Welcome to another season with Beantown. I hope you all had a fun break and are jonesing to get back to rugby.
I know you all love indoor practice but we will be doing things a little bit differently this year to try and better utilize the space available to us.

Feb 24th: 8pm -9pm Backs; 9pm-10pm- Forwards
(you can stay the whole time if planning on playing scrum half)

March 1st: 8pm-9pm Forwards; 9pm-10pm Backs

If you have never played before, stay for the whole time and we can help place you for the following week. There is a role for everyone!

For those of you who haven’t been to CHCH before, here are some general directions to the gym from the school entrance (it’s a pretty big campus):

1.  Enter the school off of Beaver Street.  785 Beaver St. in your GPS will bring you to the right place.
2.  Drive straight up the gradual hill.  You will pass a pavilion and then a long brick dormitory on your left.
3.  At the end of the brick dorm, the road splits.  Follow the main road as it curves left over a small bridge and into a big parking lot.  You may park here and follow the rest of the directions walking, or drive the following directions and look for parking (though it is very limited) right next to the gym.
4.  If you didn’t turn in and park in the lot, continue to follow the road as it curves left.  You will pass a little house on your right and then find yourself in a circular drive/dead end.  Go left into the circular drive (so that you are driving counter-clockwise) and Beaver Gymnasium is the big structure pushed back a little off the road, behind the big brick main building called Wilkins.
5.  If you haven’t parked yet, you can look for spaces directly behind the gym or in the parking lot attached to the back of the circular drive.

Hey Beanies,

Our Spring schedule with games and practices is updated! Dust off those sneakers and start digging out your workout clothes. First practice of the season is February 24 @ Chapel Hill Chauncy Hall School in Waltham.

Many of you may have heard the news that Jan Rutkowski retired as Beantown’s head coach. We wish Jan the best in her endeavors and know that she won’t leave us completely, because she’s such an integral part of the Beantown family!

On December 9th, following the completion of her sixth year as Beantown RFC’s head coach Jan Rutkowski retired from her position. Rutkowski, who has lead Boston’s only Women’s Premier League rugby team since 2004, and was assistant coach from 1999-2003, made the announcement at the annual team meeting last week.

Since Rutkowski took Beantown’s reins, the team placed in the top four at the National Championship four times. Last month, they matched their 2007 showing with a second place finish. They have been NERFU champions six times in as many years. Overall, Rutkowski has amassed a winning record and coached over 100 matches for Beantown.

Outside of the impressive record, Rutkowski led the team to invitational participation in the newly formed Women’s Premier League (2009) and a tripling of the roster which led to the creation of a NERFU Division III team. The Division III side went undefeated in their inaugural season (2010).

The highly-respected Rutkowski has coached over 10 USA Women’s National Team (WNT) players during her tenure with Beantown and dozens more have been selected to participate in the NRU select side each year.

Rutkowski was an Eagle herself, playing on the WNT from 1987 – 1994, during which time she scored tries against USSR (1990 New Zealand Fest) and Ireland (1994 World Cup). She captained the side in the Canada Cup against Wales (1993) as well as the side in the World Cup game against Ireland (1994). She was also part of the team that won the first Women’s Rugby World Cup for the USA in 1991.

“Jan Rutkowski deserves our heartfelt thanks for guiding the Beantown family over these past six years. When I joined in 2003, the program had a great history, but limited numbers and hadn’t placed at Nationals in a couple of years,” says outgoing President, Monica VanBuskirk. “Under her leadership, we’ve grown in volume, passion, and talent. She’s not only brought us amazing stats, she’s also created a rugby home for hundreds of women and is responsible for considerable rugby growth in this country.”

“Regardless of where I go from here, I will always love Beantown” says Rutkowski whose announcement about retiring last week paves the way for Beantown’s next head coach.

Currently Annie Flavin, Richard Ashfield, and Laurie Bourdon comprise the coaching staff for Beantown RFC. The search for Rutkowski’s successor will begin in the near future.
In a message to the team, Rutkowski emphasized that she wishes the best for all the players, and looks forward “to following your rugby growth.”

After a hard-fought loss to New York, Beantown finished a stellar second place in the WPL Championship this year. A great finish to a great season! And a huge, hearty thank you to the hundreds of alums and fans that carried us along the way.

For all players returning in the Spring, the AGM is scheduled for 7pm sharp on December 9th at MIT. For this, and other events (such as the Yankee swap), keep your eyes on the Beantown calendar: http://beantownrugby.com/calendar.html

Finally, if you miss each others’ smiling faces, contact Jones about joining Beantown Futbol, our off-season indoor soccer team that plays on Sundays. We’re currently 1-3, but we have excellent fans.