Ron Bukusi, coach of the Chicago Sirens women's rugby club, wanted his team to have something to work toward that was bigger, more significant than its league matches.
He went worldly.
Originally from Kenya, Bukusi helped start the Safari Sevens Tournament in 1996, and it's been held for 18 years, though only three years with women's teams.
The Sirens are the first women's team outside of Africa to be invited to participate.
"Coach wanted us to have something to focus on," said Sirens player Janet Fitzpatrick. "He wanted us to feel like there was something big to shoot for, and [to] light a fire under us to take our rugby to the next level. The thought of playing against national teams of countries from all over the world is definitely helping us step up our game."
Added teammate Becky Roberts, "One of the biggest challenges facing women's rugby in the U.S. is a lack of matches. Up until this year, we were scheduled in four league matches per year, then we were on our own to plan matches for the rest of the year. We can only improve by playing."
The Sirens had 40 players on their roster during the 2012-13 season, ranging in age from 18 to 37, with the majority falling in the 19 to 27 range.
The 2013-2014 season features several new players as this is the only women's team that was able to field two full teams at the CARFU Ball Tournament last spring.
The team was founded in 2006 by several University of Illinois-Chicago graduates.
The Sirens recently joined with the Chicago Westside Condors and the Frogs to form a mixed-gender rugby club, following European style club organization. "We are the only teams to do so in the Chicagoland area and one of the few to do so in the U.S.," said Kelli Blanchard of the Sirens. "All three teams have come together to form the Chicago Rugby Club."
Fitzpatrick, a Sirens' founder, club treasurer and assistant coach, added: "On the field, we have goals of a winning season, beating our rivals both times we play them, and playing as a more cohesive team. On a grander scale, we want to be the team that everyone in Chicagoland wants to play for."
Added Roberts, who is the club vice president, "Our team has a goal for both our on-field and off-field presence. As a newer team, our on-field goals are to secure a winning season; play good, clean rugby; and develop our playing skills. Off the field, our goals are to promote women's rugby throughout Chicago, to become the largest team in Chicago and to maintain a team that respects each of our members and the sport."
International Experience:
Chicago players and coaches alike are thrilled for the Kenya opportunity.
Bukusi said the trip will help the team's "growth and development."
Fitzpatrick said, "Our team has come so far in a short amount of time. Nerves are there, but most of all it is a tremendous honor. When we started the team, we wanted to get some new blood into the Chicago rugby scene. So, to be invited to play in an international tournament is such a privilege. We are so lucky to have this opportunity. It's so awesome for our sport in America, but even more so as women in rugby. "
Blanchard said the team is "beyond excited."
"We are all so incredibly passionate about our team and the sport of rugby, [thus] the opportunity to represent both on an international stage, in front of 20,000-30,000 people, is mind-blowing for us," she said. "Typically, we are lucky and happy if we play [in front of] a couple dozen friends and family. I don't think it's possible for us to be any more excited to experience international rugby and to represent the U.S., and Chicago."
The team already has 25 players who have committed to going on the tour, though fund-raising will be an issue. At least 12 are needed to participate in the tournament.
"The tournament was started to raise the standards of rugby in Kenya and act as a fundraiser," Bukusi said. "It was developed along the lines of the Hong Kong 7's, the biggest and most prestigious rugby 7's tournament in the world."
"We want to play our game and make everyone we play against remember the Chicago Sirens," Fitzpatrick said. "We are a great bunch of ladies. We play with heart and play cleanly. I hope that we can show people on an international stage how fantastic we are."
Roberts added, "Off the field, we hope to be gracious to everyone we meet and we intend to partner with a local youth organization to help them learn about rugby."
The Sirens need to raise about $70,000.
The inaugural Sirens Scramble Golf Tournament is the first in a series of fundraisers for the Kenya tournament. The golf tournament is Sept. 8, at Village Greens at Woodridge.
More than 60 percent of the Sirens self-identify as LGBTQ, though it varies year to year, Blanchard said.
"Rugby is widely known as a very accepting sport and acceptance is a core value of the Sirens," Roberts said.
"I have played boys' football, volleyball, softball, basketball and track. I have never, ever played a sport, or hung out in any group of people where heterosexuals and LGBTQ community feel equally comfortable being themselves around each other," Blanchard said. "We have several people on the team dating each other and several of the straight girls dating male ruggers from other teams. Being bisexual, I often find that I don't fit perfectly in the hetero or homo world. Each group has certain expectations and limits. This is the first time in my life I have been part of a group of people where it is perfectly acceptable to be my 'whole self'. I can't even begin to express how liberating it is. In my discussions with others in the LGBTQ community, I say that our sport, and our team, is neither hetero-normative, nor, homo-normative; rather, it is both."
Blanchard works as a bilingual therapist/youth re-entry program coordinator for Alternatives, Inc., and lives in Rogers Park.
"I joined the Sirens, and started playing rugby, in February, 2011," Blanchard said. "I was already 31 years old and had three previous knee surgeries on the same knee—not ideal for a rugby player. [Still], I was relatively new to Chicago and wanted to get back into competitive sports. Over the years I had played boys' football, volleyball, basketball, softball, and track. I always enjoyed football most because of the contact. In the other sports, I was often in trouble for being 'too aggressive' and 'too physical'. I was sure I wanted to seek out a contact sport. I looked into women's football, but the financial and time commitments were too demanding. I looked into roller derby, but it would take me a year of full time skating to even attempt to qualify. Then I found rugby.
"I explored several Chicagoland rugby teams, online and in person. I chose the Sirens because they seemed to be the perfect mix between competitive and social. It was clear that they knew how to have fun. I also liked that they were the only team that seemed to have several players of color. Although I am white, diversity and inclusion are extremely important to me. It wasn't until later that I learned about the LGBTQ values of the sport and the team."
Blanchard's memories as a Sirens' player date back to her first practice. That day, her coach said, "Your teammate is going to stand in front of you. When she jumps, I want you to grab her just above the knee and lift her up over your head," Blanchard recalls. "I thought, 'This is not a skill I possess,' but I've played enough sports to know that you don't question your coach.
"It turns out [that] I'm pretty [good] at lifting girls over my head, and that our coach knows our skills/abilities better than we know ourselves. It's nice to trust him that much. It's nice that he looks out for me and protects me from going too hard and too fast as I recover from knee surgery."
Bukusi added: "We need all the support we can get. Our primary focus is to play good and exciting rugby and be the best rugby team in Chicago. We wish to take our brand of rugby to Kenya, which will be an eye-opening experience for all of us on many levels."
To support the Sirens on their journey to Kenya, go to sirenssafari7s.webs.com/apps/donations/ .
Donations for the Sirens' Kenya trip can be made at: sirenssafari7s.webs.com .
