The Adirondack Mountaineers Rugby Football Club is open to all high school athletes in the Mountain Valley and Champlain Valley athletic conferences in Northern NY. We are now offering touch rugby programs to 8th and 9th graders and full contact for high school athletes. In past years, the program has included young people from Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, Elizabethtown, Peru, Moriah, Saranac, Seton Catholic, Westport, and Willsboro. While practices are primarily held in Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, games have been held at various venues in Peru, Saranac Lake, Gouveneur, and Willsboro to showcase the sport to as many parents, friends, and potential recruits as possible. The sport provides a great opportunity for young people to make friends in other communities and participate in a sport for life. College rugby opportunities and scholarships are on the rise, rugby sevens is back as an Olympic sport, and Major League Rugby is just getting started in the United States.
The high school boys team, the Barkeaters, began in 2006 by joining the Vermont Youth Rugby Association (VYRA). After a last place finish in the league the first season, the boys posted three 2nd place and a single 3rd place finish over the next four years. Regarded as one of the perennially strongest boys clubs in VYRA, the club has now joined the New York State youth rugby association www.rugbyny.org while still maintaining close ties with neighboring Vermont teams.
The high school girls team was founded in 2006 alongside the boys as a charter member of VYRA. We opted to play in Vermont at the time as there were several high school teams within a three-hour driving radius in Vermont and no existing girls teams within that range in New York. The Adirondack girls were the Vermont State Champions in 2008, 2009 and 2011. With the growth of high school rugby in the state, we have decided to join the New York league while still maintaining relationships with Vermont. Since joining the New York league, ADK girls have had two undefeated seasons and placed 3rd in the state championships.
Contact person: Tammy Morgan tmorgan6827@gmail.com
Link to team/program website: https://sites.google.com/view/adirondack-high-school-rugby/home
The USRF Ball Grant will allow us to add an afterschool program for elementary students. As soon as we are able to resume normal operations, we plan on sharing the balls with our elementary gym teachers for some rookie rugby programs as part of a physical education unit. Over the years, the USRF has supplied thousands of size four and five balls to over 1,400 youth and high school rugby teams, schools and community programs. If you like rugby and want to do your part in making it grow in this country, please consider making a tax-deductible donation by visiting https://usrugbyfoundation.org/donate/ #growthegame