Alaska Rugby Union 2017 Schedule

 Photo: Alaska Rugby Union – 43rd Annual Frozen Oosik. painfully ending in a 0-0 draw.

Doug Coil

The Alaska Rugby Union begins their League schedule in June and continues through August with some other rugby events in May and September. Some teams will travel to the land of the midnight sun this Summer. The Stars Rugby has already planned a tour there.

During the winter the teams do not hibernate. On February 17 the Alaska Touch Rugby Championship was held at Eagle River, Alaska. The following weekend on February 25, the Fur Rondy / Frozen Oosik Rugby Festival was held at Delaney Park Strip. As you can see from the photo above, it was a good time for all that participated.

Alev Kelter will return to Alaska for the Alev Kelter High School and Youth Rugby Camp on
June 3rd from 7am to 4pm AKDT at the Alaska Mountain Rugby Grounds, 19001 Finland St, Anchorage, Alaska 99516.

The Alaska Mountain Rugby Grounds is the home of Justin Green, who has a full sized international rugby pitch in his backyard. In additional to Alaska Rugby Union events that are held there each year, the AMRG has hosted numerous touring sides, camps and clinics.

On May 5th there will be a USA Scrum Clinic at 6pm, on May 6th a USA Level 200 coaching  clinic at 9am, and on May 7th a USA Referees Course at 11pm.

The Alaska Rugby Union will kick off the season with the Mother Tucker Rugby Ruckus on May 27th at 10am at Davis Field in Anchorage. Other tournaments will be held during the season with the 21st Annual Midnight Sun 7s Tournament On June 16-17 at the Alaska Mountain Rugby Grounds, where the Stars Rugby 7s will participate and host a clinic on June 15th. In conjunction with the Midnight Sun 7s, on Saturday at 7pm the Try Dive Fundraiser will be held for Lorrie Clifford.

The Alaska Mountain Rugby Grounds will also host the Peevey Memorial Ice Vipers Match on July 2nd at 1pm, an international tournament on July 15 and on July 19, a match between the Alaska Rugby Selects and the T.I.T.S. Rugby Club, a women’s touring side from Wisconsin, who are returning to Alaska for the second year in a row.

Photo: T.I.T.S. Women’s Rugby

For more on the T.I.T.S. and the story behind their name read, Alaska Rugby, Monmouth Rugby & T.I.T.S. Women’s Rugby & More. Other articles about last year’s tour include Dipnet Fest Rugby 10’s Tournament – Kenai, Alaska, and Dipnet Fest Rugby Event Showcases Spirit of the Game. These articles should spur the interest in including Alaska as a rugby touring destination. The Alaska Rugby Union, the Alaska Mountain Rugby Grounds and the member clubs are excellent hosts and will make any trip to Alaska a memorable one.

For the second year in a row there will be a touring side to the Dipnet Fest Tournament in Kenai on Jul 22 with the Boise Rugby Club attending.

Finally, the tournament season concludes on August 19th with the Alaska Rugby 10s at Davis Field in Anchorage.

More on Alaska Rugby Union from their Facebook page.

Anchorage has the largest population in Alaska with just over 300,000 people. In Alaska there are 1400 men, women, and children registered to play rugby in last two years from Anchorage, The Valley, Fairbanks, Kenai Peninsula and now Barrow. Add about 300 old boys lurking out there and another 300 adults that played in the last decade, and we approach 1% of the entire Anchorage population that participates in rugby. With improvements to the Alaska Mountain Rugby Grounds, Elite 7s competitions, Youth Rugby sending three teams to the 2017 Las Vegas Invitational, a multi use facility (Rugby) amphitheater for future professional rugby, World Rugby coming to film us this March, and all our visiting clubs and much more we are setting the stage for explosive growth in the next 5 years.