A Trip To Wales...

I had the good fortune of visiting my brother over the holidays in Wales the week before Christmas. Secretly, the real reason was to go and see the derby matches between the Welsh regional rugby teams. I was lucky enough to have tickets to see all four regions play each other during the course of the weekend: the Scarlets v. Blues and Dragons v. Ospreys . It was a wonderful experience and some exciting rugby... especially the Dragons v. Ospreys match. I am not much of a travel story writer, but if you bare with me, this story has some relationship to girls rugby in Wisconsin (at least tangentially).

When I arrived in Wales, I received the most through interrogation from any border security guard that i have ever received. What is the purpose of your visit? A vacation. The border guard was very suspicious that anyone would be taking a holiday to Wales in December. This kicked off a long interrogation. What do you plan to do in Wales, exactly? I plan to watch rugby matches. The guard then forced me to recount the names of teams, the dates of matches and the stadiums I would be visiting to prove my case for entry. At the end of the interrogation, he snorted and added, "I didn't even think there was rugby in the U.S." When I explained that the U.S. is the reigning Olympic gold medal champions and that we defeated France in France for the honor, he let me through with a laugh.

On Saturday, I took an hour train ride out to Llanelli to watch the Scarletts play the Blues. There was no easy way from the train station to the brand new, and quite impressive stadium. After wandering around downtown Llanelli for a bit (and I regret that I didn't take the time to stop and try the local cuisine -- evidently Llanelli is famous for its cockles), I eventually found a taxi and headed over to watch the match. Quickly identifying my strange accent, the driver asked where I was from and what I was doing in Wales in December. I informed the driver that I was from Wisconsin and that I came all this way to see a rugby match or two. "Oh, WisconsinTon [sic], I didn't know there was rugby there" was the reply.

The taxi dropped me off at the Parc y Scarletts and I went in to the will-call office to collect my tickets, but the front office could not find them. There was a moment of complete panic when the ticket agent gave up looking and said, sorry there's just no ticket here for you. Luckily, one of the other ticket agents leaned over and confirmed that yes, she remembered selling me a ticket over the phone as I was the guy with the strange accent from the USA. She remembered selling me a ticket because she thought at the time, how odd, there's no rugby in the USA. So, with a little extra effort, the ticket was located.

With the ticket finally in hand, I settled in to watch the match. I had stand-in tickets, standing at a railing just a few yards from the pitch, watching the match. I was surrounded by a good natured group of Scarlets fans. Eventually, the topic of the accent and being from the USA did come up. And, of course, the woman next to me kindly explained how rugby in the U.S. was cr-p. Then, she added, but women's rugby in the U.S., now that's phenomenal. All I could say was, yeah, I know.

So, next time you take the field to play high school girls rugby in Wisconsin, you should know that you are playing rugby in a country renowned for its women's rugby worldwide and that, even in one of the home nations of rugby (where the very existence of men's rugby in the U.S. is constantly questioned), those who know and play women's rugby have tremendous respect for the caliber of our play. I think we should all be proud of the little parts we play in the grass-roots efforts that make this possible.

Intervieview with USA Rugby's Coach of the Year

Here is an exclusive interview filed by one of our field correspondents who caught up with USA Rugby's Coach of the Year, John "Chin" Klien from DSHA RFC:

What did this award mean to you?
It's hard to put into words. I never thought I'd receive a national award when i first started. I never thought my team's would be as successful as we've become. It's truly an honor to be chosen from among so many great coaches around the country. I hope this award continues and that more coaches are recognized for their efforts in building programs across the country. There are so many deserving people out there and I'm thankful USA Rugby and World Rugby Shop were generous enough to recognize these efforts.

How long have you been involved with Wisconsin Girls Rugby?
11 years, since the 1998-9 Season-You've been involved in Wisconsin Girls Rugby for all but the first two years of its existence.

How has it changed?
It's changed dramatically, and grown from one team to ten.We began playing college sides, since there were no high school teams to play. We sometimes travelled 4 hours to Carmel or Noblesville, Indiana for our one high school match. Scheduling has become much easier.It's an organization now. Us coaches meet on a bi-annual basis and discuss how we can make this league better. Before it was just about building a league. We had coaches leave DSHA to develop teams and other new teams crop up on their own. We've given a lot more girls the opportunity to play a sport we all cherish and hopefully that is passed on to them and will be passed on to others.The rugby game itself has changed so much. It went from such an offensive game to such a defensive game. The level of play for H.S. Girls has increased and continues to increase. The athletes who play now have changed so much. We're getting top level athletes.

You were there when Wisconsin hosted the first girls National Invitational Tournament (The NIT) in 2000, a grassroots movement to improve competition, with six teams attending from the Midwest (DS, Wayzata), West (Ft Collins, Summitt), MARFU (Doylestown), and Pacific Coast (Kent). Looking back, what do you think of that event?

Awesome! From a perspective of now, it was the start of high school girls rugby growing throughout the entire country. It gave young ladies the opportunity to play for a national championship. It was an incredible effort among the grassroots coaches that really wanted something more to play for. It's just grown every year. Wonderful start. It gave girls a unique opportunity that not many H.S. sports offer. Traditions from that first one were continued for many years. We always had a great dinner banquet with all the teams. It was always a two day tournament We always tried to get the best teams from the country there. Grassroots coaches always talked to each other to get the best competition there possible.Now it's been recognized by USA Rugby and become an event that nearly 200 teams want to compete for.

How did USA Rugby's sanctioning change things?
It's given us an opportunity to have the best referees present. In addition, the event is given more recognition because it is going on with the boys event. From that aspect, it's more legitimized nationals, and it should be. The competition has been fantastic. You always see close, competitive games to get there and in the final. This means its' a very competitive sport that keeps growing and growing.The dinner banquet is no longer present.

Where do you see the girls game going from here on?
So much will depend on the women's college game. How it's promoted to a varsity level sport on a wider basis. If there's someway to get an advancement, if we can get 20 varsity college teams, it will change even more dramatically in the next fifteen years.I think more girls will start giving back and returning to help grow the game. We've already seen that recently with a few of our teams being coached by alumnae. The more we can get players to give back, the more numbers will increase.Hopefully this will become what soccer became over the last 30 years. We're only 11 years into this, In 15 years maybe we can be where soccer is. We've grown so much in only 11 years. So much better and legit. And that's in thanks to all the grassroots coaches who really believed in doing the most with their opportunities. It's been fantastic to be a part of

How did playing rugby at Marquette University influence you as a coach?
Marquette's the reason behind it all. I learned so much from MU rugby, from the coaches I had, from the relationship I had. It's the reason I started coaching. My experience i got from Marquette, I try to pass on to the young ladies I've coached: an unbelievable experience, one I'll always cherish. I hope I've been able to promote that type of commitment and atmosphere, that type of success. I've also tried to learn from the not-so-best moments of MU rugby, so those don't occur while at DS. You always try to learn from your defeats, your miscues.

Favorite pro coach: Robbie Deans. The Crusaders coach. So successful as a club coach; he developed a successful team, year in year out. You knew every time you face Canterbury you have a game on your hands and that's awesome. The best of the best. He's changed the game. His teams were always champions, yet not all his players were all-blacks.

RFU Codes of Conduct

I don't want to discourage passionate debate about the league or the teams competing in Wisconsin. But the comments about the All Tournament Team require some additional comment. The whole debate reminds me of the writings of the historian Flavius Josephus who wrote: "but I don't see how those can be accounted great, who triumph only over the ignoble." His comment was a criticism of other historians who denegrate the losing side in a war. Such comments do not really help to praise the winning side, as it only cheapens the victory. I think his comments apply with equal force to comments about sports teams.

On a more practical level, the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the home Union in England, has published Codes of Conduct for players, parents, coaches, match officials and spectators for youth rugby. I think that the spectator's code of conduct should apply to comments on this blog:

THE GOOD SPECTATOR’S CODE

SPECTATORS ARE ENCOURAGED TO:

• Act as positive role models to all young players.
• Be familiar with, and abide by, the RFU Child Protection Guidance in relation to verbal and emotional abuse.
• Respect the rugby club with regard to spectator behaviour.

SPECTATORS SHOULD:

• Remember children play sport for their enjoyment not yours.
• Acknowledge good individual and team performance from all youngsters irrespective of the team for whom they play. Respect match officials’ decisions.
• Remember - they are volunteers providing an opportunity for youngsters to play rugby.
• Never verbally abuse young players, match officials, fellow spectators or coaches. Such behaviour can create a negative environment for young players and their behaviour will often reflect this.
• Acknowledge effort and good performance rather than ‘win at all costs’ethic.
• Verbally encourage all youngsters in a positive way. If you do want to shout make sure it is ‘for’, not ‘at’ the players.
• Encourage all youngsters irrespective of their ability - never ridicule any individual player, regardless of the team for whom they play.

Growing Rugby

Perhaps its time for the rugby community to start taking lessons from one of the modern era's earliest professional sports -- baseball. The massive multi-million dollar franchises did not come into existence overnight, but grew through the steady progress of community teams providing entertainment to local crowds and the rivalries encouraging the paying of players to increase performance and profits. American rugby needs to start thinking smaller, to start.

This past summer, the City of Waukesah approved a plan for an amateur baseball team to start playing games at frame park. The team, which is part of the North Woods League contributed money (through loans and financing) to revamp the stadium and in exchange, the team would be allowed to use the facility for its home games, charge admission ($5-$10) and make a profit from concession sales. The Northwoods League is an amateur league in which college students play summer base-ball and fans get an entertaining, low-cost night out. The players may be amateur, but the income to the team, the league and the local economy is real. Building from this small base, the Northwoods League is able to finance a traveling baseball team, invest in community facilities and provide a positive playing experience for its players.

Imagine the possibilities. Profits from ticket-sales and concession profits could pay for the costs of players' travel, equipment and a coaching staff. Players would be drawn to these new teams by the opportunity to have rugby playing expenses covered by the team and a chance to work with professional coaches. By offering an entertaining and inexpensive afternoon out, rugby could grow local fans, leading to, increased profits and, perhaps, semi-professional players.

If there was real success, perhaps these local clubs could form affiliations with foreign professional teams, creating an American farm system for identifying talent for teams abroad. Why would a foreign club want to do that? Economics. America is a large market and the opportunity to tap into that large market is worth something. But first, we need to grow the American appetite for rugby.

So, why hasn't this model popped up? Well, I would speculate it has to do with our democratic system of organizing and running rugby clubs. Securing financing and operating a team is a lot of risk a risk which a committee of players and former players is not well-suited to assume. With risk should come rewards -- i.e. profits. In Perhaps it's time for rugby clubs to move from player-managed government by committee to an investor-owner model so that we can start realizing real and sustained growth in rugby.

USA Rugby Coach of the Year

It is with great pleasure that we announce that John "Chin" Klein (center of the picture), head coach of the Divine Savior Holy Angels RFC, was honored as the USA Rugby 2008 Coach of the Year. This past weekend, Chin flew to Salt Lake City Utah and USA Rugby President Nigel Melville (on the left) presented him with the award. It is no small accomplishment that Chin received this award for his dedication to producing a national powerhouse club, but for his dedication to girls high school rugby, in general.

Hopefully we can get Chin to give us a statement.

Illinois/Wisconsin Cup?

I have heard rumors and discussions about the possibility of some inter-league play between Wisconsin and Illinois during the Spring season. There is nothing official, but I want to put out the the reasons why this could be a really good idea for both Wisconsin and Illinois Girls Rugby and some thoughts about how the competition might work. Hopefully this might jump start the process.

The geographic proximity of south-eastern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, where most teams are located, makes some form of competition a natural. During the spring season, the top three Wisconsin teams are preparing for the Midwest play-offs and, therefore, have a very condensed schedule. For the remaining teams in Wisconsin this is a "building" season, as the fall is Wisconsin's competitive season. So, why an inter-state competition:

• It provides additional variety for the Illinois teams who currently only have 6 teams in their conference;
• It provides Wisconsin teams with a competitive frame-work for the Spring season for those teams not competing in the mid-west;
• It provides an additional avenue of success for all teams involved (i.e. there would be a Wisconsin-Illinois Cup which would be separate and distinct from either team's state champion or the Midwest competition).
• As described below, the participants would vary each year, adding greater variety to the schedule.

So, how would it be structured? The simple answer is any way the people want. But here is one simple proposal. Wisconsin teams ranked number 4-7 from the Fall season (since seeds 1-3 traditionally play in the Midwest Cup and Open divisions) play against Illinois teams ranked 1-4 from the prior season. Using a knock-out bracket method, the 8 team competition could be resolved in three weekends of play. All teams would get three games, as the non-winning teams would continue to play-off for ranking within the competition.

Based on current rankings as put on the Illinois website and the Wisconsin conference, an opening weekend would looks something like this:

• Lincoln Way (1) v. Oak Creek (7)
• Plainfield (2) v. Northshore (6)
• St. Charels (3) v. Kettle Moraine (5)
• Nobel Street (4) v. Brookfield (4)

A coin toss decides whether the opening weekend is played in Illinois or Wisconsin. Schedule dates, get a sir, get a field and away we go!

Thoughts and comments welcome.

The All Tournament Team....

Wisconsin Girls Rugby
2008 All-State Tournament Team

------FORWARDS------

Prop Melanie Heinemann Town of Vernon 11

Prop Anastasia Kruesel Kettle Moraine 12
Hooker Georgia Porter Town of Vernon 10 Lock Kinnsey Brannon Divine Savior Holy Angels HS 11
Lock Casey Hamill-Barth Catholic Memorial High School 12
No. 8 Erin Davis Catholic Memorial High School 11
No. 8 Elizabeth Linnemanstons DSHA 11
Flanker Kathryn Junius DSHA 12

------BACKS------

Scrumhalf Emma Pesci Catholic Memorial 12
Scrumhalf Rachel Santulli Brookfield 10

Flyhalf Samantha Bruni Town of Vernon 12
Flyhalf Toni Cattani Kettle Moraine 12
Flyhalf Sydney Tabakin Northshore 11
Center Leslie Fickau Town of Vernon 11
Center Kendall Klatt Northshore 12
Center Sarah Marcoux DSHA 12
Center Kayla Reilly Catholic Memorial 12
Center Valeria Seidl Brookfield 12
Wing Keylinne Vega Oak Creek 9
Wing Sarah Chmielewski DSHA 12
Wing Molly Szews DSHA 11
Fullback Catherine Lewis Catholic Memorial 12

Press for our blog...

One of the blogs/rugby new sources that we link to, Heavens Game Rugby News, published a nice little story on the formation of girls rugby teams in Wisconsin and my role in that story. Here's the link. It's a bit embarrassing, but still I'm going to post it just to satisfy people's curiosity.

I want to add this comment to the story. I think we collectively have a lot to be proud of in Wisconsin Girls Rugby. Wisconsin hosted the first National Invitational Tournament down on the lake front in 2000 and have sent representatives to every national tournament since the inception. We have produced several topped ranked national teams, not just DSHA with its phenomenal record of being in the #1 spot for five years now. We should also remember Kettle Moraine, Northshore-Highlanders and Vernon have all placed well (i.e. in the top 3) at Nationals and at Midwest over Wisconsin's, now 12 year history. In fact, there were years when these teams placed ahead of DSHA at the National Tournament. These are accomplishments that were only achieved with the collective efforts of parents, players, coaches, match officials and administrators.

I think we've produced a collegial, yet very competitive leauge and I look forward in watching our conference continue to grow as we enter our second decade.

Looking to join/start a rugby club...?

In monitoring the meta-data for this blog, it seems that most of our hits come from regular readers who know what their looking for (i.e. they are searching for the recent scores for existing girls high school clubs). However, over the last month, I've noticed a trend of people searching for girls rugby, but inserting new community names, like New Berlin or Kenosha (where there are currently no clubs in existence). Does this mean that there are people in these communities who are interested in joining or starting a a high school (or U19) rugby club for local girls?

I want to put out two options for players looking for a club:

• If you are interested in joining a club should know that, with the exception of Pius IX, Catholic Memorial High School and Divine Savior Holy Angels (which are all school affiliated), all the other rugby teams are clubs, which will accept members from areas regardless of residency. As a league, we encourage players to join the team in their local community, if one exists. But, if there is no team in your community, feel free to contact the coach of the team which is most convenient for you to learn more. If you are having problems finding information on a club, feel free to leave a comment here, and we'll post information about a particular club in response.
• If you are interested in forming a new club in your community, post a comment here and we can assist in establishing a new club. While this can be challenging because it is sometimes difficult to find coaches.

If you're out there in Wisconsin and want to play rugby, let us know.

The Final Results and Standings

Wisconsin Championship Results:

7th Place: DSHA B 56 Oak Creek 0
5th Place: Kettle Moraine 59 Northshore 7
3rd Place: Vernon 24 Brookfield 7
1st Place: DSHA 5 Catholic Memorial H.S. 0

Also, members of the Wisconsin League are Pius IX, which completed its very first season this year, Fond du Lac and Muskego.

These final results are noteworthy. This is the closest 1st place match in recent years (last year it was a 27 point margin) in Wisconsin and, in fact, one of the closest final matches that DSHA has played in the last few years at either a Territorial or National level. Lakewood (also from the Midwest (yeah!) fell to DSHA in the 2008 National Tournament 17-3 and at the 2008 Midwest 15-10.

In short, Catholic Memorial and DHSA treated fans to an exciting, even if low scoring, battle on the pitch. It was played with pace and skill on both sides right until the final minute of the game. It was quality rugby and bodes will for the future success of the Wisconsin Girls Rugby as we know that each season, we are competing against some of the best teams, not only in the Midwest but in the Nation.

Also, worthy of note, there was a lot of movement on the tables this year compared to last year: Northoshore rose from 8th to 6th; KM rose from 6th to 5th; Brookfield rose from 5th to 4th; Catholic Memorial rose from 3rd to 2nd; Vernon fell from 2nd to 3rd; and Muskego fell from 4th; Oak Creek (in reality) maintained 7th place; DS managed to hold on to #1 by a narrowing margin!

THe State Finals...

As a conference, we've gotten a bit lazy reporting scores, but it all boils down to this... here are the matches for the final weekends.

WHERE: Nagawaukee Park
DATE: Sunday, October 26, 2008

TIMES and Matches:

7th Place Match 10:30 AM Oak Creek v. DS-B
5th Place Match 12:00 PM NS v. KM
3rd Place Match 1:30 PM Vernon v. Brookfield
State Championship 3:00 PM CMH v. DS

It's an all Catholic Schools final match and it's also no surprise that 3 of the top four teams, heading into the finals are teams which can field more than 1 side (Vernon, CMH, and DS). It is no coincidence that these programs all have institutional support (Vernon is sponsored by the Town of Vernon Park and Recreation Department and Catholic Memorial High School and Divine Savior Holy Angels High School both have official affiliation with their respective schools).

It should be a good day of rugby! Good luck to all the teams as they play for their final ranking!

WEEK 3: Standings/Results

Here are the week 3 results and standings (so far...)

Pool A:

Muskego (2-1) v. Oak Creek (0-2) 32 – 0 (5 pts to Muskego – 6 tries and 1 conversion)
DSHA [BYE WEEK ?]

Pool B:

CMHS (3-0) v. Norht Shore (0-2) 47-7 (5 pts to CMHS -- 9 tries)
Vernon v. DSHA-B [?] [No Score Reported]

NON-CONFERENCE GAMES:

Brookfield (2-0) v. Kettle Moraine (2-1) 31-5
Brookfield-B v. Fond du Lac [Scrimmage] Welcome back Fondy!!

STANDINGS: Pool A: (1) Brookfield (5 pts), DSHA (5 pts.); Muskego (5 pts); (2) Oak Creek (0 pts.). Pool B: (1) CMH ( 9 pts.); (2) Kettle Moraine (5 pts); (3) Vernon (0pts.); North Shore (0 pts.).

WEEK 2 Results/Standings

Here are the week 2 results and standings .

Pool A:

DSHA (2-0) v. Muskego (1-1) 60-0 (5 pts)

Pool B:

CMHS (2-0) v. Vernon (0-2) (4 pts. CMHS)
KM (2-0) v. DSHA-B (0-2) [No Points Awarded]

Non-Conference:

NS v. OC [Scrimmange -- no score reported]
NS v. Pius [Scrimmage -- no score reported]

STANDINGS:

Pool A: (1) Brookfield (5 pts), DSHA (5 pts.); (2) Muskego (0 pts); Oak Creek (0 pts.).

Pool B: (1) Kettle Moraine (5 pts); (2) CMH ( 4 pts.); (3) Vernon (0pts.); North Shore (0 pts.).

WEEK 1 Results/Standings

Here are the week 1 results and standings .

Pool A:

Brookfield (1-0) v. Oak Creek (0-1) 51-0 (5 pts.)

Pool B:

Kettle Moraine (1-0) v. Northshore (0-1) 27 - 0 (5 pts.)
CMH v. DSHA-B 27-5 (Does not count towards pool standings)

Non-Conference Play:

Muskego (1-0) v. Pius (0-1): 37-3
DSHA-A (1-0) v. Vernon (0-1) 37-0

STANDINGS: Pool A: (1) Brookfield (5 pts) (2) DSHA (o pts.); Muskego (0 pts); Oak Creek (0 pts.). Pool B: (1) Kettle Moraine (5 pts); (2) CMH ( 0 pts.); Vernon (0pts.); North Shore (0 pts.).

Innagural Founders Cup

On Saturday, August 30, 2008, Catholic Memorial powered past the Brookfield Bruisers with an impressive 39-10 victory in the inaugural Founders' Cup match. Although only a pre-season scrimmage, CMH came ready to play, displaying depth and discipline to out score its cross-county rivals. An inexperienced, CMH-B went on to lose to an under-staffed Kettle Moraine side 40-5.

Also worth noting, the rumor is that Catholic Memorial High School may be granting its players varsity letters for their work on the rugby field, adding further legitimacy to the Club. Despite all the debates about "varsity" status, in the final analysis, the term "varsity" is a recognition by an individual school of the efforts of its athletes. There can be no doubt to anyone who watches a match, that these players are "varsity" caliber athletes. Kudos to CMHS for recognizing the efforts of its students.

Coaches --- just a reminder -- please send score reports (and photos if you have them).

Pius Rugby

We are getting closer to the season when we will finally have scores to report. Yeah! However, in the meantime, here's the new blog/website for Pius XI Girls Rugby Club.

Wisconsin Rugby Alumnae Named All Americans

USA Rugby has named the Collegiate All Americans for Division II. Two Alumnae of Wisconsin High School Rugby Clubs have made the cut: Kati McCormick, No. 8, who is an alumna of Kettle Moraine Girls RFC, and Brittany Biedenbender, wing, who is an alumna of Vernon Girls RFC. Both players currently play for the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee team.

Congratulatios to all those players named All Americans:

1st Team All-American – Division II
Prop: Laura Greenlee (Duluth University)
Prop: Kaci Darso (Western Washington University)
Hooker: Sadie Borneman (Duluth University)
Lock: Brittany Myers (Shippensburg University)
Lock: Brittany Rineman (Shippensburg University)
Flanker: Caila Ney (Milwaukee University)
Flanker: Tiffany Gjestvang (Duluth University)
Number 8: Kati McCormick (University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee)
Scrum-half: Mari Scamp (East Carolina University)
Fly-Half: Sybil Taunton (Norwich University)
Inside Center: Jenna Boggi (Shippensburg University)
Outside Center: Kerilee Shirey (Shippensburg University)
Wing: Michelle Jeffcoat (Shippensburg University)
Wing: Brittany Biedenbender (University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee)
Fullback: Natalie Monroig (Shippensburg University)

The Cup...

Negotiations between CMHS and BBRFC broke down today shortly after the joint purchase of the newly named Founders' Cup, a competition commemorating the rivalry between these two clubs.

Disputes regarding the engraving of club names on the Cup, the details of financing trophy polish, and whether coaching staffs would be required to wear kilts at Founders' Cup matches reached a frenzied pitch, leaving in doubt whether differences could be resolved prior to the August 30, 2008 fixture.

Given the short-time frame left prior to the start of the season, the Parties have considered the selection of a neutral arbitrator to resolve these disputes. However, no agreement was reached and the negotiations are at a standstill.

CMHRFC rejects BBRFC's claim to primacy...

Following the issuance of the challenge to a grudge match, officials from CMHRFC responded to the fully justified comments of the BBRFC. The CMHRFC front office issued the following brief press release regarding the potential grudge match:

Officials contend that Catholic Memorial Girls Rugby first staked their claim to Minooka Park a decade ago, many years before the founding of the BBRFC. In a seldom remembered piece of Wisconsin rugby history, several witnesses, including a current representatives of involved parties, were present in Oct 1998 as DSHA lost to the Crusaders at Minooka Park. Minooka Park will forever be associated with the Crusaders!

In addition, the CHMRFC officials threatened legal action, in response to the BBRFC comments, in the following statement:

Councillors for CMHS are also seeking an injunction based on slander and libel for all references to Catholic as a "junior" and "upstart club." Documents will be shown exhibiting the club's deep roots in the community dating back a decade or more. Officials contend they can show an unbroken line of CMH rugby players from 1998 to the present day, who retain and preserved the rights of one of Wisconsin's founding clubs, not some 'upstart club' as some have erroneously referred to them as.

It is hoped that the parties can reach a formal arrangement which will resolve these concerns before the opening of the season.

A formal challenge...

Catholic Memorial High School RFC, angered by the fact that Brookfield Bruisers RFC has tortiously interfered with the contract of its assistant coaches and induced that coach to break his contract for permanent service, has challenged the BBRFC to a grudge match.

The BBRFC is shocked by the audacity of the upstart, and junior club, CMHRFC which has repeatedly wronged the BBRFC by wearing the BBRFC's home color jersey and usurping the BBRFC's home pitch.

To resolve this simmering rivalry, the parties are in negotiations for a formalized competition to resolve the differences between the clubs. The BBRFC has put on offer a trophy of unsurpassed value, if CMHRFC believes that it is up the the challenge.

It is hoped that negotiations regarding the competition will conclude prior to the pre-season fixture, scheduled for August 30, 2008, as this is the only scheduled meeting between these two foes during the Fall 2008 conference season.

Lakefront 7s Results

The official standings and results should be out soon on the Harlequin RFC's webiste. While I don't know the scores, the results are in and our neighbor's to the south put on a brilliant display of their 7s skills defeating Vernon's two entries and Brookfield decisively in each match. St. Charles Girls Rugby Club from Illinois swept their Wisconsin competition. The injury plagued Brookfield ended with a 1-2 result, playing close matches to its cross county rivals Vernon.

All and all, it was a great day down at the lake. Thanks to the Harlequins for keeping the high school girls competition going. Hopefully, we'll have pictures of the action to post soon.

DSHA Player Gets Capped for South Africa Tour

Here is a press release from USA Rugby about our U20 Women's' National Team. Congratulations to Maggie Reidy of our own Divine Savior Holy Angels, who earned a place as a starting second row for the Eagle's tour of South Africa this past weekend. Below is the press release from USA Ruby, announcing the full lineout for the match and here is a link to Women's Rugby Review's coverage of the the Eagles 37-7 defeat to South Africa.

Thanks to Tom Schmitt for passing along the following press release:

June 20, 2008
USA Under-20 Women’s National Team Select for Lineup
for South Africa Debut
NELSPRUIT, South Africa – The USA Under-20
Women’s National Team announced today the team set to play the South Africa U-20 WNT on Saturday, June 21. The game will be played at the Nelspruit Rugby School at 3 p.m. local time.

“The quality of the players on this team is much higher than previous years and this made selections difficult,” said U-20 WNT Head Coach Bryn Chivers. “The South African side is new this year and while they have played a couple of games in the last month, we know little about them with the exception of the handful of players from their Senior 15s and Sevens squads.”

“We know they will be big in the tight five with and fast in the back three,” added Chivers.

Under-20 Women’s National Team Backs Coach Tasha Bishop thinks the squad will be up for the challenge and this will make for a very enjoyable game of rugby with interesting speed matchups across the backline.

Forwards coach Sue Oldenburg sees at the size of the South African forwards as a potential obstacle in the set, but is confident that the U.S. pack will offer their own challenge with their speed in the open field play.

The U-20 Women are scheduled to play two additional games in Nelspruit, capital of the South African province of Mpumalanga. The team meets another test against the South Africa Under-20 Women on June 28, and also has a match versus the Mpumalanga Senior Women on June 25.

The USA Under-20 Women selected to face South Africa are:

1 Rachel Sommer, West Linn, OR

2 Brittany Woodard, Hyde School, DC

3 Jay Marie Hill, Stanford

4 Anneke Brand, Texas Tech

5 Maggie Reidy, Divine Savior Holy Angels, WI

6 CandaceBarley, Maryville, TN

7 Katie Johnson, Hopkins, MN

8 Alex Hartley, Brown

9 BriAnna Barto, Summit, CO

10 Lisa Henneman (C), Seattle Women

11 Tyra McGrady, Indiana

12 Marie Timm, USMA

13 Catherine Turnerdrown, Riverton,UT

14 Seymi Salami, State College, PA

15 Sadie Anderson, Fort Collins, CO

16 Joanna Kitlinski, Grand Valley State

17 Tayo Mafe, Michigan State

18 Mallory Ives, Colorado State

19 Jozy Gesner, Summit, CO

20 Catherine Parkhill, Armstrong, MN

21 Kayla Morisoli, San Jose State

22 Blaine Martin, Brown

Wisconsin U19 to Play Exhibition at the Churchill Cup

The Wisconsin Women's U19 Selectside will be playing an exhibition match against the Indiana Women's U19 selectside at this weekend's Churchill Cup, an international competition featuring USA Eagles, Argentina, Canada, Ireland, England, and Scotland. The match time is set from 2:10 to 2:45 p.m. at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL. If you are interested in going down to support our Wisconsin selectiside, contact the U19 select coach, Scott Prunkle at u19selectcoach[at]gmail.com for more information.

Good luck and congratulations to our starting 15:

1 - Julia Thorne (DSHA / UW-Milwaukee)
2 - McKenna Smith (Catholic Memorial) / Shannon Capelle (Kettle Moraine)
3 - Cori Jensen (Madison Militia / UW-Milwaukee)
4 - Casey Hamill-Barth (Catholic Memorial) / Morgan Schneider (Muskego)
5 - Cari Berdan (Brookfield Bruisers) / Brittany Bell (Muskego)
6 - Addie Haupert (Muskego) [2009 Captain] / Samantha Capelle (Kettle Moraine)
7 - Elizabeth Perry (Brookfield Bruisers / Winona State University) [2008 Captain]
8 - Amanda Pohle (Catholic Memorial) / Reddiyn Wihongi (Milwaukee Scylla)
9 - Brittany Houston (Vernon / UW-Milwaukee) [2008 Captain] / Emma Pesci (Catholic Memorial) [2009 Captain]
10 - Melissa Ponsegrau (Vernon / University of Wisconsin)
11 - Valerie Seidl (Brookfield Bruisers) [2009 Captain] / Leslie Fickau (Vernon)
12 - Megan Ward (DSHA / Marquette University) [2008 Captain]
13 - Alisa Leoni (Lincoln Way / Marquette University) / Emma Pesci
14 - Samantha Bruni (Vernon)
15 - Andi Broge (Catholic Memorial / University of Dayton)

It is really great to see so many of our High School Girls players and alumni representing Wisconsin!

IRISH STAR TO BRING RUGBY EXPERTISE TO MIDWEST

From other sources, here is a press release I received about a rugby camp for players/coaches ages 17 and up. The camp is lead by a professional player from Ireland and will be hosted right here in Milwaukee, with other dates in Madison and Illinois. Here's the information from the press release:

An international sports star is set to give Midwest students a shot at the big time this summer. Rugby player Justin Fitzpatrick, who has played top class rugby for Ireland and Ulster, will take part in a series of coaching camps in the Chicago and Milwaukee region over the coming weeks, with a professional rugby career potentially up for grabs for those who excel.

Fitzpatrick, who boasts 50 European caps for Ulster and 26 for Ireland, hopes to raise the profile of rugby in the Midwest region, working alongside the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee coach Scot Prunkle at a time when interest in the sport is at an all-time high in North America.

Commenting on his Midwest initiative, Fitzpatrick said, “The Northwest is home to more rugby players than any other region of the United States. There are vast opportunities for the development of the game in the Midwest, and North America as a whole. I will have a team of top class coaches, including Scot Prunkle from the University of Wisconsin, and Jamie Turkington of Ulster and the IRFU working with me, and I am certain that we can uncover some untapped local talent,” Fitzpatrick will host three camps in the Midwest this month, in which he will pass on his extensive professional knowledge to local rugby enthusiasts. The first coaching session will kick off at the University of Milwaukee campus on June 19 and 20. The second session is on June 23 and 24 at Abundant Life High School in Madison, Wisconsin and the final session will be held at the South Side Irish rugby club in Oak Forest, Illinois on June 25 and 26.

Fitzpatrick hopes that the camps will forge a strong sporting link between the Midwest and Ulster, with the potential of player and coach exchanges a realistic prospect in the near future.

The camps will also act as a scouting session for Ulster rugby, so that the best players on show could potentially tie up with the Irish professional outfit.

“There is an historic link between the people of the Midwest and Ireland. There is huge potential here for the growth of the sport in America and for potential sponsors to be part of a new relationship with international rugby” commented Fitzpatrick.

UW coach Scot Prunkle is excited to have an international rugby player in the region for the summer. “This venture will go a long way to reward the thousands of keen rugby players we have in the Midwest,” said Prunkle.

“Justin’s coaching initiative will foster the skills and stamina to ensure rugby continues to flourish in the area once the camps have been completed. We have a great opportunity here to establish firm and long-term friendships with Ulster rugby thanks to Justin’s visit” Prunkle said.

The trip has been endorsed by Ulster rugby CEO Mike Reid, as well as Ulster supporters’ group The Front Row Union.

For more information on the rugby camp schedule and format please visit: http://www.justinfitzpatrickrugby.com/
.

More Youth Tag Rugby

Here is the word about another Tag Youth Program, this one geared toward middle schoolers sponsored by the Milwaukee Public Schools Recreation Department.

Program Description:

Rugby, from which American football is derived, is the second largest participation sport in the world behind soccer. Youth rugby is growing rapidly making up over 25% of registered participation nationally with 525 teams (high school and junior rugby clubs). Join this camp to experience a non-contact version that can be played safely. This is a team invasion game, resembling an all inclusive and continuous team game of tag with a ball. All players get to run, catch, pass and score regardless of their position, size, gender, or ability level. Skills developed are balance, coordination, agility, visual awareness, decision making and core fitness.

Program Details:

Participants: Children Ages 11 -15
Dates: Mon - Fri., July 14 - 18
Time: 9:30 - 11:30 am
Cost: $22 Residents/ $44 Non-Residents
Location: Hamilton High School

To register online follow this link to the MPS Recreation Department registration form.

Thanks to Jr. for getting this program going!

Tag Rugby (youth grades 1-6)

The tag rugby program, sponsored by the City of Waukesha Park and Recreation Department, starts tonight. The program is offered for children in grades 1-6.

WHERE: Mindiola Park, City of Waukesha (off of Sunset Drive)
TIME: 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
DATES: Fridays, June 13 to July 24 (no camp the week of July 4)

Volunteers and new players are welcome. New registrants can sing up directly through the City of Waukesh Park and Recreation Department Website.

Our Newest Arrivals and the official pools

Last night, the Wisconsin Girls Rugby conference had its pre-season meeting for the Fall 2008 conference season. We are pleased to welcome two new teams this year: Menomonee Falls RFC, sponsored by the Meonomonee Falls Park and Recreation Department and Pius RFC, which is affiliated with Pius XI High School. This brings the total number of clubs to 11, with most clubs fielding both a A and B side.

The Fall pools for the first five week of the conferences are as follows, based on standings from 2007 Fall season:

Pool A:

1. DSHA
2. Muskego
3. Brookfield
4. Oak Creek
5. Meonomonee Falls

Pool B:
1. Vernon
2. Catholic Memorial
3. Kettle Moraine
4. Northshore
5. DSHA-B

Fond du Lac and Pius XI will be playing B-side schedules and will not be participating in the regular pool play in the Fall 2008 season.

The conference has retained the 2007 play-off format with teams competing in 5-week pool play, including 1 non-conference match. Opening weekend is September 6, 2008. Following the five weeks of pool play, the top 8 teams are seated for the play-offs which culminate in all final matches being played on Sunday, October26, 2008.

Hopefully there will be more news to come as the season gets closer.

Congratulations!!

DSHA, Wisconsin's first team, brought home the first USA Rugby officially sanctioned national title this past weekend. It was all the more rewarding because you could watch it live on the USA Rugby website. This was a huge plus. Also... congratulations are in order to Lakewood, OH, who gave DSHA a very competitive game, finishing second. Always nice to see more success coming out of the Midwest!

While its a bit belated, we're proud of our Wisconsin teams that competed in the Midwest Chapionship. DSHA taking a first place and Vernon taking 5th in the Cup division. In the festival Division, Catholic Memorial and DSHA B are listed as 2 of the top teams in the festival division. Overall, the Wisconsin sides participating in the tournament racked up an impressive 11-1 record.

Coming up this week, the Wisconsin has its Fall Pre-Season conference meeting. By the end of the week, we should be posting details on the fall conference structure.

A picture of the season?

Spring season has gotten away from me and I've been pretty negligent in posting scores. I'm pretty sure that's because of a concerted effort by every coach to keep the progress of his or her team secret. This is probably good news, as I know every team has big plans or a very competitive conference season.

Good luck to Vernon and DSHA as they head off to Indiana this weekend to represent Wisconsin the in Midwest Cup and CMH as it travels down for the Open Bracket. Let's come back with 3 top finishes.

Above is our picture of the season -- the opening weekend in Iowa. When all the games were cancelled here in Wisconsin, Brookfield, Muskego and KM were playing down in the snow and mud. Yes -- it snowed only hours before that picture. The temperatures were 30's and windy. But, we played and had great fun.

If you have pictures of your team in action, please feel free to send them to me to share with the league.

Get Rugby in Your School...

Tom Schmitt and the Marquette University Women have been running high interest days in local schools for some time now. If you're local school has a "high interest day" when community members can share new interests with students, you should consider contacting Tom and seeing if Rugby can be a part of that event.

Here is the text from the flyer, for those who are looking for the information::

RUGBY! This sport may mean nothing for you, however more than 3.5 million people play rugby around the world across the 7 continents.

The excitement of football, kicking skills of soccer, the agility of basketball, the speed of baseball, the solidarity of ice hockey. All these skills in one sport: RUGBY!

A complete sport that combines hands and foot play, agility, speed, team spirit and solidarity. Linda Niemela and Tom Schmitt, respectively founder and coach of Marquette University Women's Rugby Football Club, along with Romain Vende of Paris France, will share with you their love of the game.

Played with an over-sized football, Rugby allows everybody to play without physical restriction (tall, small, thin and largest). We will be presenting a brief history of this sport which first appeared in 1823. Your students will get to work with the ball and see the equipment. We will present the rules and values of our sport. We have presented at Orchard Elementary School in New Berlin, for 5 years. We would welcome the opportunity to share our sport with your students. Please contact Tom Schmitt at WIRUGBY@aol.com or simply email us your high interest day dates and we will follow up.

RUGBY: “More than Sport, A way of life…”

The Wisconsin U19 Selectside

The U19 Wisconsin Selectide, which is sponsored by the Wisconsin Rugby Football Union has announced dates for its spring camps. The information, from Scott Prunkle, the newly appointed coach, is as follows:

The initial Open Camp dates are as follows: Sunday, May 4th, 2008 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.Saturday, May 17th, 2008 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30
p.m.

Interested parties should contact Scott at u19coach@gmail.com.

Open Camp Plan:The open camps will consist of offensive and defensive sections.

Defensive modules will be based upon an organized defensive model and focus on using guards, tackler, and lane defense, with some work on set-piece defense.

Offensive modules will be based on a forward ball retention offense and center-read attacking patterns for the backline.

The Goals of the Open Camps are both player development and identifying those players that are strong candidates for the U-19 Select Side. Please make sure that all interested players know that these camps are not exclusive - that is, we're looking to involve as many players as possible and build a strong player base for the U-19 Program.

Interested players contact Scott at u19coach@gmail.com with their email addresses, cell phone or home phone numbers and the date of the Open Camp they wish to attend so I can distribute the U-19 skills and playbooks to them and plan the sessions accordingly. I'm very excited about this opportunity, and hope to make the U-19 Program one that the players continue to have a lot of fun with and look forward to participating in!

Last weekend's Scores...

It is the spring season, so the scores roll in slowly as the matches do not effect the Wisconsin teams' conference standings. I know my players still don't understand the Wisconsin way of doing things (conference season for standing in the Fall, Spring season is for learning rugby).

But, without further delay, here are the scores we gathered this week:

Kettle Moraine defeated NS with a last minute go-ahead try 20-19.
Vernon defeated Muskego 54-5
Muskego-B defeated Vernon-B 20-12
Brookfield defeated Oak Creek 54-0
Fond du Lac defeated Brookfield B 22-5
Catholic Memorial traveled to play the flatlanders down in St. Charles and walked away with an A and B side victory.
DSHA scrimmaged UWM, suffering a narrow defeat.

Off to a rough start...

Last weekend, field conditions prevented any games from being played as the parks withheld permits. Vernon and DSHA, the clash of Wisconsin's #1 and #2 seeds, made up their game mid-week with DSHA walking away with a 52-0 win over their closest in-state rivals.

While there was no in-state action over the weekend, Muskego, KM and Brookfield traveled to Des Moines for a weekend of rugby. The teams played in harsh conditions on Saturday as the temperatures hovered in the mid-thirties and the snow covered fields quickly turned to sheets of mud. KM fell to Hopkins (38-10) and Armstrong (17-7) on Saturday and pulled of f a win over Orono in the much improved weather on Sunday 15-10. Brookfield lost to Armstrong 0-5 and tied Orono 5-5 in the mud. Sunday, Brookfield defeated Hopkins 27-12.

Overall, it was a great rugby weekend. The Wisconsin teams were able to play some great competition from other states, the tournament was well run and the club house a real comfort after playing in the cold and wet. I suppose the tournament coordinators can't be held accountable for the dusting of snow on Saturday morning. Thanks to Des Moines for hosting a great event!

more scores from opening weekend...

Kettle Moraine crossed the border into Illinois to play Lincoln Way. Lincoln Way upheld the honor of the Illinios -- defeating KM 30-20.

Opening Weekend

The spring season started with a bang on Friday night, April 4, 2008. Catholic Memorial, coming off its recent tour of Ireland, faced-off against the Brookfield Bruisers under the lights at Brookfield Central High School. This was the first night-game of girls high school rugby played in Wisconsin and it was a well attended event. The crowd received their moneys worth (o.k. they didn't actually pay a gate fee) -- as the teams battled to a 24-22 final score. As time expired, the Bruisers made one final push to towards the CMH tried line, but fell short of the go-ahead try, falling to CMH in the final minute.

The CMH J.V. side scrimmaged Fond du Lac on Saturday morning and came away with a victory.

Also this past weekend, Northshore, taking the field for the first time under head coach Katie Brennan, defeated Oak Creek in a 5-0 battle.

The DSHA v. Vernon game, which pits Wisconsin's #1 and #2 teams against each other, was postponed as field conditions on the two clubs' home pitches prevented the game from going off as scheduled. Oh the perils of the spring season.

This weekend, 3 Wisconsin teams (Muskego, Brookfield and Kettle Moraine) head-off to Iowa for the Midwest Rugby Challenge in Des Moines. All three Wisconsin teams will be competing in the Division I Cup bracket.

Coaches and players -- remember pictures of any matches are welcome and will be posed if you send them.

The Undefeated...

Here is the report from the final game. Catholic Memorial made Wisconsin proud and return from the first international tour by a Wisconsin team undefeated with a 1-1-0 record. Here's the report from the last match againt Shannon RFC:

The girls battled it out with the women of Shannon today. the team was unbelievably tall and strong, yet the crusaders were able to walk away with a 14-5 victory using their speed to their advantage. "It was awe-inspiring playing in the shadow of the 60,000 seat Munster stadium against a rugby club founded in 1884" professed Coach Wal-Dog.

--Mo Brady

The CMH Tour continued...

On Wednesday we headed across Ireland to Galway. Most of the day was spent traveling and shopping. The rural city was considerably cleaner than Dublin. The small town feel made the stay enjoyable for all. The next day we hopped on a ferry and headed to the Aran Islands. The quaint community had more pubs than churches. We took a bus tour around the 27 square kilometer island enjoying stops at a cafe, and several locally owned shops. We hiked up a large stone hill dating back 150 BC and enjoyed the breath taking views of the ocean. The quiet atmosphere and the friendly people made for a meaningful cultural visit.

We got another view of the coast on Friday when we ventured out to the cliffs of Moher. Despite the intense winds coming off the ocean we were all happy to see more of the scenery. That afternoon we met up with a member of the Connacht Rugby Club. We spent the duration of our muddy training session learning how to incorporate new skills into our contact drills. The rain let up towards the end of practice leaving the team huddled up under a double rainbow. That night during dinner we were offered free tickets to the sold match between Connacht and Munster. The closely contested match and the exciting atmosphere made for an exciting night. We topped off the evening with some local music at the pub where we received the tickets.

Saturday was another rugby day. We met up with a guys team from Maryland and got a chance to watch another pro match. The galwegians lost in a physical match to cork constitution. After the game we got back on the bus and headed to limerick, our final city of the trip.

--mo brady

News from the Tour...

Here is our first update on the CMH tour to Ireland, including the match report from their first game against Gorey's RFC on Tuesday, provided by Mo Brady:

After a long day of travel we finally arrived in Dublin early on Sunday morning. We celebrated Easter service with the Archbishop of Dublin at St. Mary's pro-cathedral. Members of our group were invited to participate in the mass as we experienced the beauty of Irish music and culture first hand. Later that day we saw the President of Ireland at the Easter parade. We spent the rest of the day walking around the city and continued our tour on Monday morning. The day began with a tour of Dublinia, a visit to the Guinness Brewery, and a look inside Trinity College and The Book of kells. That night we enjoyed the local hospitality and relaxed in preparation for our game on Tuesday.

We traveled an hour and a half outside of Dublin to face the girls club from Gorey. Wings Claire Warren and Emily Schober scored trys for the Crusaders. Junior center Kayla Reilly was one for two on conversion kicks. The closely contested match ended with a tie score of 12 - 12. "It was bloody rough out there" said senior captain Lauren Maddente. "But we hung with them and used our speed and skill to our advantage." The physicality seen on the field differed greatly from the atmosphere of the social. We enjoyed the company of the other team and more about the Irish culture.

Congratulations on the tie!

The building season...

For those teams who are not competing in the Midwest and National tournaments, the Spring is a time to build the club, train rookies, and prepare for the Fall conference schedule. The rumor is that the winter has been a productive recruiting season and that the Spring matches should be full of new rookies ready to step on the pitch for the first time. Reports are that Muskego is continuing to grow and will likely have 2-sides again this Spring and Brookfield is adding players, as well.

However, the real story of the spring may be Fond du Lac (FDL) which had great difficulty in the Fall fielding a full side. The word on the street is that FDL may have upto 30-players. If this trend holds out, there could be nearly 6 clubs with B-side teams (DSHA, Vernon, CMH, FDL, Muskego, and Brookfield). Perhaps the fall will see the institution of a separate "B-side" competition at the state tournament.

Women's Rugby in 1928

This is a must see. The Letchworth Girls Rugby blog posted a silent film of women playing rugby in 1928. This is well worth taking the time to click through and see the film and additional background on this blog.

Enjoy!

Oderint dum metuant

It may be a rugby league team, but they have a great motto. Not only is it good Latin, but it has classical roots. The Crusaders Welsh RLC's motto comes from Lucius Accius a Roman tragic Poet. ‘Oderint dum metuant’ - ‘Let them hate, so long as they fear’ later became a famous motto of the Emperor Caligula.

This has to be one of my favorites.

The rumors are true...

Not to be out done by its neighbors, Catholic Memorial, who are touring Ireland this spring, the Bruisers are considering a tour. The Brookfield Bruisers held their pre-season meeting and now it's official: The Bruisers are "considering" a tour in the spring of 2009 to the home nations, most likely England and Wales.

Title IX Blog

I suppose this can't be a blog about women's rugby without mentioning Title IX. I just came across a really well done blog about Title IX which is worth reading. I'll be sure to add it to my regular reads on the side here.

Inspiring Stories

Here is a link to a story on BBC-Wales by a young woman growing up in Wales and being told the Rugby is for the boys. The story (and acompanying audio/video file) tell her story of breaking into the club and eventually playing for Wales at the international level.

More than Latin...

Perhaps good rugby club mottoes can be more than just Latin. Notre Dame RFC's motto is "Faugh A Ballagh!" , Irish for "Clear the Way!" This motto sound good, plus the motto has a history of its own as the motto of the Irish Brigade during the Civil War.

Wisconsin teams get around...

Winter in Wisconsin is simply unpleasant... with the snow piling up and the bitter cold. Fortunately, for the girls high school rugby community, we can look forward to the spring touring season. While not everything is in place, we're looking forward to sending out our teams to see what they can do.

• The first up-coming tournament is the March 22-23 tournament in Fulerton California. Tony will be leading his new Oak Creek team. Tony led Northshore to victory at the same tournament last year. We all wish Oak Creek luck on its trip.


• Perhaps the real big news of the spring season --Catholic Memorial will be the first club team to tour internationally this April with a trip to Ireland. Arrangements are being made to post updates about the tour on this blog -- hopefully with pictures (and maybe video) -- of some of the action. I am a bit jealous -- so if there are any teams abroad that want to host my club next year, please feel free to leave a comment.


• Also, in April, several Wisconsin teams (tentatively DSHA, KM, and Brookfield) will be traveling to Des Moines for the U19 Girls Rugby Festival. We are all looking forward to an opportunity to play against the challenging competition from around the country at this excellent venue.
• In May, DSHA and Vernon will be filling the Wisconsin #1 and #2 seeds at the Midwest tournament in Elkhart, IN. Hopefully they can repeat their success from last year and keep Wisconsin in the top two spots.
• Also in May, KM is setting up a min-tournament by the Dells between Wisconsin and Minnesota teams. I don't believe the details are final, but its always nice to compete against Minnesota as they always have good clubs.
• Throughout the season, a number of our clubs will be scheduling fixtures with our neighbors to the south. There is a natural rivalry between us Wisconsinites and the flatlanders, so those should be fun matches for all involved. I don't have any details, but as match reports come in, we'll post results.
• It's simply too early to talk about the National Tournament -- but it will be exciting to see how the new USA Rugby sponsored championship will pan out. After years of coaches from across the country banding together to create a National Invitational Tournament, this will be the first USARFU sanctioned event. It will be interesting to see how this works out. Receiving the official nod from the union is a demonstration of how far high school girls rugby has come over the past decade.

All and all it should be a great season. If you are a potential player in Wisconsin -- follow the links to your nearest team and get in the game. Most teams (except for Catholic Memorial and DSHA which are school affiliated), accept players regardless of location or school affiliation.

More Latin mottoes

To expose the sad truth, many of the teams I have been affiliated with have not had Latin mottoes. However, two that I have been affiliated with, in one form or another, share a common theme. The one is Williams College RFC (where I first picked up a ball while watching my brother play) and the other is West Potomac RFC (that first men's club after college). WCRFC's motto is Nihil in Moderato (nothing in moderation) and West Potomac's is Exeedium Universum (Everything in Excess).

Well, these may not be particularly lofty words to live by, but I don't wrtie the mottoes, I just find and publish them to keep busy during the off season.

So you want to tour the states...

I've noticed that about 20% of the traffic on this site actually comes from abroad. If you happen to be connected with a girls high school/U19 club (ages 14-18) and you are interested in coming to the States, we would be glad to help set up hosting with our local clubs. I discussed the idea with a couple of other coaches and I am sure we can find games and hosting arrangements if there are any interested teams out there in the world.

You may not think of Wisconsin as a place to tour, but the reality is we have a 8 teams all within close geographical proximity to Milwaukee. Moreover, our girls high school teams have perennially produced teams in the top 5 at national invitational tournaments.

So, if anyone out there is affiliated with a team and is interested in touring, you can post a comment to this site, and I will be sure to get back to you.

And yes, I know it is ridiculous to simply offer an open challenge to teams around the world, but it is offered with the best intentions.

The Batton has been passed...

for the leadership of the Wisconsin U19 Select-side, the official union select-side for the Wisconsin RFU. Gary Zischke, who has served as the select-side coach since the inception of the program 3-years ago, has passed the reigns over to Scott Prunkle, coach of the UWM women, who will serve for the next two years.

Thanks to Gary for taking the lead in getting the U19 Select side program up and running and a Thanks to Scott -- for taking on this new role.

The following is a list of tentative dates for select-side activities, which Scott has published to the High School Coaches. Interested players should talk to their coaches about these opportunities.

U-19 Select Side for the 2008 Calendar Year:
March 15, 2008 - Open Selection Camp
April 19, 2008 - Open Selection Camp
May 31, 2008 - Possible / Probable Scrimmage
June 14-15, 2008 - Midwest U-19 LAU Tournament
October 5, 2008 - Potential Fall Scrimmage
October 19, 2008 - Midwest U-19 Selection Camp
November 15-16, 2008 - U-19 NASC, Nashville, TN