Rocky Mountain Rugby is gutted to announce the passing of Jesus Flores. Affectionately known to many as "Zeus," Jesus was a dedicated rugger who played for multiple teams in the Rocky Mountain area - most frequently with his companions from Littleton - and was a regular fixture at most social events. Jesus could be relied on to show up and help any time a rugby club or friend was in need, and was an annual staple of the Rocky Mountain Challenge volunteer corps (among numerous other areas of assistance). Jesus was a teammate, player, coach, referee, supporter, fan, and friend. The local rugby community is deeply saddened at the news of this loss, and encourages those who are able to attend Jesus's celebration of life service.
Obituary GoFundMe Service information provided via Facebook: Jesus Flores Celebration of Life Service Please join us in celebrating the amazing life of Jesus Flores Thursday, March 5th 1:00 pm Mission Hills Church 620 Southpark Drive Littleton, CO 80120 *The Flores family invites you to Littleton Cemetery after the service for the burial. **Jesus cherished his teammates. We invite you to wear your jerseys to the service in honor of your time on the field with the fiercely competitive Jesus. Viewing You are also invited to join the family in a viewing the night before the service. This is an open house which will allow you to speak to the family and see Jesus before the Church service the next day. Wednesday March 4th, 2020 (Night before service) 5pm-8pm (Open House) Drinkwine Mortuary 999 West Littleton Boulevard Littleton, CO 80120 Jesus touched many people’s life during his short walk on this earth, it will wonderful to all be together and celebrate this extraordinary man. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going (John 14:1-4).” Article submitted by DU Men's Club Rugby | Originally published on the DU Men's Club Rugby website DU Rugby will be kicking off their Winter campaign this Saturday, February 8, at Diane Wendt Sports Field against Air Force. The game’s first forty minutes will feature 15s, followed by two fourteen-minute 7s contests. DU Rugby will be using the first half of 15s to prepare for their playoff berth in Cowboy Cup (hosted by DU 3/21 & 3/22), and the 7s matches to select their final twelve-man starting roster for the NSCRO 7s National Championship Qualifier next week in Las Vegas, NV.
DU Rugby is elated to welcome back its veteran Juniors and Seniors: Asher Riley, Daniel Hauser, Daniel Kivel-Goldstein, Eric Deubler, and Luke Molingowski who spent the fall studying abroad in countries around the world. Although the team finished with a 15s record of 6-1 in the fall, and qualified for the NSCRO 7s National Championship in Philadelphia last spring, the team is excited to have a clean slate, a 0-0 record mentality as the playoffs begin, and five important contributions back for the championship run. Please support DU Rugby under the lights this Saturday night as two playoff journeys begin in one action-packed night. While DU Rugby prides itself on its fundraising, we ultimately rely on you: the parents, alumni, and fans, to help the club and student athletes succeed to the fullest. Please consider checking out our DU Rugby merchandise available online, donating electronically to our annual fund, or endowment fund through the links provided below. Team Store Annual Fund Endowment Link Thank you for your donation. We rely on your generous support so DU Rugby can continue to make DU and the community proud. All matches to be played at DU's Diane Wendt Sports Fields, located near High & Jewell in Denver, CO.
Sat 21st March – 4pm KO Game 1 - NMHU vs Texas Team (TBC) Sat 21st March – 630pm KO Game 2 – DU vs Texas Team (TBC) Sun 22nd March – 12pm KO Game 3 – 3rd vs 4th Sun 22nd March – 230pm KO Game 4 – 1st vs 2nd In late November 2019, USA Rugby revealed that it was expected to go $1.5 million over its projected budget for fiscal year 2019. The budgetary woes were attributed to an overspend by the Men’s XVs National Team and a shortfall in budgeted revenue.
As many of you know, USA Rugby was already in a difficult financial position due to the failure of an entity it formed called Rugby International Marketing (RIM; now known as USA Rugby Partners) and a large loss from hosting the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco. As result of another projected loss, USA Rugby made a series of personnel moves within its office, and its Board has decided to accelerate its strategic plan to separate out community and high performance organizational efforts. This has been accelerated even further by the formation of a Task Force, requested by USA Rugby chair Barbara O’Brien, and led by USA Rugby Partners chair Jon Bobbett, that has revealed an aggressive timeline for change. The formation of this Task Force has also catalyzed many community groups to self-organize, e.g. calls are being held between a body of union presidents from around the country, and the college community has created an advisory panel of constituent members. It has not been lost on the union presidents and other organizational leaders, nor the Congress, that most of the financial woes for USA Rugby are related to struggles in the high performance and commercial areas. Many don’t buy the narrative concerning a philanthropic revenue shortfall, as the budgeted goal was 80+% higher than the organization had ever raised previously, and 2019 was actually a record year for fundraising. To that end, the 2019 overall budget seemed aspirational at best. Most importantly, it has not been overspending or underfunding from the community that has caused any of these issues. Ever. The community contributes over $5.5 million in dues annually and does not receive that amount in services - no matter how one attempts to add up expenses. In fact, community programming has seen cuts for three consecutive years now despite increases in dues collected. From a Rocky Mountain Rugby perspective, it’s becoming readily apparent that our relationship with USA Rugby will be different in the years moving forward. The details of that are still to be determined but our executive leadership has been highly engaged with the process. There have been thousands of emails and hundreds of calls logged in the past two months which have been beyond the scope and time of our typical leadership duties. Most of USA Rugby’s wounds are self-inflicted as result of a series of governance reforms from 2005-2013 that were poorly thought-out, as well as recent business moves in the years since. We’re now seeing the byproduct of those decisions in the struggles of the past few years. Those changes undermined our broader sense of community and made working collaboratively more difficult. However, the most recent budgetary blunder has awakened the community, and much of the membership is committed to the idea that no matter what happens moving forward, we need to try and move forward together as a community. Rocky Mountain Rugby has been fortunate to not let outside forces affect it too much. When other unions decided the formation of college conferences meant that college programs should leave their unions, we thought that’d be a bad idea. We never bought the idea that unions were club organizations that happened to have other teams. In the spirit of collaboration, our college conferences work within the union, just like our club leagues do. We aren’t a club union with college programs; we’re an adult union that has a diversity of members and competitions. In our talks with others, we are committed to working together to rebuild our community, to protect everyone’s interests as well as possible, and to fight for a maximized return on investment on the dues you give to any organization. More information will come on this topic in the weeks and months to come, and Rocky Mountain Rugby wants you to know that your voice will be heard. Stay tuned for updated information on a potential extraordinary general meeting (EGM), as well as other in-person opportunities to engage your elected representatives. Rocky Mountain Rugby will also be distributing surveys to programs and individuals shortly, after a series of discussions with our partners about the potential paths forward. All the best, Erik Geib President, Rocky Mountain Rugby (RMR) RMR Congress Representative to USA Rugby Related: USA Rugby Organizational Restructuring Initiative Letter From USAR Board of Directors, Chair (Jan 13, 2020) Rocky Mountain Rugby's Statement on Values
Rocky Mountain Rugby embraces rugby’s core values and is committed to protecting our beautiful diversity in the promotion of a sport which is truly a ‘game for all.’ While Rocky Mountain Rugby will not publicly comment on specific legal matters that occur outside the playing and administration of the game, we take seriously any matter that risks putting the game into disrepute. Any member who brings the game into disrepute by individual or collective action is subject to a disciplinary hearing. Please note that all members that wish to report potential SafeSport violations may do so through USA Rugby’s SafeSport site, which is stickied to the front of Rocky Mountain Rugby’s website. Rocky Mountain Rugby remains committed to World Rugby’s Core Values, which include: Integrity: Integrity is central to the fabric of the game and is generated through honesty and fair play. Passion: Rugby people have a passionate enthusiasm for the game. Rugby generates excitement, emotional attachment and a sense of belonging to the global rugby family. Solidarity: Rugby provides a unifying spirit that leads to life-long friendships, camaraderie, teamwork and loyalty which transcends cultural, geographic, political and religious differences. Discipline: Discipline is an integral part of the game both on and off the field and is reflected through adherence to the laws, the regulations and rugby’s core values. Respect: Respect for team-mates, opponents, match officials and those involved in the game is paramount. Additionally, Rocky Mountain Rugby is committed to the idea of a ‘Game for All’, in that: Rocky Mountain Rugby is proud to serve a diverse membership of players, coaches, officials, and fans. As such, Rocky Mountain Rugby is committed to creating and promoting a culture of inclusion and mutual respect, regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religious beliefs, sex, age, gender identity, disability, or sexual orientation. We celebrate the differences that make our members unique and special and do not tolerate discrimination, bullying, or exclusion in any form. Rocky Mountain Rugby expects its leadership, coaches, officials, teams, players, administrators, and fans to promote a culture of acceptance and support through their actions and through the recruitment of members without regard to sex, race, physical disability, or sexual orientation. Through our commitment to diversity and mutual respect, we believe that the sport of rugby will continue to grow and become a powerful voice of change in the world of sport. SafeSport Incident Report | Rocky Mountain Rugby Match Incident Report Rocky Mountain Rugby Sideline Code of Conduct | World Rugby's Values USA Rugby's Diversity Statement | World Rugby Regulation 20 The Denver Harlequins 5th annual Mardi Gras Cocktail Party and Auction will be Friday, February 28th. Tickets can be purchased on the Denver Harlequins website.
The Denver Highlanders are hosting their annual Black and Red Winter Charity Ball on Saturday, January 25th from 6:30-10:30 pm. The effort will benefit USA West Youth Rugby. More information, including ticketing, can be found on the Denver Highlanders website or via the Facebook event page.
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