The Catholic High School Athletics Association in New York has approved rugby as an official sport.
The CHSAA oversees competition among Catholic schools in a variety of sports, and the move to add rugby is a key step toward wider support of the game within the Empire State. The move is also the culmination of a long period of work by Rugby NY and those involved in the high school game in New York. The CHSAA runs competitions usually divided up by archdiocese (regions), and in this case the New York City and Long Island archdiocese are involved to start with because there are already Catholic schools playing rugby in those regions.
There are also Catholic schools in Western New York that will be a part of it.
Currently in the New York and Long Island areas Fordham Prep, St Anthony's, and Xavier HS have rugby teams. Chaminade HS is adding a program. St. Francis HS in Queens used to have a rugby team and the understanding within Rugby NY is that they would return with a program if rugby became an official CHSAA sport. In addition, McQuaid Jesuit in Rochester and Canisius HS in Buffalo have teams.
The teams will compete in their own leagues (the four NYC-area teams in their own league, and the WNY teams playing a seeding game) and will compete for a Catholic State Championship.
Andrew Gheraldi, the Xavier Athletic Director, was instrumental in helping to get this approved.
"I am very happy to see the sport of rugby continue to grow," said Gheraldi. "The acceptance of Rugby into the CHSAA further legitimizes the sport and continues to allow for the natural rivalries that already exist."