The Oregon men’s club rugby team is stepping outside the box to draw attendance to its games this fall.
The Ducks are teaming up with Food for Lane County to get food donations at their game with the Oregon State Beavers this weekend while also trying to raise awareness for their sport. Throughout the week the rugby team will be on and around campus to promote the Civil War game by asking students and fans to bring three non-perishable food items to the game on Saturday at Riverfront Field by the Autzen Foot Bridge.
The event will go from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and people will be there to take the items. As a little twist, the first 50 people who bring five or more food items will get a free T-shirt. The event is free to attend, however, food donations are encouraged.
“The overall goal is to create a positive public image with the UO and to increase awareness and game attendance,” assistant team coordinator Kellam Nelson said. Nelson is a senior and is also the marketing director for the team, and he says that they thought it would be a good way to support a good cause while also boosting fans for their little-known sport.
“Not many people know that we have a rugby team,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity to get the word out and to also help out Lane County with a pretty big problem.”
The team will be on campus this week handing out fliers and getting the word out as well.
Players will be at the Duck Store on the corner of East 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street on Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and at the EMU Amphitheater on Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. To go along with the food drive, Monster will be there as a sponsor and will be handing out free energy drinks during the competition, and Qdoba will be selling food to fans.
Nelson says he’s been looking into getting temporary stands at the field to sit the expected influx of curious fans.
“I’m pretty excited,” he said. “We’re hoping for a dramatic increase. Rugby is a fun game that we feel that people would like to watch.”
The game is also labeled a “spirit game” by the club sports department, meaning that the attendance of the game by other club teams will be tracked for a competition. Whichever club sport has the most supporters at the game will win a $100 prize from club sports to go toward anything from entry fees into tournaments to paying for new equipment.
As for rugby, Nelson said the prize money would be nice, but he just hopes to get a few more fans at the field to see what the game is all about. He said the likeness of the game to football could be a commonality for fans.
“It’s fast paced like soccer, but with the physicality of football,” Nelson said. “It’s a very popular sport around the rest of the world, but I think people are confused by how it’s played. We’d like to change that … it’s a game for all athletes.”
The team has already gotten underway this fall as well, having played Sacramento State
Saturday here in Eugene.
Sac State won 51-7, but that didn’t deter Nelson from saying the team’s goal is to make it to the playoffs for the first time in a few years. Oregon plays in the Pacific Northwest Rugby Football Union with four other teams, and their extended schedule goes through the middle
of March.
The league is made up of Oregon State, Washington, Washington State and Central Washington, and Oregon plays each team twice, along with random non-league matches with teams thrown in on their off weeks.
There are only four scheduled league games remaining this fall and another four in the winter, so there are limited opportunities left to see the Ducks play. After this weekend they play Central Washington at home on Oct. 31 and won’t play in Eugene again until Jan. 9.
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Tackling hunger
Daily Emerald
October 11, 2009