Part one of the girls’ high school overview covered those states that name 15s champions in the fall, and part two looks at states naming 7s champions in the fall. The caveat here is that “championship” indicates that this fall season is the main season for girls’ high school players in the state. The third installment will look at competitions that hold more developmental-style 7s circuits and/or where spring 15s is the main season. But as always, there are a few exceptions. [lead photo: John Vogt]
CHAMPIONSHIP 7s
COLORADO runs two separate 7s leagues in the fall but the teams themselves cross over during larger, friendly tournaments. Rugby Colorado has traditionally overseen the high school club teams, but this fall has seen the addition of two single-school programs in Summit High School and Monarch. With that said, Summit with its multiple sides also has teams competing in the Colorado Interscholastic Rugby Association (CIRA), which is exclusively for single-school programs.
Stay tuned for an interview with Rugby Colorado Girls High School Director Bret Hann, who talks about the two tiers of U18 competitions (13 sides total), as well as the U16 and U14 circuits. It’s a six-round season that will culminate at the state championship on Oct. 25 at Regis High School. In the meantime, check in with the Rugby Colorado homepage or the organization’s Instagram @rugby_colorado.
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CIRA meanwhile is a little tough to follow just because it doesn’t have a public presence online. Summit’s opening tournament on Sept. 7 drew out-of-state competitors in Utah’s United and Kansas’ Saints Rugby. And future tournaments at Summit, Eagle Valley and Palmer are listed on the Rocky Mountain Rugby Referees match assignments page. The championship will be held Nov. 1 in Superior, and there is traditionally an all-state game that follows.
This weekend, CIRA is at Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, while Rugby Colorado enjoys a bye after two rounds of play. • Colorado does run a club 15s season in the spring and it is gaining traction, but fall 7s is still the prime season.
IDAHO is one of those exception states. The fall is for 7s but it’s school-district sponsored, which is big. There are district and state titles, and then a stellar regional tournament on Oct. 26 that lures single-school teams from all over the West (and perhaps beyond) to Boise. The spring is technically club 15s season, but certain teams — like Eagle and Meridian, which finished 1st and 2nd, respectively, at the 2025 high school 15s nationals — keep their single-school form.
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The varsity field involves eight teams: Boise, Borah, Eagle, Meridian, Middleton, Mountain View, Owyhee and reigning champion Rocky Mountain. All but Borah has a team in the JV competition, and the Developmental league is going strong with four teams.
Varsity just wrapped on Round 3 on Sept. 7 and Meridian leads the standings at 5-0. On Sept. 24, Meridian and Eagle will see each other for the first time. For fall 7s results: check out the varsity and junior varsity stats, and also peak at the developmental space.
IOWA holds its championship season in the fall and it’s 7s. There are 14 teams on the schedule: Ankeny, Cedar Rapids, CR Prairie, CR Washington, Central Springs, Fort Dodge, Mason City, Muscatine, Norwalk, Southeast Polk, Quad Cities, Urbandale, Valley and Waverly-Shell Rock.
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Regular season play began on Sept. 8, and after two rounds, Waverly-Shell Rock, Cedar Falls and Norwalk are atop the leaderboard with undefeated records and big point differentials. Check schedule, results and standings here. Check out the Iowa Youth Rugby Association home page for more info.
MISSOURI holds its girls high school season in the fall and it’s 7s. The season begins with a week of touch so everyone can orient themselves in the game; regular season follows; and then states is on Oct. 25.
There isn’t much public, up-to-date information on Missouri, but two-time-reigning champion Saints Rugby is a good resource for the goings-on. The Kansas team traveled to Colorado and Nebraska already, and will now host this weekend’s tournament.
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Up next: Review of fall 7s seasons that are either developmental in nature or not considered the “main” season within a state.