What's Happening in Encinitas, CA…

An all-girls rugby league is starting up in the North County communities of Carmel Valley, Del Mar, and Encinitas, thanks to increasing interest in the sport.

The new organization is for girls in the third through eighth grades, and is hosted by San Diego Girls Rugby. Practice begins on November 1 for new league members.

The popularity of girls' rugby has grown, especially in North County, where four high schools have added the sport to their curricula. San Diego Girls Rugby director Hannah Lockwood says that despite its increasing popularity, most people probably don't know that the United States has the greatest number of women rugby players on earth. The difficulty lies in the fact that many people think rugby is just for boys.

Lockwood discovered rugby in high school, after having played soccer and basketball, and went on to play at Oregon State University. When she began to train for the Olympics, she moved to San Diego. She found rugby did not present the obstacles that the other sports did, and she was able to find a position she enjoyed and played well. She calls the sport inclusive, and is something she has not found in other activities.

Lockwood hopes that by starting girls in rugby earlier, the sport will expand even more, allowing girls to win rugby scholarships to college and go on to greater achievements.

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