The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused new and innovative ways to keep the rugby flame burning.

Over the last two months the Southern California Interscholastic Rugby Federation (SCIRF) has held weekly Zoom meeting with college coaches from across the nation to help the college recruiting process. Long Beach State, one of the top rugby colleges in the USA, was one of the first to join the SCIRF Zoom craze. The weekly Zooms have allowed coaches, players, and parents to learn about various college programs and meet (virtually) face to face with the coach.

One of SCIRF’s strategic objectives is to strengthen the tie between SCIRF High Schools and the nation’s colleges and build upon the scholar-athlete model as a means to gain varsity status at both the high school and college levels. The weekly Zooms have accomplished this while creating more opportunities to strengthen the high school-college relationship. 

The latest initiative is that Long Beach State and SCIRF are extremely excited and proud to announce that Long Beach State will become the title sponsor and host for the SCIRF High School Championships starting in 2021. Not only will Long Beach host the divisional championships but, will present the newly created 49er Cup to the Champions along with team trophies and medals.

“Building the link between high school players and universities is a large focus for us at Long Beach," said Long Beach State Head Coach Jason Reynolds. "Having the opportunity to be a student athlete truly expands the college experience. Partnering with SCIRF will help expose players not only to Long Beach State and other programs, but increase the interest of high school students in continuing their education and playing competitive rugby at the next level.”