Fox Cities is an area of central-south-eastern Wisconsin nestled around the Fox River which flows north from Lake Winnebego, Wisconsin largest freshwater lake, up to Green Bay.
The Fox Cities area includes communities like Appleton, Kaukana, and Oshkosh.
This area has a long and rich history of womens and girls rugby.
A little to the south lies Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. Using French for "the end of the lake", the community rests at the southern end of the huge Lake Winnebego.
In the late 90's a Penn St alumn named Angie Sellers started a women's adult club team in Fond Du Lac. In the early days, this women's club played multiple games against DSHA HS girls when both programs were both starting. While that would be unheard of today, opportunities for games for female teams were so few and far between that teams were creative and had to work together for friendly competition. DSHA and others might not have survived had they not found ways to get matches. Fond Du Lac Women's rugby fielded a full 15s squad for several years, a note-able accomplishment in this era.
From there, the first Fond Du Lac girls high school team was formed in 2004. At the very beginning they boasted a roster of around 40 players. Traci Smet was an early leader of this effort. For several years, hopes were high for this program. Unfortunately, coaching changes contributed to a lack of consistency and their numbers faltered. Some reported a lack of support from the men's community; others challenged that perception noting that the local men's club helped them use their field and equipment to train and that the team would not have gotten off to such a good start without such support.
While league records are spotty, it appears the Fond Du Lac team was dormant or essentially folded for a time until several years later when new leadership under Amanda Pohle (a WGR alum and eventual WGR President) led a resurgence of the program and renewed participation numbers. The team competed for several years in WGR league play before folding for a second time.
As interest in the Fond Du Lac area waned or shifted geographically, a separate team emerged in Appleton, officially founded in 2013. Under coaches like Patrick Harrington (now at UW-Platteville Women's Rugby) and AJ Wiesseler, they fielded a full-15's side that competed in league play for several seasons.
The point of this is that history shows a long-standing, positive culture of female athletic participation in this part of Wisconsin; one that's led to a fast rise in teams in the area. With consistent leadership and support, there's great potential for growth. What remains to be solved is how to continue this female sports culture in the long-term.
To that end, the newly formed Fox Cities Girls High School team is aiming to compete in spring of 2024. This girls team will be called the IRON MAIDENS. Reports indicate that they have a strong class of middle school players coming through their flag rugby program. They are expected to field a 7s team this spring and then a 15s team in Fall of 2024 bolstered by a strong group who they are anticipating graduating middle school.
Anyone interested in playing or supporting them should contact their coach:
John Walt
jawalt16@yahoo.com
