Currently, there is minimal funding for rugby. What is funding like for rugby as a club sport? Unlike swimming , or football,  we are a mainly independent lettering sport from SPASH, and we do all our own funding and run our sport within the conference. Some things we are trying to fund for is a equipment shed, goal post and other necessary equipment.  We get funding from selling beef jurky and having local company’s sponsor the team.

SPASH’s athletic website stated “Panthers Rugby Club at SPASH was founded in 2017 as a club for girls in grades 9-12. Girls from any area school can play. Girls of all sizes and athletic talents are encouraged to join.” 

If you’re not familiar with rugby, it can be pretty confusing to understand. To put simply it is a full contact and very physical sport with 15 players for each team in the fall season of 15’s  and 7 players on each team for the spring season 7s. The objective of the game is to score tries and field goals on the opposing team to earn points, and to stop your opponent from making a try by tackling players to stop them. 

I joined rugby my sophomore year in the spring season. I had never played before or really heard anything about rugby until I joined the team, and right away I decided rugby was the sport for me. I like how physical rugby is  and how close the team is. In the fall I decided to quit the previous sport I had been participating in since middle school to play rugby for the 15s season.  This season has been great! And I’m excited to play my second 7s season this spring. 

Rugby is best as a club sport/ lettering sport so we can have more freedom to do what we do best. Pam, a juniorPam a junior from SPASH agrees that rugby should stay a club sport.  Pam has been playing rugby for two and a half years and is very involved in the rugby community. She says “Rugby is best as a club sport. Finding a middle ground where we get funding from school but  still have the freedom to do what we want would be good.” Rugby doesn’t get any funds from SPASH, all thought we would benefit from funding if we did.

 Rugby is its own community and it’s best we have people who really know the sport and community working with us, like our current coaches. According to the head coach Tim, “Rugby is considered a varsity club sport and it follows the rules to consider it a lettering sport” Rugby is a varsity lettering sport and is not funded by SPASH but funded by its players and supporters. A lettering sport is a sport that follows WIAA (Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association)  criterias and is not only offered to one school. A lettering sport allows outside organizations such as rugby to operate as a club sport recognised by the school. Being a club sport allows rugby to have players from surrounding schools to be on the team. We have many students from other schools on the team. For example rugby is not like some sports at SPASH like swimming or football but more like other club sports like lacrosse.  Mr. Hauser explains that “Rugby is a non WIAA sport because WIAA doesn’t offer rugby.” 

Other sports like swimming and football are offered by WIAA, and that is why they are a more official WIAA sport rather than rugby that is a club sport. 

Even thought rugby isn’t funded by SPASH doesn’t mean we aren’t doing well with funding, we are successful with our funding. So yes, rugby should remain a club sport because that is what is best for the team.