Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby Blog

Umm, so its still raining. It hasn't stopped raining for like two weeks. And they are predicting rain until like next week, like NEXT SATURDAY! This is crazy! I went on weather.com to get a synopsis, and they provided me with this great graphic. WOW, could have figured that out on my own!

So it seems that the National Guard has been activated, the firefighters and police department are all on heightened alert.

Yesterday I drove by Town Lake the main river in Austin and it was HIGH and MOVING. I have never seen it this high, nor moving that fast. I can just imagine all the little kayaker's flying by...ha, I doubt they are letting anyone kayak now!

So I was thinking of taking Jake to the dog park today, because he is going berserk from being inside the house so much...but decided against it. What if he tries to swim, he loves the water SO much and drowns? I would be devastated and surely chastised for being a bad dog owner. So I will try to play with him in the front yard when the sun occasionally peeks out.

Whew. Maybe I should have bought an umbrella, I still don't own one.

Rookie/Collegiate Clinic - Hosted by Austin Valkyries

Cost is being determined as we speak. We are thinking about showing a Tri-nations rugby game or some sort of game at our favorite rugby sports bar/grill after the camp.

Sept 1, 2007 - Camp will be from 10am to 6pm. Camp will be held at Burnett Middle School.

All rugby basics will be covered including rucking, mauling, tackling, evasive running, scrumming, kicking and more.

Have special request? Have a new prop? Scrumhalf that needs additional training? Ask away!

A veteran? But just want to get started early on the fall season? Come on down!!

We would like to have your club play in the Sneath Cup 7s. As you may know we are hosting one of the three Mens WRFU 7s Super Regional Qualifiers, Mens Social & Womens Club Brackets, Youth Division.

Saturday July 7, 2007.

So far Aspen, Dallas Fort Worth Elite, Kansas City Blues, Olympic Club (San Fran), Queen City, Santa Fe, The South RFU and the Barbos 2 competitive sides have expressed interest in attending.

Last year we had Dallas Elite, Kansas City United, O Club, Sante Fe, Shreveport and ourselves as well as some local clubs in the tourney. The Qualifier bracket is a small (8 to 12 teams) but competitive event, 5 weeks before the National Club 7s.

Two years ago we had a Women's bracket. We were not able to attract a Women's group last year but would like to again.

Pitch size is 2 dedicated rugby fields with full dimensions and Goal posts

Howard Kent (303) 620-9913 nhil@earthlink.net
Manager/Asst. Coach Denver Barbarians RFC 7s

For travel contact Travel Corp, Jim Bob Glabman 303 595-0007 or 800-222-9229

What: July 14th and 15th, Columbia Olde Grey Rugby will be hosting the “Lucky 7’s Rugby Tournament.” The Tournament will consist of 4 divisions.
1. Men’s Divisions 2. Women’s Division 3. U-19 Boys Division 4. U-19 Women’s Division

I promise you this will be the best 7’s tournament of the summer. The number of teams is limited, so contact us early if you want to guarantee a slot.
Contact Info: oldgreyrugby@yahoo.com

Where: Owen’s Fields, Columbia, SC
When: July 14th and July 15th
Cost: Men’s and Women’s Divisions
$150 if paid before
July 1st $250 if paid after July 1st
Boy and Girls Under 19 Divisions
$100 if paid before July 1st.
$150 if paid before July 1st.

July 21 - July 22, 2007
Location: Blue River Soccer Complex-South Kansas City, Missouri
122nd & Blue River Road

Entry Fee checks:
Bank of Odessa
Attention: Ken Coleman
PO Box 200
Odessa, MO 64076

Melissa McKibben MMCKIBBEN@cerner.com

July 21, 2007

Tracy Curtis tcurtis@ou.edu

This year's theme is: Super heroes and villains! Start putting your costumes together and brainstorming your skit ideas!

Congratulations to the Northeast Senior 7's and the Olde Girls for winning the competitive and social divisions in last year's tournament!

In order to help improve our tournament for next year, please click here to take our survey. Thank you in advance for your input.

Any questions or comments about the Cape Cod 7s Tournament, please contact Jenn Jones @ nurugger21@comcast.net

July 28, 2007

Men's and Women's Beach Rugby on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Barefoot, on the sand, free beer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For More Information
www.corpuschristirugby.org
Randall Stuart, Tournament Director/Club Secretary
361-443-9683
restuart@hotmail.com

www.myspace.com/ccrfc
www.myspace.com/randystuart

July 28, 2007

Kim Thompson thommie68@gmail.com

"If Elvis is a King, then Priscilla is a QUEEN!!!"

August 4, 2007
10am-4pm
treasurer@memphiswomensrugby.com

$150 Club and College Teams
$100 High School Teams

Entry Deadline July 20th

Carmen Mills, Tournament Director

August 11, 2007

Karen Monson kmonson2004@yahoo.com

Wendy,

Got to your blog from someone linking to ours. I'm from Texas, so the Valkyries caught my eye.

Quick question: do you have any teammates insane for Fair Trade coffee there in Austin? If so, they might be interested to know we have the first eco-friendly rugby ball in the States that is also certified Fair Trade.

http://fairtradesports.com/gearshop/product_info.php/cPath/24/products_id/36

Would you mind passing this email off to them?

Scott James
Website: www.fairtradesports.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/fairtradesports

Fair Trade Sports is your source for premium quality sports balls that help at-risk children around the world. 100% after-tax profits go to children's charities.

All our sports balls are certified to be stitched by adult workers paid fair wages and ensured healthy working conditions. We offer guilt-free soccer balls, rugby balls, volleyballs, and more. Together, we can break this cycle of poverty and oppression.

Join the Movement! Subscribe by sending mail to:
subscribe@fairtradesports.com.

If you haven't checked out Dropkick Photos recently....you should!! Check out these great shots of ME! They did a great job of taking successive photos of the action. The NASC photos are particularly good, but they have TONS of other rugby pictures.

Bloodfest 7s - June 23, 2007

1st Place: Baton Rouge
2nd Place: Denton
3rd Place: Texas Tech/Corpus Christi Motley
4th Place: Satiated Beavers
5th Place: Olde Girl Valks*

*Olde Girl Valks only chose to play 2 games and were undefeated on the day.

The tournament was a great success with over 30 men's teams and 5 women's teams. The day rose with cloud cover, a breeze and the occasional rain shower to cool us down. The women were thankful to be on the center pitch and in the midst of all the action. The games were every thirty minutes or so and were a fury! We saw much speed from all teams, with many LONG LONG runs and my best three were: Jen Joyce muscling her way through 50 meters and then breaking free for the diving try..., Heidi Whitman faking the kick on the weak side of the scrum and leaving all her pursuers in the dust and last but not least the fast girl from the Corpus Christi team (sorry, don't know your name!!). She left everyone in her dust all day!

I enjoyed seeing old teammates from Oklahoma, Colorado and hanging out with some of the retired Valkyries. Thanks to the Huns for putting on a very successful tournament with Miller Lite girls, Rugby Olympics and more!

Day 6 ... according to Burns "3rd Degree" Chamberlain
Long Beach, California

So the day began with a stroll to the coffee shop and taqueria for breakfast. We met a very helpful woman at the donut shop, who advised us on the best route to the beach, good restaurants, stain removal, and a general treatise on life. We were rescued by delicious tacos, SoCal style. Suitably fortified we made our way to the beach.

At the beach we decided it was time for a bit of a workout and used my stopwatch to strictly regulate turning every 20 minutes while suntanning. [As an aside, I want to point out that Austin gets a lot of sun. All of the Beavers understand sun safety and know to apply sunscreen often. Somehow, this did not prevent every single Beaver from getting sunburned. Some were worse than others, however, there is no excuse and in 25 years we’ll all be cursing this day at the beach.] We also played in the water, ran, and worked on a few snazzy sevens moves.

After a couple of hours Beaver tummies were rumbling, so we walked to George’s Greek Café for a late lunch. What felt like seven hours later, we left, having enjoyed mimosas (including a tasty pink lemonade version), Greek food and some very garlicky hummus. Such was the strength of this hummus that it spawned a new secret weapon to take to Belmont; winning scrums with garlic breath. By the time we finished, we had to hustle back to Miller’s to get ready for the game and hustle back down to the beach for our seaside match.

Meeting Belmont at the beach, we decided to warm up with some touch, playing with three rotating sides to ensure everyone’s participation. From there we moved on to proper sevens, with one critical addition to our side: Ros’s chosen accessory of stick-on mustaches. Super Beaver powers now firmly attached to our upper lips, we were ready to play Belmont for keeps. While we didn’t win, we played solid sevens, building on our experiences in Vegas and improving markedly. Belmont fielded a strong side that adopted the strategy of playing fifteens, thus tying up our forwards and creating much more work for everyone. Never fear though, this strategy was noted as a heinous crime at that evening’s Beaver Court…

Court was held at the Belmont Brewing Company, where the Belmont ladies graciously hosted us, i.e., provided “gallons of beer the color of tires.” The beer and food were excellent and fortified for a lengthy Court, featuring some 436 different charges, the wise and honorable Judge Krafty presiding (pink hat firmly in place), 749 punishments, and Belmont singing to us for their unpardonable offense.

Leaving the Brewery, we headed for Yankee Doodles, where we hit the trifecta: alcohol, trivia, and most importantly, karaoke! After a strong showing in the trivia, where the Beavers swept the Landsharks, it was time to sing. Ros led the way with the crowd favorite “Zombie” and was joined by T-Hole for a performance of their Nashville hit “I’m Too Sexy.” It was spectacular. Rocky roused everyone with “I Will Survive” before PhB and Beef closed out the night with their stirring rendition of “Sister Christian.”

After this much excitement, a few Beavers couldn’t head home yet, so PhB, T-Hole, Shay, Shaleezy and I headed for Ripples (though I still think it was called Ruffles), only to discover that it, and every other possible venue had closed, except for the Shorehouse Café, a 24-hour diner. It wasn’t until we arrived, were seated and given water that we realized none of us were hungry. We briefly debated the merits of splitting a $1.45 egg five ways, but (thankfully) left instead.

We arrived back at Miller’s and headed for bed, still sweaty, sandy and gross, but now dreaming of the beaches in San Diego…

And that is Day 6 according to 3rd Degree.

Day 7 ... according to Tiffany "T-Hole" Hall
Long Beach to San Diego

I awoke this morning on two ottomans pushed together to form my bed, both of which were covered in sand from my dirty post-rugby-on-the-beach-sans-shower self. Unlike yesterday, the parrot in the corner did not wake me up at 6:00 am rubbing one out on its post, so things were looking up. I brushed the sand out of my eyes and gave myself a quick once over, only to discover two quotes from the previous evening written on my arms. “I drank a gallon of beer the color of tires” from our illustrious PhB, and “They smell good like laundry detergent” from karaoke master Chou. Good times.

Eventually the Beavers showered, packed and bid their most generous hostesses farewell and loaded up on da bus. We had a couple crankmeisters for a minute, exclaiming things like “I haven’t even had breakfast yet I don’t wanna do no trivia!” (Kitty) and “UNGH did anyone move my emory boards?!?” (Krafters), but we soon arrived at Seal Beach and had a wonderful breakfast of delicious Mexican tasties and local coffee drinks and we perked right up. Some of us had to forego beans and rice for a blander meal of yogurt and bananas as, while playing 7s is great, going #7 is not. We had a picnic in the grass and enjoyed Seal Beach, which we discovered is not so named for having dead seals. Sorry, Rock. The Beavers split up, checking out various shoppes and fulfilling kangaroo court punishments and even racking up another heinous crime or two, before getting on the road to head south. San Diego here we come.

The drive was beautiful as it was short and we arrived in the sunny seaside city in no time at all. Upon arrival at the home of missing and greatly missed Beaver Daikon’s mother Kristin we got one of the best gifts so far – orange cones marking out a parking spot for da bus. Thank you Kristin!! Some relaxed around the pool, some sat and chatted in the shade, but the majority of the Beavs set up Apple camp in the serenity room, checking e-mails and bank accounts with as though they hadn’t been satiated for days. When the internet phenomenon had died down it was time to eat, so veggie grill master Ros prepared the burgers and dogs and only one Beaver was given a bunless, floppy weenie. Not bad.

This particular Beav then went to dinner with a fellow rugger from college and has no idea what went on with everyone else. As for me, the beers and times and Karen were all great. We reconnoitered around nine and put on the closest thing we had to dress blacks including fingernail polish and eye make-up courtesy of Rocky and prepared ourselves for the Summer Solstice Gathering with the Circle of the Stag Huntress at the Hot Monkey Love Café. Holy mouthful. While waiting for the ceremony some Beavers got their fortunes told, some drank big beers in the Bermuda Triangle behind the bus, and we all took a field trip to a Mexican-owned Irish pub that played reggae music. We were all sporting our day’s accessory, candy necklaces from Shalinka, and some of our fellow bar patrons were quite intrigued. We made our way back to the H.M.L.C. just in time for a very quick Wiccan solstice ceremony, piled back on da bus and went home. Some Beavers slept in the house, some Beavers slept on the bus, and some Beavers went wee wee wee all the way to the beach to watch the sunrise over the beautiful ocean. In the west. God bless them.

And that is Day 7 according to T-Hole.

Day 8-10 ... according to Tiffany "T-Hole" Hall
Long Beach to San Diego

According to Wendy (until the beavs update the website...)

The beavers started the long trek back to Austin from Tucson today. They arrived on Sunday morning around 9am exhausted, dirty and glad to be home safely. Kitty in all her sunburnt exhaustion joined us at breakfast at Austin Java to give us a few tales. We enjoyed stories of exhaust (ooops...engine) throat, sleeping on the bus, the rugby games and more.

Later as we returned home we met up with another exhausted beaver. Shalay was at home on the couch catching up on all her tivo'ed shows. She was excited to tell us about a few things in Vegas, California and more.

But as we all know, what happens on tour, stays on tour...we didn't get an inside scoop at all! Glad you all are back home safe and sound. I just got an email from the Swedish ref that did the Deb Ball for us and he suggested we take a tour in Sweden his home town. Wouldn't that be a blast?? An overseas beaver tour...we would have to get a bus over there though...

Day 5 ... according to Stephanie "Kitty" Dorsey
Las Vegas to Long Beach, Califas

What up! Here is Monday, Day 5 coming at you! While most Americans were starting their work week the Beavers were either still in bed or pool side sipping Bloody Marys. Around noon we packed up our kits and gifts for the Da Bus and rolled outta Vegas. Our ride to Cali would be a scorcher, good thing it was a short drive. When Shalay announced that we would be passing the world's largest thermometer (fulfilling one of her punishments from Kangaroo court) it read a cool 105 degrees. Once we made it out of the desert and into the coastal plains, it was as if Da Bus's A/C had turned on. The Beavers started to move around a bit more and you could fill the excitement of being in a new cooler state.

With several stops, including one at Peggy Sue's for lunch, we arrived in Long Beach for our poolside BBQ hosted by the Belmont Shore Landsharks. It was my turn to give out the accessories and in true LBC fashion I had gold chains with a big $ sign for my fellow beavers. After friendly convo, burgers, chicken sausage, and beers we headed over to Miller's where most of the beavers would be staying. Linda Miller is one of the Belmont Shore coaches and was also one of the first women to play rugby overseas representing the U.S. of A! Miller and Grace were awesome hosts. They put most of the Beavs in their back house next to their 1920's crib that was about a mile from the beach. A couple of the other beavers stayed with Beef, Amy, and Brie who were equally amazing hosts. Beef and Chou Beaver were teammates in Florida so they got to catch up on the good ol' days.

After we dropped our kits we walked down to 2nd street, the main drag in the LBC. Accompanied by a few Landsharks, our first stop was Panama Joe's. In true Beaver fashion we quickly took over the local bar which included a cover band. The drinks flowed and the Beavers started shaking their tails! Many of the locals, especially the ladies, seemed intrigued by the beaver take over. We did look pretty pimp in our matching beaver shirts, visors, and gold chains. Before leaving Joe's we walked it out, got a free round of shots from The Moose, and danced with some of the local ladies. Our next stop in the LBC was Belmont Station. We headed straight to the dance floor and tore that shit up! T-Hole even danced it up with an older gal when her husband refused to step on the dance floor. Last call was quickly announced and the Beavers headed to the front door. All of the sudden...dun dun duuun a fight broke out! From what I could see there were three ladies involved which included plenty of grabbing and hair pulling. As the Beavers witnessed the throw down they all had different reactions. T-Hole and Touche clung to each other, Bags threw her donuts, and Rocky headed straight for the action. Rocky, with her Gucci bag intact, broke up the fight by grabbing one of the girls from behind and threw her to the ground. A few moments later a second fight had started and this time it was 3rd Degree who stepped in to break it up. Thank goodness the amazing Beavers of the 512 were there to save the day! Still a little thirsty and with some dance left in us we looked for a third place to party but we were out of luck. On our way back to Miller's the free shots and other spirits of the night had gone straight to our beaver bladders. We scattered into a neighborhood where some of us leaned against cars and the side of houses and peed in unison. Feeling much lighter we finished our stroll to Miller's and headed to bed.

And that is Day 5 according to Kitty.

From USA RUGBY (info given to All Star Players at NASC):

Dear Coaches and Players,

In the interest of advancement of player performances, a Territorial Season must take place in the following year, 2008. As the 2007 TU Season was a trial period, a competitive schedule was created to allow Territorial players/coaches a better opportunity to work together to furthur skills, knowledge and performance at the next level.

We are presenting this in advance so as to prepare clubs for the initiation for this TU season. You will notice the season actually beings in April so strict club play is still available during the first 3 months in the year (Jan, Feb, Mar).

The following is the schedule for the 2008 Territorial Season. The TU coaches will be working hard to identify and train elite level athletes in their territories as this is increased level of competition is crucial to the development of the National Team player pool.

Included in this schedule is the introduction of the North American 4 (NA4) competition for women, a cross border competition with Canada. This venue will provide the next step in the elite player performance development. Though not ideal due to the August time frame, the competition dates have already scheduled for 2007. However it is WNT program goal to hold this event in a June/July time frame in successive years.

*Any date changes subject to both TU coaches approval.

April 5, 6 or April 12, 13, 2007 OPTIONAL
Selection/Training Venue

Sun April 27, 2008
West vs. Midwest HOME

Sun May 11, 2008
West vs. MARFU AWAY

Sun May 25, 2008 HOME
West vs. South

Aug 19-29, 2007
NA4 FOR WOMEN (2 USA sides vs. 2 CAN sides)

I have been searching around for the other teams schedules, but can't find anything on the internet. Hopefully everyone's schedules will be released soon. I am assuming that they fall on the same weekends, but different teams will be playing. Pretty different, we shall see how it works...

Anyone know where HOME is for the West? Glendale? Kansas City? St Louis? Austin? Boulder? Who knows!!

And thanks to all my readers, we broke 7,000 LAST WEEK and today we have broke 8,000. I would love some feedback on my blog...not many of you are commentors!!

Day 4 ... according to Rachel "Rocky" Osborn
Las Vegas

The day began with a call for breakfast. We were hungry beavers! We began walking up and down the strip, grabbing food, sipping drinks, playing slots and shopping for cheap Vegas crap... I mean thoughtful souvenirs. We took some fun pictures out and about.

Our Beaver "Kitty" found the Kitty Club at Mandalay Bay. She was escorted off the stage.
WE won BIG on the world's BIGGEST SLOT machine and sweated like beavers walking in the 115 degree heat.

The highlight of the day was Kangaroo Court poolside at the Paris Hotel. We began promptly at 4:18 pm PST and heinous crime after heinous crime was brought to the judge. And, par for the course, the judge's decisions were unfair, cruel and frickin' hilarious. The pictures of us chillin' at the pool make me wonder if this is REALLY A RUGBY TOUR??? We ended up having drinks and appetizers poolside until it was time to head out for dinner. We loaded up Da Bus and made our way to McMullan's Pub, the rugby team's sponsor bar, for fantastic Shepherd's Pie, Lobster Rolls, Potato Soup and Salmon. We ate and ran as we had FREE tickets to a Hypnotist show at 10:30 pm at the new Planet Hollywood Hotel (formerly Aladdin). Tiffany "T-Hole" and I both went on stage as hopeful volunteers and neither one of us was remotely hypnotized... the catch is that I left the stage and T-Hole faked like she was under and stayed on the stage acting a fool with the rest of the 12 or 13 people that REALLY were hypnotized. The Beavers cheered and were the most rowdy fans in the crowd. T-Hole represented well as she stomped around like a River Dancer, tried to pick up a man in drag (remember Wanda from In Living Color?), and competed in a "lolly pop" licking contest. Let's just leave it at that.

Some of us were so exhausted that we could barely walk back to the hotel while most of the crowd continued to the casinos for some more late night gambling.

One interesting thing today is that I taught Bags and Burns to play Roulette... and created MONSTERS! My next call may be to Gamblers' Anonymous as these two could not get enough of the game tables.

And that is Day 4 according to Rocky.

Day 3 ... according to Rosalind "Chou" Chou
Tempe to Las Vegas

Austin is synonymous with the phrase “Keepin’ it Weird.” For we Austin based Satiated Beavers, it is unclear if it was Austin “weirdness” or the mysterious winds of Roswell, New Mexico that were responsible for our oddly, adventured-filled day three of da’ bus tour.

All things seemed to be in order for the Beavs as we hit the road by 9:30am. We finally veered from Interstate 10 and were hit with beautiful scenery filled with Joshua trees. The temperature in the early morning was eighty-five degrees and it was only going to get hotter as we made our way to Las Vegas. As we trekked across the dessert, towns and filling stations became few and far between.

Lunchtime approached and we were hoping for a quick stop at a sandwich joint. We entered the town of Wikieup, AZ. It was the only town we had seen for miles and we were unsure when we would hit another. So, after driving down the main thoroughfare (which was about a half mile in length) Steph turned da’ bus around in a dirt patch so that we could pick up some lunch at the Wikieup Trading Post. Rebelliously, we ignored the posting “no buses” and unloaded.

An Old Western Trading Post is an acutely accurate description of our lunch destination. An old miner fortuneteller rests in the front hallway, which divides the store from the restaurant. We headed into the restaurant and one-by-one we ordered our sandwiches and burgers. We loitered in the middle of the dining area as three other tables of customers sat quietly enjoying their lunches. Suddenly, a table of four elderly patrons (two couples) began to sing as if they were a barbershop quartet, harmonizing, snapping in sync, and even Doo Wopping! Breaking into song is not really something you expect to happen in the everyday; so, we stood mesmerized by the quartet. Apparently, they were an act called the “Double Dates” that had just performed in Las Vegas and were heading home. They performed a total of three songs, and even emptied their booth to stand up for their finale; which incorporated some synchronized dance movements. Bags was especially enamored by the performance and got their autographs, talking with them, and sharing our beaver tale. In return, we thought we should share our beaver song, but in retrospect, we should have just kept our song to ourselves. The 65+ year-old crowd did not find “beaver dives” and hip gyrations as amusing as our past crowds. Some of us were left feeling awkwardly embarrassed afterward, while others were very proud. Live and learn, right?

We boarded back onto our bus and again made our way to Las Vegas. The ride got hotter and hotter and we got sweatier and sweatier. We continually drank water and Gatorade, but we Beavers’ thirst was NEVER satiated. We were more like the Dehydrated Beavers.

Signs began to appear for Hoover Dam, a modern man made wonder of the world. Most of us had never seen the dam before so there was much interest and curiosity in witnessing it for ourselves. The traffic came to a halt as we approached the dam. The road was filled with switchbacks and the water from Lake Mead was a shining turquoise blue.

[Disclaimer – this rendition of what happened at the Hoover Dam does not represent the thoughts and opinions of all the Beavers, but can appropriately be called the most accurate. (I, Rosalind, will be leaving the collective voice of all beavers and give the perspective of those who were the beavers were out of the bus.)] *

A number of us decided to exit the bus and walk along the dam. Krafty and Steph stayed in the bus as parking was difficult to find and they had to keep moving with the flow of traffic. We walked along the backside of the dam and Shalay took pictures of the scenery. Next thing I know, I see my teammates (Rocky, Tiff, Shay, and Burns) running. Shalay, Bags, and I straggled and were bringing up the rear. The three of us were unclear about the urgency to catch the bus while the wonderment of the Dam was intoxicating. Shalay took more pictures, and asked Bags and I to pose alongside the ledge of the dam. There were large pillars along the dam that acted as restrooms with golden doors that were reminiscent of when it was built in the 1930s. We passed by some cub scouts and automated tour guide voices as we lost sight of our bus. As we approached the visitor center, we three spotted the bus waiting at a yield sign at the exit road from the parking garage. Concerned, we started to pick up our pace so that da’ bus wouldn’t block traffic. We did not make it in time and da’ bus was forced to enter back on to the main road. Apparently, the other beavers were warring a Nazi-esque parking attendant who was unimpressed by our tale of woe.

Da’ bus headed up the mountain, looking for a place to pull over so that we cold reunite our beaver family. Unfortunately, the road was so narrow and the shoulder so small that they had climb to the apex of the mountain until they were able to find a pull-off spot. Luckily, I had my cellular phone so we could remain in contact with da’ bus. We wanted to march up the mountain, but a sign was clearly posted that no pedestrians were allowed past the parking garage. Hoping to appeal to the humanity of other Hoover Dam tourists, we thought we would thumb a ride with ease. Car after car passed us by, motorists shaking their heads as we attempted to communicate with them through closed windows. Bags attempted to talk to a group of three bikers, but they were carrying bags on their backseats and would not have room to tow us along. A security officer outside of the visitor center shouted at us from across the street:

Officer: You can’t hitchhike. It’s against the law.

Bags: We are just trying to get a ride to our bus. It’s just up the hill.

Officer: Nope, sorry. Call a cab.

Call a cab? Really? In the dessert? With no help from the officer, we headed to the parking garage. We hoped to convince some tourists to help out wayward beaver ruggers before they entered their vehicles. First, we spoke to the parking lot attendant, ignorant of the fact that she had already had a run-in with da’ bus. She referred us to the parking garage manager who said that we could walk up the hill, if and only if, we had permission from a security officer. That option was out. He informed us that we could tell our bus to turn around, but that this meant that we would have to cross over the dam, back to Arizona. This did not seem like an appealing option. Or the bus could come in the garage and pay $110 to “park” which really meant paying a ton of money to turn the bus around in the stinking garage.

Still in constant contact with our mother ship, we told them that a bit further down the road was a turn around spot for buses. The three of us continued to try to find a ride to no avail. We received a call that da’ bus had turned around and the rest of the beavers were coming to get us. In true Hollywood fashion, the white bus came rolling down the hill as we waited behind a fenced barrier. As soon as da’ bus came into close range, the three of us scaled the fence, ran across the street, dodging cars, and hopped into the bus. Rocky masterfully whipped the 13,000 pound beast of a bus around, crossing over the main road, onto the parking garage road, and then back out to the main road missing all obstacles or avoiding all of the curbs. It was incredible!

The beaver clan was reunited as no beavers are to be left behind. Imagine the bus scene in the movie The Graduate in the final scene where Dustin Hoffman and Katherine Ross hop on the city bus and sit there happily laughing together, well it was like that at first, but then we three stragglers were informed that we were to face some serious charges at the next kangaroo court for the most heinous of crimes.

Shortly after our dramatic afternoon adventure, we received a call that the Las Vegas team wanted to change our game time from Sunday afternoon, to that evening. We agreed that playing in the 100 degree 7pm weather would be better than 111 degrees the next day, even if we had been seating in the bus all day. We pressed on, fluid-less in the sweltering heat of the dry dessert.

We arrived at our hotel, the Paris, at 5:30pm. We have no further details to share because what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

On an end note, Tiffany just received a phone call from her uncle Eddie who is here in Vegas for his kids’ soccer tournament. He informed Tiffany that the coach’s dad for the soccer team was late in his arrival to Vegas because of a “traffic jam” at the Hoover Dam. It was established that we were there at the same time and it was revealed that we were in da’ beaver bus. Uncle Eddie said, “Oh, yeah. My niece also got held up on the Hoover Dam as well.” The coach’s dad replied, “They weren’t stuck in the traffic jam, they WERE the cause of it!!”

Family, friends, fans, and foes of the beavers...just know that we are doing our best to gallivant across the country and leave our mark. Whether disrupting lunch at local eateries, or causing major traffic jams on state highways, people know The Satiated Beavers were here.

And that was Day 3 according to Chou.

DAY 2
FRIDAY JUNE 15

ITINERARY
TRAVEL:
Fort Stockton to Tempe (661 miles / 12 hours)

EVENTS:
8:00a Bus time
8:00p Arrive Tempe
9:00p Kangaroo Court @ Team Dinner

Day 2 ... according to Meredith "Bags" Bagley

Fort Stockton to Tempe (661 miles)
A truly monumental day of travel: three states, 661 miles, one continental divide and three time zones. Writing this I can barely remember the motel in Fort Stockton where we began our day...was it just this morning or last week? Despite the daunting distance, the intrepid beavers began our day early by checking da' Bus's fluids -- a process that was going smoothly until Krafty nearly started the massive engine while Rocky was standing on top of it!! Cooler heads prevailed, and we hit the road...

Thankfully the scenery was gorgeous, sagebrush plains and rocky mountaintops made our first leg to El Paso downright enjoyable.

Indulging in a lavish lunch -- at Julio's where tank tops are not allowed (except on the artwork, which was clothing optional) -- our delicious meal was capped off by T-Hole's lovely rendition of the Beaver Song to the entire dining room. To check out Rocky's videotape on YouTube CLICK HERE!!

Granted, she was bribed by a promise of free dinner, but Tiff overcame her anxiety, said a little prayer (thanks to the suggested pre-meal prayer card provided by Julio's) and busted out with "Hello El Paso!!"

The afternoon stretched on and on, with da' Bus chewing up miles of asphalt under the scorching sun. Shalay proved to be our resident off-road specialist, guiding the Beavers on an up-and-down roller coaster ride along a frontage road for some 15 miles before finding an on-ramp to the freeway. Dunkin' Donuts, truck stop showers, card games & even some on-bus calisthenics helped pass the time. At one memorable rest stop, flanked by rusty red rocks piled high on all sides, we utilized Meg's paint markers to inscribe the following messages on da' Bus's back windows: "Vegas or Bust," "Beaver Love," and "Honk for Beaver."

As night fell the Beavers grew more excited about progressing towards Vegas and a reunion in Tempe with everyone's favorite Carrabbamigo, Amanda! Luckily Amanda had the night off and could join us for a fashionably late 11pm dinner...

The Beavers were in full party mode, however, revved up after a rousing game of Never Have I Ever* followed by dancing on the bus (props to Shay for driving this whole time), marveling at the genius of New Kids on the Block videos and other treasures saved on Rocky's laptop.

The highlight of the evening, however, had to be our first session of Beaver Court!!! Everyone on tour was bought up on charges (already!), including da Bus and our members in absentia. Judges Bags & Rocky dispensed fair & wise penalties which will no doubt entertain us all the way to Vegas tomorrow. Yo Ho Ho anyone? Grab your Beaver!! And who the hell is Debbie Gibson?

Late night swimming & umbrella hijinks blended into early morning swimming as the Beavers embarked on the final leg of the travel-intensive portion of this trip. Ahead of us are the bright lights of Las Vegas and the promise of Saturday night in Sin City. With five Vegas-Virgins on da Bus, nothing less than epic adventures await us...

*Beaver Tour Rules preclude me from sharing any of the information divulged during this contest: after all, What Goes on Tour Stays on Tour.

And that was Day 2 according to Bags.

NASC Pictures

Traci Schmidtke's Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2140828&l=7b7b8&id=9611795

Drop Kick Photos:
http://dropkickphotos.smugmug.com/2007%20National%20All%20Star%20Championships

National Sports Photos:
http://nationalsportsphotos.com/find-photos.html *site seems to be down...*

Debtuante Ball Photos - Lonestar 7s

Angelia Flick's Pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/angelia.fick/2007DebutanteBallDallasTX

West vs. Minnesota Motely 59-5

West U23 vs. Midwest 31-3

Today we decided that the Super 8 has become our home! We sleep, eat, hydrate, party, play pranks on each other and then finish it all off with more sleeping. Our rooms are scattered messes of rugby gear, cleats, mouth guards, shoulder pads...and whatever else we thought we needed for this journey. You have become closer friends with your roommates, closer than you ever thought! Room 119 has survived the arctic weather, a flood at 4am and overusing of febreeze. Its weird to think that after tomorrow we will have to return to the real world...

Today we trained at 11am, we arrived at 10:30am so a few of us could work on kicking, passing and get stretched out. The muscles are pretty sore from three days of training and a hard game yesterday. Luckily we haven't had any serious injuries of any of our players, everyone is pretty tired and bruised up as expected though.

Yesterday's lose was hard to take as we knew that we didn't play our best the first half. We were very lethargic and some miscommunication in the backs meant missed tackles. Those missed tackles were hard to recover and meant they were able to put the ball under the posts. The officiating was very lopsided as well as we had 15 penalties and they only had 1 in the first half. Spectators that had never seen rugby were even quick to point out that the South was given forward pass after forward pass and knock on after knock on. We tried to ignore the officiating and make sure we were disciplined but we were penalized over and over again. The South put up 25 points in the first half and thought they had sealed the deal.

The second half was a different story though...we had worked out our miscommunication problems and had finally woken up. Off some great 8-man picks and quick rucks out to the backs we were finally able to put some points on the board. Once we got some points on the board we knew it was going to be rough to overcome 39 points, but we tried anyways. I made a penalty kick from about 25 meters out and we were on our way. It was 39-10...and we tried to keep to momentum going. Once again the officiating came into play as we had 8 penalties in that half and they were given 2. It is hard for me to believe that they played that perfect of a game.

The final score was 39-20 and we had fought a hard battle. I have never rucked so much in my life and the forwards had never ran so hard and fast! The South was pretty excited at the end of the game as they had just created a huge upset. I was however disappointed as I was getting the ball for a conversion on one of our tries though. I was picking the ball up and one of the girls was saying "Don't worry about that try ladies, the West sucks and has sucked for years..." I couldn't believe it! What nice tact and good sportsmanship. Suffice to say I knocked down the conversion from the corner and quickly spread the word to my teammates. Disappointing really, as I had thought they were a formidable opponent and was giving them the good job speech, but not anymore.

So we have recovered from our hard loss and are moving forward. This afternoon we had plenty of time to entertain ourselves. Some girls hit the Mall of America and some just hung out at the hotel. I hung out and did some work and then took a well deserved nap. I had thought about going to the mall, but was frankly tired of talking about rugby and needed a break. You know how it goes!

Tonight was a good night as we had a great team dinner and the rookies did their skit! See the video below (its bad quality because of the lighting...we tried to put the blinds down...but negative).

We play tomorrow against the Minnesota motley team at 9am. Wish us luck! The U23s play around 2:30 against Mid West.

Sorry all the internet has been down at our hotel, guess they were working on it or something. Here are the scores from yesterdays games:

National All Star Championship - Senior

Mid West vs. Mid-Atlantic 15-10
Northeast vs. Pacific 32-37
West vs. South 20-39
Southern Cal vs. Minnesota 44-0

National All Star Championship - U23

West vs. Southern Cal 0-15
Mid-Atlantic vs. Midwest 26-24
Pacific vs. South 79-3
Northeast vs. U19s 40-0

More on our game and the U23 game later as we are heading off to training in a few minutes.

Satiated Beaver Tour 2007

On the first day of beaver tour my beaver gave to me...
A princess tiara
And a shiny plastic ring!

Day One ... according to Krafty

Our first leg of the Beaver Tour took us through the lovely Hill Country. We loaded up the bus with all of our beaver bags, beaver munchies, and beaver accessories and got on the road in the Austin heat. Most everyone was drenched in sweat by the time we took off, which is probably a sign of things to come. There is plenty of room on the bus--space for about three to lie down, a card table that seats four for card games or any miscellaneous fun, and two coveted seat belt seats for the driver and her buddy.

A highlight for me so far has been watching each beaver take their turn in learning to drive the bus. Rocky definitely deserves a hand for taking on driving during a central Texas storm, though I must say that I was scared for my life when she drove through a giant puddle at 50 miles per hour which then splashed so much water on the right side and front of the bus that we couldn't see. When we emerged like a submarine, Rocky was convinced that was part of the plan and said she had everything under control. Props go to PhB and Shay for driving as well.

We arrived around 9:30 in Fort Stockton, TX and after checking in, proceeded to the truck stop for dinner. Someone at the hotel told us it is was one of the best places in town. No beer after 10pm and I did stare at one of our waitresses for a while when I saw her chain smoking in the restaurant before I realized that most places outside of Austin do not have no-smoking laws. In true Texas and rugby style, pretty much everyone order gut-busting-sized portions that rivaled the plates of any trucker in the place. Wearing our first round of beaver accessories provided by 3rd Degree (each person has a day during which they are in charge of giving us something to wear) which were mini tiaras and some blingin' rings, we got a lot of stares.

Also, anyone reading this will be happy to know that the scientific order of the beaver is neither "ofelius clitorius" nor "the snorkels and your mama" nor "of the semi-wet dam-loving tail-slapping beasts", but "rodentia." Even with all the bling and the extra attention from riding around in a giant beaver bus, it sure is hard in Fort Stockton for a pimp.

Why that picture you ask? Because after our team check-in we headed over to the National Sports Center and watched a little cycling! It was actually pretty exciting as the guys and gals raced around and catapulted each other too!

We actually got down into the "pit" of the velodrome also as I guess anyone can be down there. So we had about 10 West ruggers down in the thick of it cheering our favorite riders on. Our favorite race by far was the "relay" race...or that's what we called it. They were in teams of two and their method of passing the baton or releasing their partner was to grab each other and catapult each other. It is similar to the drifting technique used in Nascar racing. It was pretty awesome and very entertaining to watch.

Anyways, more rugby is needed in this post! Yesterday we had a second training in the afternoon and it was highly productive. We split immediately after our warm-up and worked on unit skills. The forwards were seen scrumming, doing line-outs and being forward-like. The backs were spotted running and running and doing some standing around. They did some plays and some kicking as well.

Haha, sorry I'm a little tired and the specifics of yesterday are already stored back in the brain somewhere. As for today we had training at 11am and we got right down to the nitty gritty. Sara Edwards and I worked on our kicking for about a half hour and then we split into forwards and backs. The backs worked on finessing our plays and really working hard to straighten up...makes the work easier for everyone that way! The forwards worked on their line-outs a bit more and had some live scrummaging going on. We also did some important shadow work and we had a short captain's run at the end. When Mark turned and told me to run it...I was surprised, but ran it without to many blunders! Ha.

After the training we chowed lunch and immediately got in the pool. At first it was just a few of us, but then we had almost the whole team in there. Of course we quickly got bored with marco polo, so we just started jumping in ALL together and seeing how big we could make the waves. Check out the video below for a pretty funny site!



Then we had a captain's meeting where we went over all the plays, possibilities, kick-offs and more. It was good to sit down with everyone and make sure we are somewhat on the same page. We play our first match tomorrow at 10am against the South. We tried to scout out their practice today but they were done before we could watch.

The all important jersey ceremony was right before check-in and I started it off as captain. I love jersey cermonies, they are usually very emotional and motivating. This one was pretty light hearted as we are a pretty light hearted team. We can often be found laughing instead of paying attention. But we get it done when it counts!

Shout-out to my mates on the Beaver Tour! Last heard they were almost to Ft. Stockton!

I left Austin last night and flew through St. Louis and finally arrived in Minneapolis, MN around midnight. I was supposed to get in around ten, but some crazy weather made the flying a little treacherous, so they flew around it. So I met up with a few other players from the team (their flights had been delayed as well) and we headed to our hotel.

We are in the same Super 8 that we stayed in last year for the exhibition matches against USA A and Midwest B. It kind of feels like home as we had our meetings in the indoor pool room and demolished breakfast this morning in the little breakfast room.

Last night was a rough night of sleeping, the first night at a different place is always difficult for me. I laid there going over the plays and visualizing everything and couldn't turn my brain off. I think I finally dozed off around 2:30. Luckily we didn't have training until 11am...so I didn't have to really think.

We had a team meeting at 9am where we discussed a few things. Geoff our forwards coach had some personal issues and couldn't attend after all. So they had replaced him with Mark and Wendy Cook was brought in to help with the backs. I was sad that Geoff was not attending, he is a HUGE guy with a big heart and always positive. I loved being coached by a real live Kiwi! He played for them in the 80's, but the replacement of Wendy Cook was a big attribute as well she is a very experienced player and a great coach.

Anyways, we started training at 11am with our usual skill work and dynamic warm up. Mark got my hopes up when he had me and Edwards switching out at scrumhalf drills...but when we finally split I was put at the flyhalf position. I know scrumhalfs and flyhalfs are supposed to be interchangeable...but I like wearing the #9 and I LOVE being with the pack. I had come up here knowing that I may be playing flyhalf, but still was hoping I would be in my comfort zone.

We have a few players that are playing out of position and that has been interesting to watch develop. I am playing flyhalf instead of scrumhalf, Melissa is playing wing instead of center, Lynelle is playing center instead of flanker and the list goes on. But these changes are all about the combinations as Mark keeps reminding us. If we can find the right combination it doesn't matter what position we play.

Training was really good as we were able to simplify some of the things that were confusing everyone in Kansas City and our timing has improved IMMENSELY. You can tell we are starting to trust each other and feel each other out more. I think we will be really successful on Friday against the South. We are a very talented team that has a lot of fun off the field and we need to bring that discipline and fun to the field on Friday.

Well its about 10 minutes till our next training, so gotta go! I will try and post some pictures later this week.

West 2007 All Stars Roster

KJ Abel- Ruch
Molly Albano
Breanna Alexander
Sara Edwards
Molly Rose Graves
Joy Hernandez
Allegra Howell
Devin Keller
Jen Kelley
Kim Klahn
Alena Kolarsky
Jenny Kuchar
Lynelle Kugler
Jaime Lange
Melissa McKibben
Cody Monroe
Angie Poe
Mandy Rasmussen
Erin Riley
Sarah Webel
Lindsay Wieczorek
Katie Wurst
Wendy Young


Coaches
Mark Bullock
Geoff Old
Susan Stabler
Wendy Cook

Ladies-

I have just spoken to the Bloodfest authorities and have managed to get the price of the tournament reduced.

$125 if PRE-PAY and $150 the day off!!!

This is CHEAP CHEAP! If possible they are asking that we all pre-pay so that we can have CONFIRMED teams. Please go to http://www.hunsrugby.com/ and pre-pay using paypal. You can pay with credit card or if you have paypal...well you know how it works.

IF YOU ARE COMING, but cannot pre-pay, please EMAIL ME ASAP!!!

Thanks,
WE

As you can see I have changed the site again. Finally found a simple, clean 3 column hack that I liked.

Look forward to blogging from the National All Star Championships this weekend...hopefully I will be motivated to blog! I leave tomorrow around 2pm and return Monday afternoon...here's to a week of hard training and matches!

Wish me luck!

The Austin Valkyries Women’s Rugby Club is in need of an experienced and motivated coach. Currently, our self-coached team is the reigning champion of the West Division I and is widely regarded as the team to beat. Our enthusiastic and well-trained squad routinely competes against teams from other cities and in national-level tournaments and includes players from all over the United States. Our skill levels range from those who have played for national-level teams to those who are eager to learn a new sport.

We are continuously looking for ways to increase our level of play and recruit high-caliber players and staff to the Valkyries. A passionate and qualified coach who also enjoys having fun would considerably help us improve and expand both our skill level and excitement for the game. Our practices are Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7pm to 9pm at Burnett Middle School, located in north Austin. We would like a coach to begin in late August and help train us through the fall. The position is on a volunteer basis, but the rewards will be immeasurable.

If interested, email a team officer with a resume and letter of intent.

Sincerely,

Austin Valkyries

Shannon Shafer sshafer@aol.com – President
Traci Schmidtke tschmidtke@gmail.com – Treasurer
Stephanie Dorsey stephanie.dorsey@gmail.com – Recruiting
Wendy Young scooterwe@gmail.com – Match Secretary
Tiffany Hall discoti@gmail.com - Fundraiser
Rachel Kraft rhkraft@gmail.com – Equipment Manager