Teaupa, Spears and Montague scrumming against the boys. /// Photo: Locke Bradley Photography; inset: Maria Valenciano •
Necessity is the mother of invention. When eligibility shifted and prohibited 7th and 8th graders from playing up in the high school ranks, a gap formed between several states’ girls’ middle school and high school levels. Washington’s Rainier Plateau coach Andy Ramsay knew that those girls aging out of U13 (5th and 6th grades) program wouldn’t survive a two-year hiatus from the sport, so he got to work.
“I was going to lose them to another sport,” Ramsay said. “When we started the U13 [co-ed tackle] team, the last thing I wanted was to call it ‘co-ed’ and have the girls standing on the sideline. So if they were competent, they played, and I ended up with five very good, enthusiastic, committed girls on that team. [When they aged out,] they were in this no-man’s land. They couldn’t play for the high school, so that was the impetus to do something.”
When spring 2016 rolled around, the U13 graduates recruited a few friends and had enough for a stand-alone junior high 7s team. But there was no one to play in the Seattle region. Ramsay looked toward Rugby Oregon (RO), which was hosting a Jamboree in April and May, and was fortunate to have RO president Jenn Heinrich welcome Rainier’s inclusion. Ramsay added a couple of players from Liberty and called the squad Team Washington. Rugby Washington provided jerseys, and the players commuted across the state border to Portland for 3-4 games every Saturday.
“It was a little different but it worked fine,” Ramsay said. “It was half-field, and it was like touch rugby with tackle and a little bit of rucking – no scrums or lineouts, and knock-ons would just be turned over. It was a big adjustment because our girls had played more advanced rugby in that extent, but they were just happy to be playing against girls their own age.”
Team Washington finished second, but the group wasn’t so concerned with the result. The field improved greatly over the eight weeks, and the Washington squad was grateful for such a warm reception.
“I’m already set up to do that again next year,” Ramsay looked toward spring 2017. “The parents bought in because they saw no other opportunity for their daughters. I assume we’ll have to do this for a few years [until Washington catches up].”
That same sense of necessity saw five of those spring players (and two new players) join Rainier’s 7th and 8th grade boys’ tackle team during summer 7s. Ramsay advocated for their inclusion, vouching for their physical capabilities. At one point a six-girl, one-boy Rainier side played an all-boys 7s team.
“Some of the boys had played with the girls on the U13 team, so they didn’t think anything of it,” Ramsay said. “We had all-girl scrums going against boys. Two boys lifting [Hannah Spears] in the lineout. It was a huge milestone and everybody embraced it.”
There were mismatches at times, girls who got beat on speed, but the team won more matches than it lost, and so much more was gained in confidence and camaraderie.
Ramsay is also the Rainier Plateau girls’ high school coach, and these efforts will feed his spring 15s team. The junior high players already train with the high school team, so those bonds are forming early as well. The coach also tried a Monday Night Rugby series, where players received a 2-3 week course in tackling – no practice or skills training – and then scrimmaged each other. Ramsay didn’t get the numbers for which he was hoping, but it did attract another five players who are more likely to continue in the spring.
“A lot of teams struggle just to get high schoolers. It’s a constant battle, unfortunately,” Ramsay surveyed the Washington state league. “Consistency is big. Many clubs have big turnover of people, and they’re just trying to hold it together. We’re framing our path until folks have time to get settled and the ability to build.”
Ramsay is also considering fixtures against Canadian opponents, which have been in touch already, especially because touring has such a unifying effect on a group.
“Like anything each year gets easier as word gets out,” Ramsay reflected on six years of recruiting. “But these girls, they’re so close-knit. It’s exciting to see how much they love the game already.”
Team Washington (spring 7s)
* Nadine Abaglo – Rainier
Martina Lemay – Liberty
Jessica Malo – Rainier
* Telikai Montague – Rainier
Hepisipa Otutoa – Rainier
Gracie Sarginson – Liberty
* Hannah Spears – Rainier* Teuila Teaupa – Rainier* Alexa Valenciano – Rainier
Rainier Plateau summer 7s additions
Sydney Swartz
Bella Suaava
* Players also competed on the co-ed tackle Rainier summer 7s team
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