Welcome to the eighth edition of El Paso Rugby’s Monthly Newsletter!
Where we keep you updated on all things El Paso Rugby. We’re excited to have you along for the journey! Check out what we got up to in August.
Exhibition Match Recap
A huge Thank You to everyone who came together to make the exhibition match on 8/20 a
resounding success! Rugby is for sharing!
We appreciate the endorsement by the City of El Paso Parks & Recreation Department, the field space rental from Coronado Football, the referees from the Southwest Rugby Union, the enthusiastic announcing from Coach Karrenberg of NMSU Rugby, and of course the traveling team of Charles River Rugby from Boston.
We also want to personally thank all of our amazing social members and volunteers that helped run the event while we were sweating it out on the field. From taking tickets to selling t-shirts, you all made the experience memorable for our fans.
It was also wonderful partnering with Young Women’s Leadership Academy (YWLA) to capture interest in youth rugby both in the Yselta School District and EPISD. You all should be on the lookout for youth clinics across El Paso in the upcoming months!
Despite the rainy conditions, we had nearly 300 people in attendance to watch the game. Many of those were students with donated tickets thanks to our supporters far and wide who purchased tickets to donate to local youth. We had donated ticket recipients from YWLA, Young Women’s STEAM Research and Preparatory Academy (YWA), Big Brothers Big Sisters of El Paso, and Coronado Football. Thank you to the donors who helped us share rugby with these kids.
We also played a rugby match. It was a hard-fought game between Charles River Rugby and El Paso Rugby. Possession was back and forth with great rucking and plenty of scrums. A couple of heads up decisions put the River Rats in the try zone, with the Jackalopes also putting points up on the board. But ultimately Charles River from Boston prevailed 12-5, beating El Paso Rugby by one try and conversion.
We have a feeling this is not the last time the two sides will face off and there are already plans in the works for a re-match in Boston. If you want to re-live the action from this exhibition match, you can find the full recording from Cool Paso on YouTube. Special shout out to Jason Lantrip for his incredible photography.
Thank you again to everyone who was a part of this exceptional and uplifting event. We are so proud of this club and all those involved with it. Let’s keep growing rugby in the Borderland!
Touring El Paso with our Visiting Team
Rugby is about community and building connections both on and off the pitch. Naturally, we wanted to make sure that our visiting team got to know our club and our city, including some of the things that make El Paso and our culture here so amazing. To that end, we had a collaborative itinerary of fun for the weekend that we’d love to tell you all about.
On Friday, we had a joint team dinner where the players from both teams got to meet one another and enjoy a meal at historic L&J Cafe. We followed this up with a night of country and line dancing at Little Bit of Texas.
On Saturday, the visiting team was treated to an informative, engaging, and personalized tour from El Paso historian, David Varela. All of this before the exhibition match in the evening.
On Sunday, we had a joint team breakfast of homemade pozole care of Dolores Hernandez, the mother of one of El Paso Rugby’s founders. After a bit of rest, we were off to a Margarita Tour of El Paso, curated by Jollen Gutierrez. Players got to taste margaritas at Ambar, Carlos & Mickey’s, and Ándale before ending the night at a private party for players and social members of El Paso Rugby.
What a great bonding experience and we were so proud to share our love for this city and community with Charles River Rugby.
The Boys Are Back in Town
Gabriel Bigas, our intrepid Recruiting Chair, has done an amazing job making connections in the community and recruiting new folx to try rugby with The Jackalopes. Several of them were bitten by the rugby bug and decided to join the club. El Paso Rugby now has a dozen players rostering for our men+ side!
Very soon we will be able to enter two sides into Fall tournaments – we’ll have both a women+ and a men+ side. We can’t wait to take the pitch together and compete in both brackets!
BRC Volunteering
We are making more connections in the community and one that is close to our heart is being able to volunteer for Borderland Rainbow Center (BRC). In August, we had Jackalopes at a couple of their activities helping with BRC’s Sunday Brunch, unloading the weekly arrival of food for the pantry, and passing out boxes of food at their Monday food pickup. Thank you to BRC for letting us help out and always guiding us with new tasks. We’re looking forward to more volunteering together and partnering for future events!
Fall Developmental Season
We are entering our Fall season! This is a developmental season as we are getting ready for Spring competitive play on the women+ side. The Fall is a great time to come out and try rugby. We know you'll love the sport and the community as much as we do. We hope to see you at a practice this Fall!
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7pm-9pm @Mary Webb Park
Look Ahead: Member Access Only
The Look Ahead is a special portion of the El Paso Rugby Newsletter that can only be accessed by those who are active players and social members. Become a Social Member today! We'd love to have you be a part of the club.
Comentarios