By Alice James, Second Year History and French
In January of this year, UBWRFC announced their new sevens team: Scarlet 7s. Comprised of current students and alumni, this is the first time women at UoB have had their own, dedicated rugby sevens team. Over the past few years, women’s rugby has been going from strength to strength, and the creation of Scarlet 7s is yet another key step in expanding the opportunities available to women wanting to play rugby.
UBWRFC are not new to rugby sevens. In the past, they have sent squads to compete in the BUCS sevens tournament and to Ovalyonne sevens in Lyon. However, to UWBRFC Vice Club Captain Skye Ayling, this was not enough. When speaking about her motivations behind setting up Scarlet 7s, she made it clear that the main aim was to massively expand players’ opportunities to get involved:
‘I wanted to create a bigger provision which allowed players to play all through the summer within the sevens circuit and expose players to all the fun things sevens tournaments are about while playing on a high level stage.’
The season that the Scarlets have ahead of them certainly lives up to this wish. Beginning with the Oddballs Foundation Festival in May, they are hoping to go on to compete both at home and abroad at tournaments in Lyon, Hartpury, Prague and London. The team’s creation has also been met with fierce enthusiasm; according to Skye, over 60 current students and alumni have expressed interest in playing for the team.
The creation of Scarlet 7s is also another step in filling the vast gap between the opportunities that are available to men and women rugby players. Scarlet 7s, created in part due to inspiration from the pre-existing men’s sevens team Maroon 7s, provides a matching opportunity for women at UoB. Having seen the Maroons’ recent success, Skye hopes that ‘borrowing a similar structure can help the scarlets become as successful too, really improving the calibre of sevens at Bristol.’ Scarlet 7s is a testament to how women’s rugby players are determined to fight for opportunities to show what they can do, and it will be exciting to see them bring their potential onto the pitch.
Alongside the desire to play and compete, there is another driving force behind the creation of Scarlet 7s: a love of UBWRFC and the community that players have found through it. ‘As a bunch of our time at UBWRFC is coming to a close, I thought it would be a great way to stay involved with the club and give players an excuse to see each other after graduation,’ said Skye, adding that the club ‘has been a family’ for players during their time at university. University sports societies are crucial in shaping student experiences due to the communities and friendships that they can provide, and the lasting strength of the UBWRFC community can clearly be seen through the enthusiasm of its alumni willing to return and get involved in Scarlet 7s.
The introduction of Scarlet 7s is not the only recent change to the face of rugby at UoB. This year has seen many changes within the university rugby clubs, such as the extension of the Bears partnership to the men’s club, and the creation of a Head of Rugby position to oversee both clubs and bring them together. Skye believes that these shifts ‘hopefully are the start of a really impressive future in performance rugby,’ and is keen to strengthen the link between the men’s and women’s clubs through Scarlet 7s: ‘We will be travelling to a number of the same tournaments as the men… helping to bring the clubs together and also I hope increasing support for the other team.’
Before their first season has even begun, the Scarlets are shaping up to be an exciting addition to UoB rugby. On the pitch in the coming months, they will no doubt showcase the talent and enthusiasm that UBWRFC has to offer. The team also stands as proof of the ever increasing success of women’s rugby, forming yet another step in the path towards increasing opportunities for women to play rugby.
However, the Scarlets goals are only possible though fundraising. Currently they are relying on donations in order to fund tournament entries, travel, and playing kit. For any that are interested in helping fund their first season, there is a crowd funding link on their Instagram page @scarlet7s.
Featured image: Alex Ortega
