The Women’s Premier League (WPL) and Ruggette RFC have announced a new partnership that will culminate at the 2022 WPL National Championship, June 24-26 in Lemont, Ill. The two women’s rugby entities are collaborating on apparel that places its athletes at the center of the creative and design process.
Founded in 2018, Ruggette RFC was created with the intention to provide female rugby athletes with apparel made specifically for them, but also to help prove that women’s rugby, and female sport in general, is not a hobby or a secondary interest, but a viable industry in and of itself, and deserving of support and investment. Those tenets were most recently discussed in the hit documentary, No Woman No Try, on Prime Sport.
The WPL is the top women’s rugby competition in the U.S. and has held that honor since 2009. Now in its 12th season, the league has returned to play this spring 2022, and all 10 teams will participate at the late-June national championship, the first since fall 2019.
Ruggette RFC and the WPL have collaborated on a tournament t-shirt for nationals as well as working on a WPL player-specific surprise to be revealed at the Tournament! Limited stock of merch will be available for purchase on-site at nationals, as well as available for pre-order now – make sure you get yours before they sell out live at the event!
“We are so excited to be working with the top tier of domestic women’s rugby in the USA and supporting their growth of the league and the game as a whole,” Ruggette founder Stef Evans enthused.
“This is such an exciting time for the WPL, as they are on the cusp of a new era for elite women’s rugby in the states. I’m thrilled to be a part of changes coming and help support their growth in every way we possibly can!”
To echo their excitement, WPL co-commissioners Kittery Ruiz and Ali Gillberg commented, “Working with Ruggette is an incredibly exciting and pivotal step for the league! A partner that thinks about all the little details like what kit may look and feel like for the players has enormous psychological benefits for how athletes feel appreciated and seen. Ruggette has always focused their merchandise around what is right and feels good for the women’s game.
We are thrilled to leverage their historical knowledge and their incredible design capabilities to provide a tournament t-shirt and a special surprise for the players. Partnering with Ruggette on this project is a really fun way & opportunity to honor the work of our players, their teams, and the legacy of the WPL as a whole.”
The tournament tees and tanks are available for pre-sale through June 13, made available through ruggetterfc.com. For more information on the WPL national championship, visit the event site.