Cornell Women’s Rugby to play in Ivy Rugby Conference Fall 2012

This fall, 2012, the Cornell Women’s Rugby team will play its first season as part of the new Ivy Rugby Conference along with the seven other traditional Ivy League schools.

Cornell Women's Z-side Strong in 2011

2011 was certainly an exciting year for both the CWRFC and our alumni. To start, we hosted our annual CWRFC alumni weekend on October 8th and 9th, welcoming back alumni from all over the Northeast and as far away as Mississippi. After cheering on the Cornell men in their victory over Columbia, the alumni took the field to face off against the current CWRFC squad. The alumni team, featuring nearly the entire 2011 graduating class (which went to the NRU Final Four) pulled out a 25-point victory against the undergrads. As per CWRFC tradition, the weekend also included a team social and rugby songs led by the alumni.

The women’s Z-side team is already planning for alumni weekend 2012, which will be held during a bye weekend of the upcoming fall season. Keep an eye out for an invite in the coming weeks once the CWRFC season schedule is finalized. Of course, alumni are also invited back for our “unofficial” spring-time alumni event, this May 4th-6th, a.k.a. Slope Day weekend! If you’re interested in helping out with planning for our 2012 alumni weekend, please email Allison Baker ’11 at alb278cornell [dot] edu.

Cornell Captains Announced

In other news, the CWRFC has two new captains for the 2012 season: Eloise Cucui ’13 will lead the backs, while Daisy Chinburg ’13 will take charge of the pack. We’re thrilled to have such outstanding leadership on the field, and we wish them all the best in the 2012 campaign. On the coaching front, we’re still looking for a coach to lead the CWRFC through spring tournaments and the team’s first-ever Ivy League season (more on the new conference line-up below). The team understands it may be difficult for a new coach to attend every practice and each away game; however, we are still hopeful an experienced former player will become available to assist the squad. Please email Allison Baker ‘11 if you or someone you know may be interested in the position.

Cornell Women to play in the Ivy Rugby Conference

As we first announced several weeks ago, this fall the Cornell Women’s Rugby team will play its first season as part of the new Ivy Rugby Conference along with the seven other traditional Ivy League schools. This change comes as part of a USA Rugby national conference realignment, which also resulted in the end of the New York State (NYS) Rugby Conference. The CWRFC leaves NYS as the most successful women’s program in Premiere league history, earning a dozen state championships, advancing to the NRU Final Four 8 times, and in 2000 making a trip to the USA Rugby National Sweet 16.

While the team looks forward to the improved level and intensity of competition in the new Ivy Rugby Conference, the move will also present new organizational and funding challenges. In light of reduced club funding from Cornell, the team has already organized additional fundraising efforts to meet the rising cost of travel. In an effort to support the team in this transition year, Faded Red is kicking off several new alumni-led fundraising initiatives

A special thank you goes out to everyone who has donated over the past semester or purchased CWRFC apparel from the Boathouse Sports team store. Our holiday season sale was incredibly successfully and covered the team’s spring travel and tournament fees budget.

As always, if you have any questions or would like to be involved in Faded Red initiatives, please email Allison Baker at alb278cornell [dot] edu (subject: from%20Ivy%20Rugby) . Thank you for your continued support of Cornell Women’s Rugby.

Posted: January 29, 2012 in 2012 Annual Report
By: Allison Baker, Faded Red Vice President of Women’s Club Affairs