Photo: Amy Nicholson
The Rugby Breakdown is pleased to welcome Carol Ann Crump, a rising senior at Queens University of Charlotte, as a summer intern. The sports management major is an active member of the Royals’ rugby team and will use those specialities for contributions to the site through July.
Crump grew up in the suburbs of Charlotte, N.C., and in high school funneled extracurricular energies into activities like student government. When she enrolled at Queens in fall 2017, she wasn’t looking toward sports as a means to integrate into college life, but was introduced to rugby nevertheless.
“During Welcome Week, when I first started at Queens, they had men’s and women’s [rugby] games and my family went to watch,” Crump said. “I thought it was super interesting and it was a big thing on campus because it was a first-year program. But I had no interest in joining because I never really considered myself an athlete.”
A positive buzz surrounded the team, and during second semester freshman year, a friend convinced Crump to consider playing rugby.
“I was really looking for something to do and an opportunity to make new friends as a freshman,” Crump said. “We met with coach Katie [Wurst] and she added us to everything. We spent the next couple of days watching practice, and once I saw what rugby was about and the team dynamic between the girls – that’s what drew me into the sport. Everyone was so friendly and it made me want to be there and learn to play and be a part of it.
Photo: Cory Guinn
“The next week we were on the team, practicing, traveling, learning the fundamentals. We were thrown into it, but in a good way,” Crump continued. “I didn’t play a sport in high school so it’s pretty interesting to be starting my athletic career in college.”
Crump appreciated the time spent on safety and technique. As she learned proper tackle form and means to protect one’s body, those anxieties that come with playing a collision sport soon eased. She settled into the wing position to finish out freshman year, before encountering a setback.
“I tore my ACL at the end of freshman year at a 7s tournament,” said Crump, who missed all of sophomore year. “Obviously I couldn’t walk when I got hurt and seeing all of my teammates help me and carry me, it showed me the type of team I was on and the kind of people on the team. It reminded me that I made a good choice in this group of girls.”
Crump appreciated the diversity of the team. Teammates are involved in community service and volunteer work, belong to the honors program and leadership programs, and are friends with the other sports teams. It was a point of pride: You can do and be anything on the rugby team.
Even though Crump couldn’t play sophomore year, she was active all season. She attended every practice, the meetings, study halls, all of the events. Once she was off crutches, she helped on the sidelines, running water or working the scoreboard, and remained active.
Photo: Amy Nicholson
Queens officially joined NIRA, the NCAA varsity league, in fall 2019 and competed in Tier II.
“We definitely worked a lot harder and I think these games were taken a lot more seriously this year,” Crump said of the mentality shift. “The freshman class that came in were all really good players and that helped our team a lot on the field.”
The Royals advanced to the semifinals and dropped a thrilling 23-15 contest to Brown University.
“The loss was obviously really hard but I don’t think it got us down for very long. We are encouraged to work even harder for the next 15s season,” Crump said. “It sucks we didn’t get to play our 7s season [due to Covid-19], especially because we were all using that break to really prepare for this spring. But we’ll all work hard during the summer and come into the fall even more prepared. We’ll welcome the freshman and have an even better year.”
The Covid-19 shutdown impacted some of Crump’s academic plans as well. The 20-year-old took a couple of years to find the right major, but when she landed on sports management, she foresaw a more tangible future.
Photo: Bridget Mielke
“It took me a minute to figure out what I really wanted to do, but everything clicked in sports management,” Crump said. “I realized I was good at this. I understood what the teachers were talking about and I felt comfortable participating. It’s been a lot of fun and showed me what I want to do after college.
“I’m really into event planning and stuff like that. I do that for my sorority – plan the social events,” the Phi Mu Gamma Gamma member and Alumnae Relations Chair said. “After graduation I really hope to be partnered with a professional sports team and plan their game-day events or charity events, and fun things for fans and players and the overall community.”
Crump had lined up a summer internship in event planning, but the pandemic shut down such gatherings and thus her opportunity to participate. Coach Wurst connected Crump with Jackie Finlan, editor of The Rugby Breakdown, and the news service was happy to facilitate a summer partnership.
“Carol Ann brings positivity and an enthusiasm for learning that every coach loves to have on their team,” Wurst endorsed Crump. “She is the epitome of a student-athlete who continues to find ways to utilize skills learned within her course of study to constantly advance our rugby program. I always ask her for ideas on how to enhance our events, and as a seasoned sports management professional, I am fortunate that I have the opportunity to continue to learn from her on a regular basis.”
Crump’s first assignment involves an audit of successful tournaments and how they’re adjusting as Covid-19 guidelines and timelines shift.