Great Falls Village is going to be a busy place on Sunday 21 November as tge Great Falls/McLean Youth Rugby Club will host its sixth annual tournament to benefit the spinal cord injury research and recovery programs at MedStar National Rehabilitation Network.

This annual charity event is dear to the heart of Gary Coetzee, president of Great Falls Rugby and himself a spinal cord injury survivor. 

The MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital is the DC-Maryland-Virginia region's largest acute rehabilitation hospital, treating some of the nation’s most complex cases. With a research partnership with Georgetown University School of Medicine, the MedStar National Rehabilitation Network is a national leader in rehabilitation services for treatment, research, education, and assistive technology.

The rugby event is a youth tournament, for all age groups U7 through High School. A number of Youth, Middle School, and High School teams from DC, Maryland, and Virginia are already registered. Play begins at 9AM and will run all day. The Middle School and High School tackle teams (Boys and Girls) will play at both Leo Santabella Park (behind library) and the Grange. Youth Tag Rugby matches will be played behind the post office.

Great Falls/McLean Youth Rugby gets a large amount of support in the community, including Cuisine Solutions, Indigo IT, Nandos PERi-PERi Chicken and Kiwi Kuisine Pies. A portion of the proceeds from all participating teams and vendors will be donated to MedStar’s Adaptive Sports Program.

Great Falls/McLean Rugby, founded in 2011, is a 501c3 non-profit organization and has seen registrations increase after the COVID lull. Registration and playing opportunities exist year-round and the Eagles are always looking for opportunities to promote the club throughout the Herndon, Great Falls, Reston, McLean and Sterling areas. 

The club has a large footprint in Northern Virginia, with a variety of youth rugby programs from PreK on up. 

For more information, visit www.greatfallsrugby.com or email Gary Coetzee at gary@greatfallsrugby.com The club is also on Facebook.