing sports, is essential to moving forward (as the commentator appropriately coined it).
I have one more thought (for now), based on a conversation I had recently with a school administrator. Club sports should not come to the table demanding varsity status and demanding resources. This only creates conflict or potential conflict between the school community and the club. Rather, club sports, such as rugby, should come to the table and offer something of value to the school community, i.e. a new opportunity for student involvement and a set of supportive volunteers.
At this early stage in the game, having a positive school-club relationship (which allows teams to form an identity around the school and increases recruiting/publicity opportunities) far outweighs any short term gain from having varsity status. Varsity status will come over time as a result of overall growth in the sport, and not through pressure by individual clubs on individual school athletic programs.
I would note that other models, i.e. the community based model, have been very successful. Vernon has built its program through its park and recreation department. The focus on varsity/school based rugby should not overshadow the fact that local park and recreation departments have been and continue to be a real resource for the girls rugby clubs here in Wisconsin.
One commentator had some positive things to say which I think are worth repeating:
There are no negatives to interscholastic athletics...none.
Providing opportunities for student-athlete enrichment never has a down side.
Parents, BOE, AD's, coaches, teachers, community leaders will find a way if they have the students best interest as their focus
I agree with these points, and would add that if all individuals involved came to the table around a particular sport with these beliefs, there would be a lot of positive results. The attitude of the players, rugby coaches, parents, as well as school leaders and coaches of existing sports, is essential to moving forward (as the commentator appropriately coined it).
I have one more thought (for now), based on a conversation I had recently with a school administrator. Club sports should not come to the table demanding varsity status and demanding resources. This only creates conflict or potential conflict between the school community and the club. Rather, club sports, such as rugby, should come to the table and offer something of value to the school community, i.e. a new opportunity for student involvement and a set of supportive volunteers.
At this early stage in the game, having a positive school-club relationship (which allows teams to form an identity around the school and increases recruiting/publicity opportunities) far outweighs any short term gain from having varsity status. Varsity status will come over time as a result of overall growth in the sport, and not through pressure by individual clubs on individual school athletic programs.
I would note that other models, i.e. the community based model, have been very successful. Vernon has built its program through its park and recreation department. The focus on varsity/school based rugby should not overshadow the fact that local park and recreation departments have been and continue to be a real resource for the girls rugby clubs here in Wisconsin.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Vernon.... still a strong #2
As reported by the sir, Vernon defeated Kettle Moraine (a #3 finisher last season) this past Friday, 32-5. Vernon demonstrated that it's #2 position from the Fall is well-deserved as it heads towards the Mid-West Tournament as Wisconsin's number 2 seed.
Is it possible that Wisconsin will repeat last year's performance where Wisconsin teams captuered the #1 (DSHA) and #2 (Vernon Park) spots in the Midwest Tournament?
Wisconsin should be proud of its repeated success at the Midwest Tournament and the ability of both its #1 and #2 seed to advance in the tournement brackets.
Is it possible that Wisconsin will repeat last year's performance where Wisconsin teams captuered the #1 (DSHA) and #2 (Vernon Park) spots in the Midwest Tournament?
Wisconsin should be proud of its repeated success at the Midwest Tournament and the ability of both its #1 and #2 seed to advance in the tournement brackets.
Monday, April 9, 2007
More on Varsity Girls Rugby
I recieved a comment over the weekend regarding the March 27, 2007 post on Varsity Women's rugby. Link to original post and comment. Unfortuneately, the anonymous commenter missed the point of the original blog and made several unfortunate distortions of my position.
First, the commenter took the post as a slam on USA Rugby. However, the post actually cretids USA Rugby with initiating a serious conversation about how to bring about varsity rugby.
Second, my comments were not oppossed to varsity status, rather a caution that varsity status is not an automatic solution to rugby's problem. In fact, the commenter and I seem to agree that there would be benefits to varsity status, i.e. legitimacy within the school, access to another, well organized sports structure and more exposure. (In fact, the orignal post pointed out that a two tier club/varisty stem "may not be a bad result if it means more exposure to rugby for everyone.").
Third, I think the original post indicates, and I would stil maintain, that capacity is a real issue for rugby community at this stage of the game. Creating "varsity" programs assumes that we can find enough coaches, referees, (and not to mention players) to have that happen. These resources need to be developed locally. The question is not "how do we get varsity status?" but "how do we build capacity?"
Ultimately, if rugby achieves varsity status it will be because of (and not in spite of) the success of the current club teams. Only when our club teams are strong and regularly drawing players, will there be enough evidence to encourage school districts to sponsor varsity programs. No school or athlectic association is going to "give" varsity status to rugby, varsity status must be earned by building a strong base.
Finally, I want to comment on the rugby volunteer/ownership comment. For rugby to grow, each participant (parent, player, coaches, etc..) must "own" rugby. Without investment in the process, rugby won't grow. However, I would agree with the commenter that this sense of "ownership" is dangerous if it leads to the exclusion of "non-rugby" people --- a term I dislike. Rugby needs to do a better job at brining people in and showing them that this is a legitimate, fun, and exciting sport for all involved.
First, the commenter took the post as a slam on USA Rugby. However, the post actually cretids USA Rugby with initiating a serious conversation about how to bring about varsity rugby.
Second, my comments were not oppossed to varsity status, rather a caution that varsity status is not an automatic solution to rugby's problem. In fact, the commenter and I seem to agree that there would be benefits to varsity status, i.e. legitimacy within the school, access to another, well organized sports structure and more exposure. (In fact, the orignal post pointed out that a two tier club/varisty stem "may not be a bad result if it means more exposure to rugby for everyone.").
Third, I think the original post indicates, and I would stil maintain, that capacity is a real issue for rugby community at this stage of the game. Creating "varsity" programs assumes that we can find enough coaches, referees, (and not to mention players) to have that happen. These resources need to be developed locally. The question is not "how do we get varsity status?" but "how do we build capacity?"
Ultimately, if rugby achieves varsity status it will be because of (and not in spite of) the success of the current club teams. Only when our club teams are strong and regularly drawing players, will there be enough evidence to encourage school districts to sponsor varsity programs. No school or athlectic association is going to "give" varsity status to rugby, varsity status must be earned by building a strong base.
Finally, I want to comment on the rugby volunteer/ownership comment. For rugby to grow, each participant (parent, player, coaches, etc..) must "own" rugby. Without investment in the process, rugby won't grow. However, I would agree with the commenter that this sense of "ownership" is dangerous if it leads to the exclusion of "non-rugby" people --- a term I dislike. Rugby needs to do a better job at brining people in and showing them that this is a legitimate, fun, and exciting sport for all involved.
Monday, April 2, 2007
A new up and coming powerhouse...
The spring is always an interesting season. The top teams from the Fall are preparing for runs at Midwest and National titles; there is no structure to the schedule; and teams are trying to train new players, build their base and prepare for the fall conference.
One score from this weekend made me stand up and take note.... Northsore v. Muskego (15-5).
Northsore placed 3rd in the fall and Muskego 6th. This past fall, Northshore downed Muskego 38-0. But rumor has it that Muskego has spent the winter recruiting and building this still young team which now fields 2 full sides. And it certainly seems the efforts have paid-off. Moreover, with Northore's recent success on tour in California, there is no doubt that Northshore put up a fight this past weekend. By narrowing the point difference to 10 points, Muskego is clearly throwing its hat in the ring to be in the top half of the conference this fall.
Muskego may just be the up-and-coming team for the fall conference. As always, the questions for the fall...who is losing seniors and how many?
One score from this weekend made me stand up and take note.... Northsore v. Muskego (15-5).
Northsore placed 3rd in the fall and Muskego 6th. This past fall, Northshore downed Muskego 38-0. But rumor has it that Muskego has spent the winter recruiting and building this still young team which now fields 2 full sides. And it certainly seems the efforts have paid-off. Moreover, with Northore's recent success on tour in California, there is no doubt that Northshore put up a fight this past weekend. By narrowing the point difference to 10 points, Muskego is clearly throwing its hat in the ring to be in the top half of the conference this fall.
Muskego may just be the up-and-coming team for the fall conference. As always, the questions for the fall...who is losing seniors and how many?
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