ONLY ON 3: Cape Fear club team proves rugby is not just for guys
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Rugby may be traditionally a European sport, but the ladies of the Cape Fear Women’s Rugby Club are bringing it into the mainstream right here in the Port City.
“It kinda breaks the norm of women’s sports I feel like,” said Amanda Wilcek.
For about four years now the Cape Fear Women’s Rugby Club has been bringing ladies together from across the Wilmington community.
“I just love how fast paced it. I love the comradery on the field and off the field with these teammates,” said Wilcek.
And while it’s a sport that is still finding its footing here in the US, rugby is growing in popularity.
“Like a lot of little girls, I played soccer,” said Nicole Beckwith. “I played it through high school and got pretty burned out. But we had a British coach and in one practice played this rugby drill where we got to do anything to try and get the ball.”
Beckwith said in the United States many athletes, especially women, don’t even get to try rugby until the head to college. But Beckwith said the sport is incredibly inclusive and she wishes more folks would give it a shot.
“Every type of athlete can play. We have big people, small people non traditional athletic people, a lot of awesome athletes,” Beckwith said.
In the game of rugby, the rules are the same for both men and women. That is precisely what attracts some players like Kettie Norton.
“It’s not just for guys. I love to play it. I think it’s a very empowering sport. I think it’s given me a lot of courage to do other things in my life and it’s made me realize that I’m a lot stronger than I think I am sometimes, and I can go further,” Norton said.
The team said win or lose, this sport has created a bond unlike any other.
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