This past Sunday, AIC Men’s Rugby hosted their first annual “Tackle Hunger 7s” tournament. This tournament, created to serve as a warm-up tournament for local teams kicking off their spring season, also served the greater Springfield community. 

Competing in the tournament were A and B sides from AIC and Western New England University, as well as a side from the University of Hartford and a side from Central Connecticut State University. Rather than pay a tournament fee, each team was asked to collect and bring canned goods to the tournament. Their donations, coupled with the donations of spectators, alumni, and referees helped raise nearly 300 lbs of non perishable food items, or 113 full meals, which were donated to the Springfield Open Pantry which serves the emergency grocery needs of individuals within the Springfield area. 

Nearly 44,000 people a month in Hampden County seek some sort of food assistance, 31% of which is children. The team saw that as a worthy cause to focus their efforts in. “Food drives are crucial for Open Pantry Emergency Food Pantry’s existence. It’s a fantastic way of increasing awareness and helping alleviate some of the challenges many people face in meeting their food needs throughout our community” said Heather Clark Blankenbaker, Director at the Open Pantry. She wrote to Coach Guiry “You have a fantastic program there- keep up the good work, making great players on the field and even better humans that show compassion for their community, off!”

While AIC’s top side won the tournament, the real winners are those who get to fill their kitchen cabinets with the food as the winter months wrap up.

Those looking to get involved are welcomed to contact the Springfield Open Pantry Emergency Food Pantry through their website at www.openpantry.org

Tournament Results 

Pool A      Pool B

AIC 1       UHart

CCSU       WNE 1

WNE 2    AIC 2

Match 1: AIC1 43 vs WNE2 0

Match 2: UHart 20 vs AIC2 10

Match 3: AIC1 40 CCSU 5

Match 4: AIC2  15 WNE1 17

Match 5: WNE2 10 vs CCSU 22

Match 6: UHart 38 vs WNE1 34

Match 7: (5/6th place match) AIC2 32 – WNE2 0

Match 8: (3/4th place match) WNE 24 – CCSU 19

Match 9: (1/2nd place match) AIC 21 – UHart 5