This Weekend

Whew, sorry I have been missing so long! I got my Harry Potter book Saturday afternoon and I have been busy reading and reading and reading! I read it in 2 days, because I don’t like to just sit there and read through the whole book. I like to read a few hundred pages and then digest for a few hours and then I can’t wait any longer, so I pick it up again.

How was your weekend? Mine was fabulous! Saturday morning I attended a Firefighter Recruiting Expo. Basically a 4 hour event where we learned all about firefighting and did a few or the events firefighters do. We arrived at 9am and had some breakfast, they chatted at us for a few minutes and then we headed outside.

Outside there were three different firefighting trucks. An Engine, Ladder and Special Operations unit…and we learned about all the different tools they carry, if they carry water, hoses etc. We also got to meet three different crews and a probie (a cadet that has made it through academy, but is not a Firefighter yet). It was awesome and very exciting!

Then we did a few of the firefighting CPATS (the physical test you take to get into the Academy). This included the forcible entry and the hose drag. The forcible entry is a sledgehammer to a door or duplicating that in a test form. So after 6 or 7 hits the buzzer goes off and you have finished that part of the exam. The hose drag was the best part of it for me…you drag the 3 inch hose 75m and then go 90 degrees around a barrel. At the point you run 25 more meters and drop to one knee, from there you have to drag another 75m of hose to you.

As I watched the girls (it was an all girl class) finish the hose drag I was astonished at how many of them were struggling. Granted for my small frame I was one of the bigger girls there, how funny is that? And also by no means is it an easy feat, but I thrive on these sorts of things! Give me a challenge! So after I finished the forcible entry drill…oh WAIT! I forgot to tell you that we are wearing 50 extra pounds on all these drills. The weight is to simulate the Air Pac and the other tools, clothing etc we would be carrying as a firefighter.

Anyways, the hose drag was way easier than I thought. The probie even commented that I wasn’t breathing hard after I finished. It seems to me that rugby training would go hand in hand with firefighting. So we find out October 1st if there is going to be an academy and then the 6 month long process begins. I am so excited for this opportunity.

As for fitness this weekend, I kind of fell off the wagon. Friday I did a short trail run and did some Corssfit style push ups and pull ups. I bought myself a new pull up bar so I am excited to start using that again! Saturday, I did the firefighting expo and then read Harry Potter. Sunday is a rest day…and Monday I cleaned the house from top to bottom! I know that isn’t considered fitness, but I try to do it a faster pace and make sure I carry the vacuum room to room and stuff like that.

Let’s see what is going on in the rugby world!

• Check it out! Over 10,000 visitors since I started my blog last year! Thanks!
• Cape Cod Tournament – July 27-28, 2007
  This year’s theme is: Super heroes and villains! Start putting your costumes together and brainstorming your skit ideas!

  Any questions or comments about the Cape Cod 7s Tournament, please contact Jenn Jones @ nurugger21@comcast.net

  Club Competitive: New York, Pink Dresses, NRU Senior, NOVA 1, Midwest Thunderbirds, BWRFC A,

  Club Social: UConn Alumni, Satiated Beavers, Charles River, Bull Moose Reunion Team, Bull Moose I, Bull Moose II, Seacoast A, Seacoast B, Hartford Roses, Shamshock Rugby, Dirty Thirties, Middlesex Barbarians, NOVA 2, Radcliffe, Your Mother, Scrubs, Turboprops, Northeastern, Portland, Providence A, Providence B, Springfield, BWRFC B, Union College Alumni,

  Collegiate: UConn, The Goonies, Boston College, Keene State, Holy Cross, Boston College, BU Justice League, Williams Hamburglars

• War of the Roses – September 29, 2007
  Norman, OK

  More Info: Contact Head Coach Tracy Curtis

• University of Dallas Alumni Create Non-profit Organization
  Former student athletes of the University of Dallas (UD) in Irving, Texas, have established the GRAA – Groundhog Rugby Alumni Association, a 501 (c) (3) organization to promote the advancement of collegiate rugby and educate the public about collegiate rugby. The GRAA has started a fundraising effort to support a European playing tour for UD undergraduates in March 2008.

  The concept of such an organization was the brainchild of the team coach, Bob MacNab, which occurred several years ago when alumni fundraising efforts
  yielded significant results. “We had so many former student-athletes returning to the yearly Alumni vs Undergraduate friendly match raising money to fund the undergraduate team, it was only the natural next step to channel these efforts to achieve a greater good,” explained MacNab.

  This coming year will mark the 25th Anniversary of the University of Dallas Rugby Football Club. In March 2008, the undergraduate student athletes,
  alumni, coach and ot
  hers will travel abroad to both England and Ireland to compete in an international rugby tour.

  “We are thrilled to receive our non-profit status and believe in our mission to advance and generate greater awareness of college rugby,” added GRAA president Bill Moser. “It’s the perfect combination, the club will have the opportunity to compete at an international level and the GRAA can promote collegiate rugby.”

  The GRAA will be conducting fundraising efforts to make the tour possible. Anyone can make a donation and contributions are tax-deductible and are only for the benefit of current student athletes. Alumni participating in the event are paying their own way and will not benefit from the GRAA contributions.

  For more information contact Bill Demers at 214-986-4353 or billdemers@hotmail.com

• Midnight Sevens – July 22, 2007

  Another perfect summer evening welcomed the return of the Old Blue Midnight 7s to New York City. Hosted by Old Blue, the Midnight Sevens began at dusk on Saturday and went until just after 1am Sunday, when the spotlights illuminating the West Village field near Ground Zero were lost.

  Twenty-one men’s and women’s teams from across Met NY played at Pier 40, Old Blue’s turf field located on top of the Hudson River and nicknamed, ‘The Bullpen’. The double pitch format allowed for a carnival- like atmosphere, where local ruggers socialized, caught up with one another and watched each and every match in the contained courtyard. The mood was also livened by the beat of music filling the huge courtyard all night during the matches.

  Since the lights went dark before the women’s final could be played, both the Village Lions I Women and the Hudson Valley Women were crowned co-champions. On the Men’s side, host Old Blue bested Rutgers 19-5 in a shortened final.

  Also receiving trophies for individual achievement were: Tournament MVPs Alison Hinke from the Village Lions and James Greenwood from Old Blue. The Outstanding Ref trophy went to Glenn Miller.

  Old Blue 2007 Midnight 7s results:

  5 SUNY New Paltz v. North Jersey 36
  28 Old Blue v.Village Lions I 12
  7 NYRC v. Landsdowne (Dead Rabbits) 12
  42 Joe’s College Buddies v. Wyld Stallyns 0
  14 Suffolk Bull Moose v. Stony Brook University 10
  10 Montclair v. Village Lions II 0
  26 Rutgers Rugby v. Essex County (NoJo X Side) 7
  12 NY Americans v. NY Japanese RFC 19
  31 Village Lions I Women v. Suffolk Bull Moose Women 0
  20 Hudson Valley Women v. SNY Women’s Rugby Club Women 0
  33 Old Blue v. Stony Brook University 5
  5 NY Americans v. Montclair 31
  24 Village Lions II v. Wyld Stallyns 0
  19 NYRC v. NoJo 0
  31 NY Japanese RFC v. Essex County (NoJo X Side) 7
  40 Suffolk Bull Moose v. SUNY New Paltz 0
  12 Rutgers v. Joes College Buddies 10
  15 Hudson Valley Rebels Women v. Village Lions II Women 0
  0 Landsdowne (Dead Rabbits) v. Village Lions I 27
  0 NYRC v. Old Blue 29
  10 SNY Women’s Rugby Club v. Suffolk Bull Moose Women 5
  7 Montclair v. NoJo 15
  5 NY Americans v. Landsdowne (Dead Rabbits) 29
  5 Stony Brook University v. Joe’s College Buddies 40
  0 Wyld Stallyns v. Rutgers 29
  19 Village Lions I v. NY Japanese RFC 0
  29 Suffolk Bullmoose v. Village Lions II 12
  22 Essex v. New Paltz 24
  33 Village Lions I Women v Hudson Valley Women 12
  15 Suffolk Bullmoose Women v. Village Lions II Women 10

  Semifinals
  29 Old Blues v. Joes College Buddies 0
  5 Suffolk v. Rutgers 34
  28 Village Lions I Women v. Southern NY Women 0
  15 Hudson Valley Women v. Village Lions II Women 0 *

  Finals
  19 Old Blue v. Rutgers 5 *
  Village Lions I Women v. Hudson Valley Women *

  * shortened/not played due to loss of lights after 1am

• USA U23 Team in New Zealand
  Haven’t seen any updates yet, I asked a few players to blog, but they weren’t interested…hopefully we will get some updates soon!

  The team will begin the tour with a match against Burnside Rugby Football Club Women’s Team in Christchurch on Wednesday, July 25. The second match will be in Palmerston North against the Manawatu Club on Saturday, July 28. The New Zealand tour will conclude with a final game in Auckland on August 4.

  Good luck ladies!