The Pelham boys U18 rugby team in West Chester County, NY is now a varsity program.

The decision was made Monday night, March 16, in a meeting of the Pelham, NY school district Board and was the culmination of a long (eight years) development of the program and a short (two months) process within the school district.

The Pelham team was started as a grade school-age program and has grown as the first kids to play in it have grown older. The team had looked into becoming an official club sport at Pelham HS, but the requirements - a teach must be present at all practices, for example - were too much for the team to make it feasible. But during the discussion on club status, various administrative officials started asking about varsity status, instead.

The Pelham School District, which has only one high school, contacted New Rochelle and Rye school districts, both of which have varsity rugby, and despite the fact that New York State doesn’t recognize rugby as a varsity high school sport, decided to explore the opportunity.

At the Board of Education meeting, several parents and coaches spoke, but according to Pelham coach Matt Persanis, the most persuasive speakers were the players.

“They saw a benefit, when you’ve got a kid who says he wasn’t interested in college, was an at-risk kid, who now is working to get his grades up because he wants to play rugby in college, you see how it’s made an impact,” said Persanis.

The School District spoke with the town - the rugby team had been operating as a town recreation program for years - and received good reports from there.

“Our parents are great, our kids are well-behaved, and that all made a difference,” said Persanis. “And it also helped that some public schools and several private schools are already varsity. These small school districts are able to make a decision about one high school. It’s kind of like with a private school, where they can make that kind of decision on their own. We’re really excited about it.”