Most states only have one or two Rugby teams so in order to play we have to travel. Also, USQRA rules stipulate that no team should play in more than two games each day of a tournament. This means we it takes 3 days to play an 8 team tournament - an entire weekend.
Please don't hear that as a complaint - we LOVE to travel and play a full weekend of smash-mouth Murderball any chance we get! What we're trying to say is... it's expensive.
Just to give you an idea, it costs about $3,000 for us to attend a regional tournament, and $7,000 for the ones outside our region. This season the total costs exceeded $42,000, most of which came right our of the player's pockets.
Our other major expense is the chairs. Rugby is a rough sport and our everyday chairs are neither strong enough nor properly equipped to handle the rigors of the game. To complete, we have to purchase new chairs every 3 or 4 years at a cost of $3,500 to $4,500. All players are expected to purchase their own chairs. Some players use older chairs but to compete at he highest level our equipment must be in great shape and built according to the ever-changing rules.
Some of our costs are covered by generous sponsors... like you!
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