Rugby Rhode Island, Inc

Youth Rugby - Boys and Girls. We want to provide a learning opportunity for high school-aged kids in Foster-Glocester, RI, and beyond, to discover the joy of playing the fastest-growing sport in the United States, and in doing so, educate the community about the sport.

As a former high school athlete, I attended a college that didn't have any of the sports I competed in during high school. Sadly, I was afraid my playing days were over upon graduating. Thankfully, I was invited to try Men's Rugby. It soon changed my entire life, enhanced my college experience exponentially, helped create lifelong friendships, and allowed me to continue competing until I was 53 years old.

Helping to form the Women's Rugby team at my college, further reinforced a conviction to teach and grow the sport.

As a high school counselor, I am fully aware that many of my student-athletes will sadly no longer compete in their respective sports after high school. However, they don't need to give up on competitive sports. Rugby is still an under-recognized sport in the USA, despite its significant and storied history. Rugby presents incredible opportunities for younger athletes to excel beyond high school. Former high school athletes from various sports who weren't able to continue in a college program, have easily found success by transferring those skills to collegiate rugby, some earning scholarships, and continuing to play collegiately, recreationally, internationally, and perhaps, professionally. New England now boasts Men's and Women's Professional Rugby Teams. https://freejacks.com/ https://www.womenseliterugby.us/boston-banshees

As members of the USA Rugby https://usa.rugby/ and Rugby RI, LLC, https://www.rugbyri.org/ registered athletes are joining a sport that has endless opportunities to help increase their chances of playing in college and beyond, including junior training programs for the Olympics (LA 2028), the Men's Rugby World Cup (US 2031) and Women's Rugby World Cup (US 2033).

Many of my current students have returned for a visit and reported how amazing rugby is at the college level adding that had they known about the sport in high school, they would have definitely played.

This is our opportunity as a community to expand the athletic and academic horizons for our youth by introducing them to Rugby; a much safer sport (comparatively speaking) than other more-popular sanctioned sports.

The club is seeking financial assistance to purchase jerseys, fees for the use of fields, and to help defray the cost of tournament registrations.

Our goal is $2500. All donations of any size or shape are appreciated. $100 Donors can have their names added to our Banner. $200 Donors can have their names (and business logo) added to the Banner. Donations can be made to Rugby RI, LLC - Please make a note, "Chieftains Rugby"