Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Rookie Rugby and Gear Orders

Hello,

Rookie Rugby is here! Gear orders are here!

Another email full of great information, so don't stick it straight in the trash!

Rookie Rugby

Trevor Anderson, one of the Barbarian coaches and club founder, has been heading up an effort to bring Rookie Rugby to Budd Bay. As of today we are officially opening enrollement! This great program will allow youth 12 and under to spend more than a month learning about rugby and developing ball handling skills. The details are:
- Practice Tuesdays and Thursdays at Bush Park, 6pm-7pm, beginining April 3rd and running through mid May
- Matches on some Saturdays, schedule to be determined.
- Enrollment includes USA Rugby CIPP, Size 4 Rugby Ball, Budd Bay Rugby T-Shirt, Rugby Socks and non-contact rugby training by our certified coaches.
- Enrollement cost is $65. BUT WAIT! Register by 3/15 and recieve a $5 discount. AND... Register 2 or more family members and receive another $5 discount!

Participants do NOT need rugby experience - just a desire to have a great time and learn about the sport. Register now! Just follow the links for Rookie Rubgy Players. Feel free to email info@buddbayrugby.com if you would like more information.

Gear Orders

Is your Budd Bay Rugby shirt looking a little tired? In need of a BBRFC Kit bag? Order forms are ready. I will be delivering order forms to coaches at practice tonight - so if you're at practice be sure to grab one before you leave. If you're not at practice (or you managed to misplace your form...) you may print one out here.

Forms must be returned to coaches by 3/6/2012. This is a fast turnaround - but we want to get those orders going!

Items available for purchase include:
- Club T-Shirts with team logo on back
- Club Sweathshirts
- Beanies
- Scarves
- Boxers
- Umbrellas
- Kit Bags

If you cannot make it to practice but are still interested in ordering gear, go ahead and shoot me an email and we can work it out.

-Kyle

Jammin for Haiti

Hello,

Previously, I sent out an email discussing how Budd Bay would be working with Helping Hands Noramise to bring about some positive changes in Haiti. Today, I'm pleased to formally announce that Budd Bay Rugby will be working to sponsor a Rugby team in Haiti.

We will be kicking off this effort tomorrow night (Fri, 2/17) at the Jammin' for Haiti event at Traditions Cafe.

Why are we doing this?

When Budd Bay RFC was founded, one of its principle tenants was to give back - supporting community outreach efforts throughout the Puget Sound. Rugby provides a strong foundation for our players to join a community and grow, both physically and mentally. Encouraging our players to give back helps us ensure that we are giving our players the best possible chance to develop into quality human beings, as well as quality ruggers.

This sense of community, of support, of reliance on one another is an essential principle of rugby, and is an area that Haiti needs to continue to develop.

So bringing Rugby to Haiti seems the only logical next step! In a country where the sport is all but non-existant, we can help grow the game we all love, instill rugby values into the Haitian community, and foster an atmosphere of global awareness and giving within our own organization.

What is Jammin' For Haiti?

A small group of Haitian women formed a collective to make and sell jars of jam. They were working together - as a team - to succeed. Unfortunately, they were robbed (by their own treasurer no less). This left the women without any income, and further entrenched a belief that teams cannot succeed - that everyone must think about themselves.

This event on Friday is intended to raise money for these women. The money will not be a handout to replace what they've lost, but rather, a chance to help them continue to develop a strong business model that will allow themselves to be successful in the long run.

Budd Bay Rugby will be there in force - Traditions Cafe will be closed so we're providing refreshments (there will be snacks as well), some silent auction items, and some logistical support. There will be other organizations donating items, along with music and fun people.

Come on out, support these women, and help us start our effort to create a global rugby club!

What does it mean to sponsor a rugby team?

Budd Bay will be working on several different approaches. Ultimately the goal is to provide equiptment - balls and boots - for youth in Haiti who are interested in participating. Currently, players play barefoot, or share sneakers. Other goals include providing meals for players, and educational materials.

This is intended to be a long term project - we don't expect to have full teams up and running in Haiti in a few weeks. But the options are endless - who knows - one day we might send a squad of players to Haiti to play against our international partners!

This sounds fun, how can I help?

Join us on Friday! Talk about ideas, meet the people involved, help us plan!

Used cleats are great - have gear that's a size too small? We're going to be collecting it over the next few months.

Financial donations are always appreciated, you can do so now at http://noramise.org/donate. We'll be working on getting our website set up so you can donate through our page too.

And let us know how you'd like to be involved! Got an idea? Want to throw your hand in? There's so much potential here - it will just take a few interested individuals to turn this into a phenomenal success!


-Kyle

Monday, February 13, 2012

Haiti Relief Effort

In keeping with its charitable history, Budd Bay RFC is pleased to announce we will be partnering with former Budd Bay RFC immortal, Rosedanie Cadet (many of you may remember her as former women's coach, former Steelheads coach and just about everything all-star in rugby), and joining with Helping Hands Noramise (HHN) to help bring about some positive goodness in Haiti.

Following the tragic earthquakes that rocked the tiny island nation, Rosedanie began working with small communities in Haiti to help rebuild - with an eye on sustainability and empowerment. Read more about Rosedanie and her efforts here: http://noramise.org/our-story

Two years ago, Rosedanie asked for help to bring rugby to youth in the communities she was working with. We were happy to help, giving HHN a handful of balls and t-shirts. Little did we realize, rugby was non-existent in Haiti - and the youth are craving more rugby. Through our partnership with HHN, Budd Bay RFC will sponsor an international side to help spread rugby and our love of the game across the seas. Through rugby, we hope that the communities working with Rosedanie will find more unity and strength to empower the redevelopment of their home.


JOIN US this Friday, from 7-10pm at Traditions Cafe for music, a silent auction and door prizes. If you can't make it, but would like to make a donation, please visit http://noramise.org/donate, or contact Rosedanie via email (rosedanie@noramise.org) to contribute your gift for the silent auction. The more prizes the better! Hope to see you there!


Match Report

Hi!

The Buffaloes started off the second half of the season this weekend with a trip south to face the Portland Pigs. It was a perfect day for rugby thanks to all the Bandits, Friends and Family that made the trip to support the Buffaloes. However, the field conditions were less than perfect when the field quickly turned to mud which made life hard for the forward packs from both sides.

It was a hard fought contest from the first whistle. Portland scored on several kicks from penalties. The Buffaloes managed to put together a couple of great moments of phase rugby, resulting in a try from Johnathan "Shorty" Thomas, and a great run by Eddie Haige, dotting down between the posts. The half ended 15-6 Budd Bay.

In the second half, it became clear that it was the first season match after a long break as errors plagued both sides the game. While the Buffaloes kept the Pigs out of the try zone all day, Portland was still able to convert on several more penalties. The penalty kicks were enough to bring the score to 15-15 at the final whistle.

The match may have ended in a tie, but the team knows where they fell short and look forward to a good week of training for their match against Kitsap this upcoming weekend. Eddie Haige was named Man of the Match for that great run in the first half.

Nice work fellas and nice work supporters for making the trip. We look forward to the Spring matches coming up!

-Lena

Friday, February 10, 2012

Wolf Haven

Hello,

As many of you may have heard, following the Jan 2012 winter storms, local wildlife conservation organization, Wolf Haven, appealed to the community for help to address the $50,000 worth of damage they experienced. Falling limbs damaged enclosures and remote cameras and made quite a mess throughout the grounds of the Tenino-based international organization dedicated to the conservation of wolves.

Dan Smith had the inspired idea to mobilize an army of ruggers to help Wolf Haven get back on track, and last weekend each BBRFC Team volunteered ruggers to lend a hand in the storm clean-up.


Not only did the Club make a difference for another member of the local community, but over 50 Budd Bay Directors, Coaches and Players worked hard alongside each other - moving in unison toward a common goal - a true rugby unit.

"Ruggers are my new favorite people!" one Wolf Haven staffer said.

(Click the image for more pics!)

The wolves also recognized the effort - thanking them with song upon arrival both days, and bidding them farewell on Sunday.

Today I would like to thank each of the individuals who went out and dedicated a part, or all, of their weekend for this volunteer activity. It's great seeing everyone leap at the chance to be so selfless - and shows an amazing promise for the future of Budd Bay!

You can read a little more, and see a lot of pictures, at our new web page dedicated to Budd Bay's charity efforts - www.buddbayrugby.com/giving_back. And stay tuned for our next event - Jamm'n for Haiti Charity on February 17th!

-Kyle