The Women’s Rugby Forum convened in May 2017 and emerged with a set of strategies to advance the sport in the U.S. Establishing a professional organization became a lead objective, and the first evolution of such is the Women’s Rugby Coaches & Referees Association (WRCRA).
Kerri Heffernan organized the Women’s Rugby Forum and is a long-standing board member of the U.S. Women’s Rugby Foundation. She is also a co-founder of WRCRA and clarified that the membership organization aspires to create professional pathways, access and advocacy for women’s coaches, referees, players, administrators, media and more.
“As professional opportunities for women coaches, referees and players increase, WRCRA wants to ensure that women are prepared to compete for these opportunities and have the support of a professional organization and a network of peers,” Heffernan explained. To that end we are working with a broad range of organizations - like Atavus, USA Rugby and other women’s coaches associations - that are developing recognizable pathways and professional certifications and trainings to women.”
WRCRA is currently looking to build its member base and requests interested individuals to fill out this survey.
“Through a robust membership organization, we hope to address topics identified in the May forum, including growing high school and youth rugby opportunities for girls, supporting the NCAA initiative, increasing the reach of women’s club rugby, furthering the growth of high performance women’s rugby, partnering with researchers and medical professionals to better grasp health risks and benefits associated with the game, and partnering with existing women’s professional sport organizations to increase our network and to ensure best practices.”
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