Middlebury College Rugby Club

The MCRC beat the University of Southern Florida by 38 points to 14 to advance to the final four of the Division II Men’s Rugby National Championship. Match report of the USF game will be posted tomorrow.

Middlebury will play the other east coast quarterfinal winner Salisbury in this semi-final game on Saturday, April 30 at 3:15 PM, Founders Field in Pittsburgh, PA. The two west coast teams playing for a spot in the final are UW Whitewater and Sierra College. The final will be played on Sunday at 2 PM at the same venue.

Pics from the win over St. Mike’s courtesy of Erik “Escobar” Fendik ’12.5:

http://mcrcphotos.shutterfly.com/pictures/4399

Pics from the win over Coast Guard courtesy of Erik “Escobar” Fendik ’12.5: http://mcrcphotos.shutterfly.com/pictures/2430

Our first official merchandise store is now open! Working closely with Boathouse Sports we have developed limited-edition Middlebury Rugby clothing (Gore-Tex™ jackets, hoodys, caps and more) for you to order. This is a great way to get top-of-the-line sporting gear while supporting the club, as 25% of all proceeds go directly to us. Just click on the link below, print out, complete, and mail in the order form along with payment by April 19th when the store closes. By May 10th, just three weeks later, your order will be delivered to you. So check out what’s on offer and support the MCRC in style!
Click here for the order form: http://go.middlebury.edu/mcrcstore

Due to scheduling conflicts two of our spring warm-up games will be kicking off at new times:

The MCRC vs. BU (@ BU) – Saturday, March 20: 7 PM (under the lights)

The MCRC vs. Harvard (@ Harvard) – Saturday, April 3: 10:30 AM (A side); 12 PM (B side)

We hope to see our Boston alumni, family and friends at one or both of these games.  We will have MCRC gear for sale and some fun giveaways so come out and support The BLUE as we prepare for the National Championships!

Now you can make an online gift directly to The MCRC at our unique online giving form – no need to wonder where your gift is going exactly – this goes directly to the rugby club account.  We need your help to cover travel expenses to Florida and hopefully California for the National Championship playoffs – only 4 games stand between us and an unprecedented 3rd national championship in 4 years BUT it will take a lot of hard work from the boys and the support of our parents, alumni and friends to make it all happen:

http://go.middlebury.edu/givemcrc

Any size gift  will go a long way in helping the team and will be greatly appreciated – thank you for your support!

Sponsor-A-Blue
It costs $1,300 to cover the travel costs of each player.  Each player is asked to contribute $300 to the trip so for a $1000 you can “Sponsor-A-Blue” and be responsible for one of our team members being able to participate in the National Championships – be it alone or with several friends we hope you will consider “sponsoring-a-blue”.

Big thanks to Middlebury’s development office for setting up this online form for us.

The MCRC Spring 2010 raffle is here and we have an incredible array of prizes for you to win!  Tickets are $5 each but buy four and you get the fifth one free ($20 for 5 tickets).  Prizes include two Red Sox vs. Yankees tickets, two tickets to the Sugarbush Ski Resort, 2 pairs of Red Sox tickets (non-Yankees games), Dinner for 2 at the Single Pebble (Burlington’s premier Chinese restaurant), hour-long Massages for two, and golf for two at the Burlington country club.

Click here to buy your tickets online!

You can also buy tickets from members of The MCRC.   This is a great way to support the team as we look to raise money to cover the travel expenses of our trip to the Division II Men’s Collegiate National Championship.  The drawing will be held on March 12th at 10 PM at 51 Main.  The drawing will feature live entertainment from Fat Baby.

Stay tuned for more details and please feel free to contact us at rugby@middlebury.edu with any questions.

Time Change: The MCRC will be playing University of Maine-Orono at 11 AM this Saturday, October 24, 2009 in the New England Championship Quarterfinal.

Interested in rugby?  Each semester the Middlebury Men’s Rugby Club, also known as The MCRC, welcomes dozens of new players to the family and we would love to see you join us.  Whether or not you have ever played, seen or heard of rugby all interested Middlebury male students are welcome (female students interested in rugby please contact rugbywomen@middlebury.edu to get involved in their great program).

VERY IMPORTANT: If you have any interest in rugby whatsoever please complete the 2 (TWO) online health forms by 9/21 – https://herc.middlebury.edu/sportsmed/index.php.  Filling out a form costs you nothing and does not commit you to anything but if you do not fill out a form by 9/21 you will not be able to play rugby this semester.

Other Important Info for New Players:

Practices – Monday – Thursday 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM (Rugby Field)

Matches – In the course of a semester we play several A & B side games – every healthy member is guaranteed at least one game during a semester, most play 4 or more,  See Schedule

Concussion Test: contact the trainer’s room (802.443.5193) to schedule a baseline concussion test (necessary in order to practice & play)

Rugby Field location: Beyond South East end of Peterson Family Athletics Complex on South Main St. (Route 30 South)

USA Rugby Registration:  Once you have decided that you are sticking with rugby you need to register with USA Rugby (the governing body for collegiate rugby in the US).  Registration is required to play in matches: https://membership.usarugby.org/default.aspx