By SCOTT CASTELLANO

Many may not know this, but rugby is actually one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. Yet, there are schools and individuals who do not see it as an appropriate sport to play by the young men and women in our country.

This is a challenge that UNH Rugby Club faced when they were going through the enduring process of starting the team on campus. Just ask John Zalocki and Nick Race, two students who put forth a great amount of effort to establish the Rugby Club.

When the two were asked to approximate how many times they heard the word “no” throughout the process of making the Rugby Club official, they responded, “No was probably the one of the only words we heard.”

Without a doubt, each separate “no” was a detrimental blow to their esteem, but instead of giving up, they began to ask “why?” The why was quite simple: many people have problems with the pure violence stigma around the sport of rugby, which Zalocki and Race say they are devoted to change.

With the backing of the Director of Campus Recreation, Mike Schneider, and the Assistant Director of Recreational and Competitive Sports, Jeff Ryder, the young men were able to fight through the early stages of developing their club; but they knew there were still many challenges to come.

Creating a rugby club would increase the University’s insurance expenses, which resulted in the club paying $5,000 to cover the increase, a payment no other club is required to make. They did this through various fundraising efforts. It was a great sigh of relief for the team to get assistance from other students and the administration, as it showed that they were not alone in this grueling process, that people believe there is a place for rugby not only in colleges, but in the United States as a whole.

Once the insurance expenses were taken care of, the Rugby Club was able to officially start up and accept members.

A club that started out as a dream now has 35 active members and is scheduled to play three games on Kayo Field this spring. Furthermore, the club hopes to enter the New England Rugby Football Union’s College Division III in the fall, which will match them up against many other schools in the area.

George S. Patton’s famous quote, “I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs, but how high he bounces when he hits bottom,” truly defines everything that the University of New Haven Rugby Club was forced to endure in order to achieve their goal.