For my first post with Talking Rugby Union I thought I would give a quick overview of Women's Rugby in the US and beyond. But first a quick introduction to me!
My name is Wendy Young and I have been chronicling women's rugby in the US since 2006. In the last few years I have jumped into the big pool of International Women's Rugby as well. My website Your Scrumhalf Connection was created in 2006 because I wanted to give back to the sport that has given me so much. As for me personally, I currently play scrumhalf for the Austin Valkyries in Austin, TX. I started my rugby career at the University of Oklahoma in 2001, but moved to Austin in 2006. I have played on several regional selectside teams and was asked to help coach the West U23 team in 2008 and have been with them ever since. I was also honored to be a member of the USA Women's National Team pool from 2006-2008. In 2008 I was also certified as a rugby referee in the Texas Rugby Union. I enjoy all aspects of the game and love having my foot in administration, reffing, coaching and especially playing!
Women's Rugby across the world is experiencing major growth and I believe that is a reflection of the availability of rugby at every level. In the US we have seen a major increase in rugby on television and available on the Internet. Along with the inclusion of 7s rugby in the Olympics I believe we will continue to see an expansive growth over the next couple of years. In 2010 the number of participants in rugby in America cracked a million for the first time -- 1,130,000, up from 617,000 in 2007. While rugby in general is still in its infancy stages in the US, women's rugby is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
Women's Rugby World Cup (7s and 15s) / Olympics
In 2010 the WRWC was held in London, England and the number of spectators, participants and fans was astounding. While the finalists of the Women's Rugby World Cup final were the same as the last 3 tournaments, lots of other aspects of the tournament were new and fresh. For the first time, over 13 matches were shown live on Sky Sports and most matches were available to watch on-line.
Looking forward to the 2013 Women's 7s Rugby World Cup and the 2016 Olympics several nations have changed their strategy for women's rugby. Canada, England and the US have already started selections for these upcoming events. Canada and England even allow their players stipends and additional funding...thats as close to "professional rugby" as we have seen for women yet. I've said it before and I will say it again, whomever funds their programs NOW will be standing on that awards podium come 2013 and 2016.
We have also seen more women's teams than ever before, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Ukraine are among a few of the newest International Women's teams that have blossomed over the last year. Women's rugby is consistently growing and I can't wait to see the growth in the next few years.
Collegiate Rugby Premiership and 7s Championships
In the last two years USA Sevens has begun to promote more and more Collegiate tournaments and leagues. The newly formed Collegiate Rugby Premiership (15s) for men's rugby saw an explosion of rugby across the nation. The league had teams playing each other from across the nation that wouldn't normally play each other...that coupled with unprecedented exposure on TV, radio, Newspapers, Facebook, Twitter and more we have more fans than ever.
The first Collegiate 7s Championship was held last year and the Utah Utes (men) won the finale in spectacular fashion. The game was broadcast live on NBC and had some of the highest ratings for rugby yet. This year they have opted to include a women's bracket and the buzz over that is very exciting. At the recent Collegiate 15 Championships Army ousted Penn State with one player scoring 33 points! Many think that the finale will pit Army against Penn State in a 7s rematch.
Final Thoughts
Overall the growth of women's rugby in the US and Internationally is bigger and better than ever before. However, we can only grow with the support of the entire rugby community. I still come across web sites that don't or barely acknowledge the women's rugby exists. This deeply saddens me as women's rugby has a beauty and finesse to it that men's rugby will never understand. For a sport that has the same rules and parameters for both sexes it is amazing that the stereotype is that women's rugby is slow and boring. I always ask those with that opinion if they have actually watched a high level women's game...I hope that their opinion would change! Thanks for reading and I look forward to contributing more in the future!
