2015 & 2016 DI Club Champion Seattle /// Photo: Travis Prior for USA Rugby
There will be a new women’s DI club national champion in 2017 now that the Seattle Saracens’ participation waiver has been denied. Instead, the two-time reigning champion will focus its energies on the British Columbia Rugby Union (BCRU) and the Canadian Women’s Premier Division.
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Seattle has always played Canadian opponents, but the team reached a crossroads several years ago. When Division I disappeared from the Pacific Northwest,* Seattle joined the BCRU’s Women’s Premier Division for more and better games. It was an easy choice for the Saracens on all fronts, and the team benefitted (read more).
* The original version of this article stated that Seattle could have joined USA Rugby’s Women’s Premier League in fall 2014, but that’s both not true and also not the deciding factor for joining the BCRU. ORSU had won DI in spring 2014 and its promotion to the WPL in fall 2014 is what left a competitive void in Seattle’s potential schedule. Seattle wasn’t eligible for WPL inclusion until fall 2015.
During the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, Seattle competed in BC Rugby’s playoffs, and then secured a waiver from USA Rugby to join the domestic DI club post-season in May. The Saracens won the USA Rugby DI championship in 2015 and 2016. The Saracens anticipated an identical arrangement for the 2016-17 season, but its waiver was met with resistance.
Eagle prop Naima Reddick explained that, unlike previous years, Seattle was the only team to apply for such a waiver.
“This year we were the only team to submit a waiver. It was denied, we appealed it, and it was denied again. … In December we were informed that we needed to play six competitive games [against U.S. teams] to be eligible for play-ins,” explained Reddick. “We took it to a vote and a large majority of our membership wanted to [compete in USA Rugby playoffs]; however, it was halfway through our competitive cycle in the BCRU.”
The leadership attempted to secure the requisite number of games, but given the short notice, potential opponents had inflexible schedules. Seattle couldn’t line up the matches and therefore made the difficult decision to withdraw from U.S. play this season.
Reddick explained that the team doesn’t necessarily disagree with USA Rugby’s decision – that teams competing toward a U.S. title should have to play U.S. teams – but it’s the timing of the decision that handcuffed the team.
“Seattle’s in a unique position, but if you’re trying to keep it fair across the board, and we’re submitting a waiver while everyone else has worked it out, then it’s not that fair,” Reddick played devil’s advocate. “If we had known enough in advance – it’s nine months of the BCRU but there are breaks for games. But because we didn’t know if that was going to be the case until late December-ish, it became [impossible]. The spring is more intense than the fall.”
Reddick, who is a part of a five-person leadership group, said that the team has learned its lesson and, regardless of how future waiver processes might go, will work those U.S. games into future schedules.
“The squad’s upset because we enjoy participating in DI. It’s a tough situation but no one has any hard feelings toward USA Rugby,” Reddick said. “It’s one thing to have your title taken away [by defeat]; it’s another to not even be there to defend it.”
While Seattle is mourning its absence from the DI playoffs, there is still a BCRU title to chase – and that one is tougher to achieve. Reddick, who is in the World Cup pool, is happy to be playing against excellent competition so regularly.
“We play 16 games with the BCRU, and also 22-23 of their 38 World Cup pool players are in the BCRU with me,” Reddick said. “I play tighthead prop and I go head-to-head with their loosehead 2-3 times a year. The competition – having played all over the country and the world – is really good.”
There are some silver linings – like an opportunity to recover between 15s and 7s seasons – but missing out on the USA Rugby championships will still sting, “because it’s something you want,” Reddick said. “How often does a three-peat happen?
“But we’re definitely not gone. We’re coming back.”