 "Photo: Chandler West/Phoenix")
 "Photo: Photos Chandler West/Phoenix")
 "Photo: Chandler West/Phoenix")
You may think that it takes a lot of athletic ability or at least some experience to join the women’s rugby team, but any female student interested in playing for the team can.
Not that experience hurts.
Currently, only three of the members have played rugby before joining and the rest of the team comes from a variety of athletic experience, from seasoned veterans to complete strangers to the game, a combination of soccer and football. The rugby ball is moved downfield through running, backwards laterals or kicking downfield.
The club consists of approximately 30 members, including nine freshmen, four to five more than usually join each year.
“Everybody brings something different,” said sophomore Miranda McOsker, the team’s match secretary.
“The good thing about rugby is that it doesn’t require any special skills, so anyone can play. Some of the best players have not been athletic.”
McOsker played rugby in high school and knew she wanted to continue playing in college.
The club participates in both a fall and spring season, so those interested can join either semester. During the fall, the club plays five other teams from the Chicago area through the Chicago Area Rugby Football Union (CARFU). In fact, the team has been very successful the last few years, taking the CARFU title in 2009. The club travels farther during the spring season, playing other teams from universities like Western Michigan and Southern Illinois and participating in different tournaments.
The team is also looking into adding a game with Marquette University to their schedule this semester.
Seasons last five to six weeks with matches scheduled every Saturday.
The club typically schedules their matches with the men’s rugby team. This season they will only be playing two matches at home, the first of which isn’t scheduled until Apr. 10.
Their season begins on Mar. 20 with a match against Kalamazoo. The team began practicing indoors the second week of February, where they’ll stay until the weather gets better.
Beyond practices and games, the team spends a lot of their time together. The girls have team breakfasts on Sundays. They recently got together to watch the USA and Wales rugby match and also got free passes to see the rugby movie Invictus. Last semester, the girls won a pizza party for having the most participation at a blood drive held on campus.
“If one person is interested in something, they bring the whole team because we’re all so close,” McOsker said.
Most of the girls have classes together, often study in the library together and many upperclassmen members help their younger teammates pick out classes and give them any books they may have.
“We encourage each other,” sophomore Alyssa Paratore, the club’s secretary, said. “I’m more likely to go to the library if I know someone is studying there.”
The girls are each given their own nicknames by the rest of the team after they join.
Teammates call McOsker “Frack” and another teammate “Frick” because of how close they are on and off the field. Paratore was given the nickname “Polly Pocket” for her height, exemplifying the diversity of the team, a point McOsker stressed.
The team is also very close with their alumni association, which often helps them financially and gives gifts to the girls.
The association also sets up an annual alumni game against both the men and women’s clubs at the end of their season followed by a dinner.
The two clubs hold a rugby prom each year, which mixes aspects of both the sport and the formality of prom.
“The camaraderie of rugby all dressed up is interesting to see since you don’t usually,” McOsker said.
When girls join the club as rookies, they don’t play as often as the girls with more experience, so they are each paired with a “veteran” team member to help them learn the game better.
“We’ve been compared to a sorority in that way,” McOsker said.
The women’s clubs follow the same rules and regulations as the men’s clubs. There are 15 players from each team on the field at a time. The women’s team has a few starting positions and playing time depends on players’ participation in practices and whether they are a rookie or veteran. After each match, there is a B-side game for all of the “reserve” players who weren’t able to play during the first match.
“Rugby is very fluid,” McOsker said. “It’s continuous and only stops when the ball goes out of bounds.”
Like most on-campus organizations, the team also has an executive board that McOsker described as “the voice from the team to the coaches and school.” The e-board meets weekly during seasons and relays any information to the rest of the team during practices and via e-mail.
Beside the secretary and match secretary, the club has a social chair, treasurer and president.
The e-board also has the responsibility of hiring a coach if needed.
The team currently does not have a coach since the alum who was helping out last semester became too busy.
“We’re rebuilding this semester,” Paratore said.
Despite rebuilding, the club is still above 30 members, which is normal for the team.
“I feel like we have a very high number [for a sports club],” Paratore said. “We’re very good at keeping members connected. Even if girls can’t play one semester, they’re still a part of the team.”
Any girls interested in joining the women’s rugby club or who want to learn more about the team can contact Paratore at aparatore@luc.edu
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