Beach Rugby League

hits Chicago

Attempts have been made to kick start Rugby League in the Mid West
this month. Several members of the British RL club side Ormskirk
Heelers were in the Chicago area for a wedding; a select team known as
the Chicago Saints was raised by former Heelers chairman Mike
Featherstone who is now resident in the windy city. The game was
orginally to be played on a football field however due to the last
minute nature of the game, play was relocated to the city’s North
Avenue Beach. So it was "Beach Rugby League" that came to the shore
of Lake Michigan. A 9-a-side scrimmage version of the game was played
with two 30 minute halves, three man scrums, no kicks for goal and a
pitch marked out with an area 70 x 40 yards.

The game was refereed by former Great Britain students rep Andrew Armitage and attracted many interested onlookers. The home side included 2 American Nationals and 2 residents as well as a number of guest players from overseas whilst the Heelers selection included 6 players from their 2005 Rugby League Conference campaign.

The game ended in 5 tries each for a score of Chicago Saints 20
Ormskirk Heelers select 20.

Organisers now hope to formally introduce Rugby League to
the area possibly by hosting a 7 or 9 a side tournament before the end
of the year with the hope of attracting local Union clubs to enter
teams. It is hoped this could be a vehicle to establishing a future
summer based competition in the Mid West with the Saints acting as a
representative side for the area and possibly applying to enter the
AMNRL at some point in the future.

Anyone interested in getting involved with Rugby League in Chicago can contact the venture at chicagosaints@hotmail.com

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