Rugby is the new upcoming sport of the spring season, being introduced in only about 3 schools including Roosevelt, Ron Brown, and Bell. 

“Rugby is brand new sport introduced to DCIAA sporting,” Coach Juarez says.  

The goal in rugby is to ground the ball behind the opposite team and get the ball into the end-goal. During a rugby game, fifteen players face off with another team of fifteen players, and games are filled with lots of rough interactions. The rules of the game are similar the rules of American football.  

AP Calculus teacher, Cesar Juarez is leading the team this year. Juarez has a passion for the game, having played it in college. 

The season usually starts in the spring, but practice starts more towards the end of the winter season.  

“This year’s rugby season, Roosevelt will be having practices with schools like Ron Brown, Bell, and DeMatha,” Coach Juarez says. 

 At Roosevelt there are students that have been intrigued and have been participating in the Rugby informational meetings. Since there are people already participating and showing up to the Rugby meeting, the hope is to get a full team, which would consist of 23 people. 

  “We will accept anyone who is interested in playing the sport, learning more about the sport and the idea is that because it’s brand new, we just want to make sure that people feel welcome and can learn the game of rugby,” Coach Juarez says. “This is a big part of rugby!” 

The practices that will be happening at other schools will be coached by not only the teachers at those schools, but also coaches from Washington, D.C. Youth Rugby.  

According to Coach Juarez, “That organization has offered to sponsor us. They have their own club in D.C., called the Washington Warriors.” 

With the sport being so rough the DCIAA has required every player to be insured through USA Rugby and CIPP. CIPP is the name of the insurance company. This means no player can play a game of rugby until insured by CIPP.  

Juarez says, ‘’The sport is very safe, and before playing you need to make sure your trained and insured to play.” 

The insurance covers more than the player. “The CIPP (Club Individualized Participation Program) is USA Rugby’s third-party liability insurance coverage that protects you, the team, and the club from lawsuits that may arise from accidents that occur throughout the season,” explains Pax River Rugby.  

Juarez is not sure when their first game will be played, but he is confident that the team will be ready when the time comes.