United States Rugby Foundation Raises $10,000 for Collegiate All-Americans

San Diego, CA (August 29, 2005) – The United States Rugby Foundation has reached its goal of raising $10,000 for the U.S. Men’s Collegiate All-American team for its just completed tour to New Zealand. Having received the tour agreement from New Zealand with just over three week’s time before departure, the All-Americans were hard pressed to organize much in the way of a fundraising campaign. Having supported the All-Americans on their 2004 tour to Canada, the USRF was only too glad to help in the fundraising effort.“The United States Rugby Foundation realizes the importance of the All-American program,” said USRF Executive Director Brian Vizard. “The All-American team consists of many of the top young players in the country and the more exposure they get at the international level can only benefit them and the National Team in years to come. We also knew the players were picking up the majority of the tab for the tour and wanted them to concentrate most of their time on training and playing the matches. We are very excited about reaching the goal that we set at the beginning of the campaign as the outpouring of support from all areas of the country was fantastic. Contributions were still coming in while the team was in New Zealand and it was a good feeling when we hit the target goal.”The two-match tour kicked off in Wellington on Saturday, August 20 where the All-Americans defeated the Wellington’s Old Boys University Rugby Club 34-29. Massey University saw to it that the All-Americans went home with a loss as they defeated the visitors 30-10 in a match played at the Adidas Institute of Rugby on the Massey University grounds in Palmerston North on Wednesday, August 24.“The 2005 Collegiate All-Americans went to a rugby playing nation and came away with a win,” said All-American Head Coach Dave Hodges. “It speaks of the player’s commitment as they were able to come together as a team in a very short time. I want to thank the United States Rugby Foundation and those individuals who made financial contributions to support us. Our best players at the university level should not have to pay to represent their country. Hopefully, we’ll get to the point where tours are funded but right now we rely on the support of the rugby community and we are thankful for the money raised.”The USRF is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization established in 1963. Although its main focus is supporting youth and high school rugby, the Foundation also provides grants to coaches and referees; establishes international student exchanges and college scholarships, has assisted the United States Collegiate All-Americans and Boys Under-19 teams, and also provides grants to Safety and Risk Management Research.For more information about the United States Rugby Foundation, visit www.usrugbyfoundation.org.