2022 recap and 2023 projection

Hello All Blues Community! Does this still count as a New Years Newsletter if it’s only the second day in February? I hope so because we have SO much to recap from our 2022 year and even more to look forward to in 2023.

I'm excited to share the following:

• Executive Committee & Board for the 2023 New Year

• 2022 Season Recap (D2, WPL, 7's)

• 2023 Season Forecast

What's coming up in future blog posts?

• New Zealand Tour Recap

• Far North Bay Area Tour

• Youth Team

Our Executive Committee & Board for the upcoming 2023 year will be as follows:

***Please note we passed our Youth Season Director(s) position in a probationary period. They will serve on the board but without an official vote come 2023. We will need to amend our bylaws to incorporate them fully into the board and create a structure for board votes that end in a tie. We will hold a Special General Meeting (SGM) on March 6th, 2023***

2022 Season Recap:

D2 Season

• Our 2022 D2 squad competed in the NCRFU D2 Women’s Division and came out first in our league with an 8-2 record. We were led by our captains; Kat Clark, Mimi Marquez, and T Kawaihoa-Marquez.

• We swept our regional competition at the Morgan Hill Sports Complex by defeating Old Pueblo Lightning Rugby 74-14 and then the following day against the Portland Pigs 27-14.

• With our wins at Regionals, our D2 squad secured a spot at D2 Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia. Day 1 didn’t go our way and we walked off the pitch with a loss against the Knoxville Minx.

• With our entire team recovering from the effects the Pandemic had on our club, we are immensely proud of our D2 squad for making it the furthest it’s ever gone in CLUB HISTORY.

WPL Season

• Our 2022 WPL squad competed among the best in the country and secured the number one spot in our conference with an 8-2 record. We were led by our captains; Evan Hoese and Naomi Batzer.

• Day 1 at WPL Nationals the All Blues faced off against the Colorado Gray Wolves. The All Blues came away with a resounding win 38-18 and were set to face Beantown Rugby for the championship the following day.

• Day 2 at WPL Nationals ended up with a huge win to take home the championship trophy with a win over Beantown 29-7. The All Blues kept beantown scoreless until the final minutes of the game.

7’s Season

• Our 2022 7’s team faced logistical difficulties as the 15’s club seasons overlapped the beginning of 7’s season.

• We were led by Irene Gardner as head coach and Lucy Croy and Olivia Bernadel-Huey as assistant coaches.

  • We were extremely delighted to support our head coach, Irene Gardner, as she was selected as Head Coach of the PR 7’s Experts team.

• Despite the extremely truncated season, the All Blues secured a spot at Club 7’s Nationals in St. Louis, MO.

• After a hard fought two days, the All Blues 7’s squad walked away with some hardware, securing the Shield.

2023 Season Forecast:

D2 Season

• Our D2 squad began their official season practices on January 3rd with our first game set for February 4th against the EPA Razorbacks.

• Our D2 team will be led by our very own Evan Hoese as head coach. Evan has already led our D2 team to many successes in previous years, most notably our undefeated season in 2020 (until COVID stepped in).

• This year our postseason forecast has yet to be decided. The NCRFU will be holding the California Cup in Vegas as a way for club teams to forego the USAR Nationals Pathway and come together to play teams from across the west coast.

  • Our D2 team will be the ultimate decision maker on whether or not we work towards USAR’s D2 Nationals pathway or compete at the California Cup in May.

  • No matter the outcome, the Cal Cup and Western Regionals will take place in Las Vegas.

WPL Season

• Our WPL season will begin its preseason practices on March 7th and with our first game taking place mid April (we will post our schedule once it’s been finalized).

• The WPL is taking some big steps towards professionalization and therefore the league format has changed. To read more about “Ignite the Change”, check out these two links (WPL) (Rugby Breakdown).

  • Unlike in previous years, every team will play every other team TWICE.

  • The WPL season will run from April through late October, occurring between two halves, April through June and August through October. This will allow a month long break for athletes to recover and get prepped for the second half of the season.

  • There are 7 teams participating in the WPL: All Blues, Life West, CO Gray Wolves, Twin Cities Amazons, Chicago Northshore, NYRC, and Beantown.

  • Postseason will consist of two separate weekends (semi-final and final).

• We are excited in welcoming back Hannah Stolba as our Head Coach for the 2023 season and are looking forward to our continued growth.

7’s Season

• Our 7’s season will look a little bit different this year. With no current news from USA Rugby on how club 7’s will be structured with the emergence and expanding PR 7’s, we are assuming it will be a short season like last year.

  • Our D2 season would go til Mid-May OR early June (depending on the postseason path the team decides to take) and our WPL season completely encompasses the standard club 7s season (except for the July break).