COLORADO SPRINGS — Watching the Olympics can be inspiring and it might even encourage you to try a new sport, like rugby. The Pikes Peak Women’s Rugby Club in Colorado Springs said because of the Olympics more people are joining their team.
“It was incredible to watch. They had a lot of really good games, and especially that final one was amazing. I think it really highlighted the ability of women's sports, and it really showed how popular they've gotten this Olympics. Everywhere you go, even if people have never played rugby before, you're hearing like, oh, the women's team did this, and the women's rugby team did that. So it's been really cool to hear about it,” said Breata Jessen.
Last week in Paris, the USA Women’s Olympic Rugby Team earned their first ever Olympic medal in history. They beat Australia 14-12 bringing home the bronze medal for Team USA.
“It was so fantastic. It was really cool just to see we know how hard those women work. So it was really cool to see all of their hard work pay off. It was absolutely incredible to see them win in that last like 10 seconds when she just ran it down the field and got it right between the uprights, and everyone was just celebrating on the field, but also nervous, because you have to make that point after to win. I was watching it at work and yelling,” Alyssa Heckart said.
Breata Jessen is the President of the Pikes Peak Women's Rugby and Alyssa Heckart is the Social Media Chair for the club. They said the Olympic bronze for women's rugby is leading more people to the rugby pitch.
“We had a lot of outreach because of the Olympics. You know, there's people here today that have never played before, but heard about us from the heard about rugby from the Olympics, and decided to join. We've actually had people reach out from parents of little kids. We've had teenagers in high school reach out. We've had adults reach out,” Jessen said.
The Pikes Peak Women’s Rugby Club is an adult team, but Jessen said they have helped get kids and teenagers connected to other local rugby programs. She said women's rugby is a growing sport.
“I've seen rugby kid leagues start up in Denver. There are so many women's high school teams around the state. There's one in Salida, and they have a whole team. So it's been really cool seeing that, especially in the past five years, I think it's really exploded,” Jessen said.
The team was founded in 2015. Heckart has been on the team since 2017.
“We're accepting all kinds of players. We're in all levels, all experienced team. So people who have never played rugby before, people who played rugby in high school and college and got out of it, and people who've been playing for years and years, are all welcome to come out,” Heckart said.
One of the missions of the women's rugby team is to help grow the sport they love.
“So growing up, I guess I wish I heard about rugby. I played soccer and I played basketball, and I never heard about it, but then becoming involved in the rugby team, becoming involved with the rugby team here about five years ago,” Jessen said.
They also focus on inclusion.
“Rugby is for everybody, and it's for every body, and I think that's really important to know. No, no matter what your ability level is, no matter what your body type is, no matter what you look like, there's a place for you in rugby,” Heckart said.
It is a message instilled by the players on the USA Women’s Olympic Rugby Team.
“I mean, you see people like Ilona Maher and Sam Sullivan, Ilona Maher really just talking about her body type and how she's always been considered overweight, she was always labeled as those things, and she's out there doing the work and proving that any anybody can play sports and anybody can be an Olympian,” Heckart said.
Jessen said Ilona Maher has shown the world more body positivity.
“It's been incredible, even just in the past two weeks, seeing Ilona Maher really blow up on social media, and she's been saying the same things for years and years, and just nobody, or not a lot of people have caught on until the Olympics,” Jessen said.
For their team, rugby is a place where grit, competitiveness and aggression is encouraged.
“Especially for women, it's a place where it's not a usually accepted form of physical activity. You know, we play soccer, we play basketball, we play baseball, we play softball, but you're not out there tackling people. And I think it really grows people's self confidence to let them out on the pitch and really get to, you know, get to be some version of themselves that they don't normally get to be,” Jessen said.
For Jessen it is the most accepting sport she has ever been a part of.
“It's a really safe place. One of the big things that rugby really focuses on is safety. With the sport, it's safe, the refs are there, and their main goal is safety, and that is one thing that is always drilled into you time and time again. So it's a great place to learn, and it's a great place to really evolve as an athlete,” Jessen said.
Pikes Peak Women's Rugby practices on Thursday at 6:30 at Flanagan Park in Colorado Springs. The men's team is the Colorado Springs Grizzlies Rugby Football Club. They also practice on Thursday nights at Flanagan Park.
“So no matter what happens on the field, everybody comes together after the game and celebrates and it just really promotes that culture of we're all a rugby family,” Jessen said.
The team is a non-profit and is accepting more players and sponsors.
“If anybody is out there and would love to sponsor us, we'd love to have you,” Jessen said.
Jessen and Heckart said no matter your skill level or body type everyone is invited to join there team. To get connected with Pikes Peak Women's Rugby, visit their Facebook or Instagram pages.
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