My name is Carol, I am a sophomore, I am 5 feet tall, no more and no less, and I. LOVE. RUGBY.
Never in my whole life have I done anything of the sort. Since 4th grade I鈥檝e been dancing: ballet, lyrical, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, pom, really just anything you could throw at me. I even ran track and played soccer and basketball for a little while in high school. But Rugby is different. Rugby tends to get a slightly negative rep. "The girls are big," one might say. However, there鈥檚 something wonderful about the rush you get before a game when you look across the field and see womxn of all body types. Some, albeit, are twice your size but then some, surprisingly, are even smaller than you. That鈥檚 when I knew that Rugby wasn鈥檛 for a certain type of femme, but for everyone. There鈥檚 something about the way everyone is equal on the pitch that excites me. You can鈥檛 judge anyone on based on their size; it鈥檚 everyone鈥檚 game.
When I say everyone鈥檚 game, I mean it. The camaraderie that I鈥檝e found not only with my teammates here at 色界吧, but between our team and others in the league is something really special. The bonds I鈥檝e made with these powerful, incredible femmes is something that I don鈥檛 think I could find anywhere else. Of course, I might be a little biased. I think they鈥檙e all amazing, and I think everyone should play Rugby, but I鈥檓 not kidding in the least when I say that the sportsmanship and the friendships that I鈥檝e found in Rugby are really special to me. Nothing makes a long day of classes better than going to practice and getting to pass around a ball or practice tackling with some of my favorite womxn.
The femmes on the team always make you feel so confident and so affirmed, applauding you for every good tackle you make, and with every beautiful pass, they鈥檒l let you know that someone noticed. I鈥檝e found rugby to be an emotional game, but if or when you鈥檙e kicking yourself because you missed a tackle or made a bad pass, the entire team will tell you that it鈥檚 no big deal, and you feel comforted. "There鈥檚 always time to do better," they鈥檒l say.
See that鈥檚 the thing about intramural sports at 色界吧, you gain meaningful friendships combined with sport without the pressure and stress of ongoing commitment. You play in the games and go to practice because you want to, not because you have to. If you miss a few practices because you have finals the next day, everyone understands and it鈥檚 no bother, especially with Rugby. The same goes for anyone looking to try it out during the year; we always welcome you and it doesn鈥檛 matter if you don鈥檛 know anything, we鈥檙e just excited to have you.
In the fall with Womxn鈥檚 Rugby, we have a tournament called "Scrum by the Sea" where schools from all around California come together in San Diego for a few friendly games, all with the sole goal of helping each other improve (and of course winning but that鈥檚 just the bonus.) Claremont McKenna, UC San Diego, UC Long Beach, UC Riverside, and USC are just a few of the many schools we play against! And when spring comes, which is Rugby season, Saturday鈥檚 a Rugby day. After each game, whoever鈥檚 home school we are in holds a social. Pizza and Rugby songs (yes, we have songs just for this great sport) are what forms friendships and after a while you forget who won, and see everyone as your equal.
So, next time you think you might want to take up Rugby at 色界吧, but find yourself thinking that "the girls are big," think again; I鈥檓 half the size of most of these girls and have yet to be seriously injured. Rugby was the LAST thing my mother wanted me to play (sorry mama), yet here I am, still walking onto that pitch with my teammates that have become some of my best mates, every game.