Red Storm romp opponents

There is a legend involving a young boy within a small school in Rugby, England playing a game of soccer in 1823. Instead of kicking the ball towards the goal, he simply picked it up and carried it, therefor creating a wildly popular sport with the same name as its place of origin. \nThe sport of rugby is relatively similar to American football in many ways except for the illegality of forward passing and a ball that is much more oblong to allow easier kicking. \nAt IU the highly successful men's team, the Mudsharks, is not the only team for the IU rugby fanatic.\nThe IU women's Red Storm rugby club team brings more punishing rugby entertainment for everyone. It may be a surprise to see the existence of a women's rugby club, but the Red Storm has been around for quite some time. Generally, the game's rules and basic style of play is the same for both men's and women's teams.\n"The women's game doesn't use kicking as much as the men's game, but it's all still legal, and the pacing is a bit different, but the same rules and formations are used," senior Kathleen Krueger,team fundraising director, said. \nMuch like their male counterparts, the team has had a decent amount of success, with a set of perennial enemies. \n"We played (Purdue) last semester and beat them by quite a bit," junior Katie Lawson, team president and match secretary said. Lawson also noted wins against Eastern Illinois and Vanderbilt as significant ones. \nThe team travels to various tournaments around the Midwest along with the typical games from various colleges and clubs. \n"We're going to two tournaments, ('The Nash Bash' in March and the 'Rugger-Fest' in April), and we're also going to be playing in the Indiana Select," senior team member Kim Collins said. \nThe tournaments also bring heated competition, as there is no shortage of women's teams within the Midwestern area.\n"There are many women's teams in the Midwest, so there is never any problem finding teams to come to the tournaments," Collins said.\nBut it is not the simple game itself holding the Red Storm together.\n"The game is great, but the girls are so great. It's just the companionship from the best group of girls," Krueger said. \nMuch of the kinship also comes from veteran players showing new players "the ropes" of the game.\n"As far as the 'old girls,' it's about advancing their skills, playing and being able to teach the new players the rules of rugby," Lawson said. \nDue to a relative amount of obscurity for American rugby, the Red Storm has had trouble finding the funds for the team. This has caused a great number of fundraising activities that the team participates in.\n"We've (sold) pizza a couple times a semester, we have worked at Fazoli's, we usually make T-shirts and we have Rugby balls that have 'Indiana University women's rugby' on them," Lawson said.\nAs with most club sports, women's rugby requires a great amount of dedication.\n"Practices are three nights a week. Being a club, we have to raise a lot of money ourselves, so you have to commit yourself through practice, games and so forth," Lawson said.\n"Rugby really is a lifestyle," Krueger said. \nWhile the team is enjoying success and camaraderie, the Red Storm is always looking for more people, regardless of skill level, to join the team. A call-out meeting is today at 7 p.m. in the Charter Room at the Indiana Memorial Union.