The newest girl’s rugby effort in the mid-Atlantic is the Inaugural HS & MS Girls Collegiate Clinic Series. Events take place on Saturday, September 17 and Sunday October 2. Participating series universities are the University of Virginia (UVA) and the University of Mary Washington (UMW). Both located in Virginia, the schools showcase different successful rugby programs.
Virginia Women’s Rugby is a successful Division I club at a large school of 16,500 students, while Mary Washington Women’s Rugby is a successful Division II team sport at a small school of 4,800 students. Both programs have consistently participated in the National Tournament and have coaches with over 2 decades dedicated to each of the programs.
The clinics are FREE and have USA Rugby National Team Women’s Eagles (Jamie Burke, Erica Cavanaugh, Beth Black, Nancy Fitz) participating as guest coaches, in addition to UVA and UMW All-Americans.
In an effort to rally mid-Atlantic high school and middle school girl ruggers in the fall, Fort Hunt Coach Katherine Aversano approached UVA and UMW coaches about participating in the Collegiate Clinic Series. Coaches were enthusiastic to showcase their programs and help the next generation of rugby players. The Series aims to provide girls with a variety of elite coaches at minimal to no cost. Both clinics show Women’s rugby programs that may not get noticed due to inability to provide rugby-specific scholarships or lack of active recruiting funds.
“The landscape of rugby is constantly changing, but players need the experience all options.” Aversano said. “They need to understand that they can be successful at many rugby programs, not just the ones that actively recruit.”
Aversano hopes to expand the Collegiate Clinic Series outside of Virginia in upcoming years. The Clinic Series is FREE and open to all high school and middle school girls rugby players. Registration is through Eventbrite.
For additional information visit https://www.facebook.com/CollegiateClinicSeries/
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