February has proven to be a great, fun month at RCSE! From new member initiations to the Annual Oyster Roast, it has been busy. This past Friday the club initiated Katie Wohlust - welcome Katie! After all Rotary business items were discussed, Jason Jones introduced our speaker for the day - Matthew Midgett with Savannah Shamrocks Rugby.
Matt began by giving some information about rugby. There are two different types of rugby teams - 15 v 15 and 7 v 7. The field size is almost the same size as a soccer field and there are two 40 minute halves. Rugby was considered an amateur sport until 1995. There is a Rugby World Cup every 4 years and will be held this year in Japan. There are 8.5 million registered rugby players in the world and is the most popular contact sport in the world. Two years ago, the USA started Major League Rugby with 8 teams but will be expanding to 13 teams next year. There are 2500 rugby clubs in the United States being most popular at universities.
The Savannah Shamrocks has two teams - a men's 15 and a women's 15. During the summer, they offer a 7 v 7 program. In order to help support the club, they host a St. Patty's Day Tournament which will be held this year on March 9-10 at Daffin Park. 80 teams from around the country will come and participate. All profits from beer sales at the tournament will be donated to the Humane Society. They also do other philanthropic endeavors including a toy drive for children at Memorial Hospital and donations to 2nd Harvest Food Bank. To learn more about The Savannah Shamrocks, please visit www.rugbysavannah.com