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The 2018-2019 Club 15s National Championships will be hosted at Fortress Obetz in Obetz, Ohio - a suburb of Columbus- on June 1 and 2. Two weeks prior, May 18-19, The Eastern Club Championships will be played in Spartanburg, South Carolina- at the Upward Star Center; the Western location will be at Burr Field- Austin, Texas.
All the games from the Eastern, Western and National Championship weekends will be streamed live through FloRugby.
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“Fortress Obetz proved itself, last year, to be a perfect host for the USA Rugby Club National Championship Series,” said USA Rugby Senior Events Manager, Competitions- James Wilber. “The Eastern Championships hosted there were superb and we look forward to returning to this rugby friendly facility once more, for our National Championship Weekend.”
Fortress Obetz is a 6,500-seat stadium that is home to the Ohio Machine of Major League Lacrosse, and is one of only a few stadiums with advanced synthetic turf field that meets World Rugby Regulation 22 in the United States. Previously, the Ohio Aviators of PRO Rugby North America made the Village of Obetz their home, and both Ohio State and Columbus Rugby have played rugby matches in the Fortress Obetz venue. This year's National Championship event will be hosted by Rugby Ohio, in conjunction with USA Rugby.
In conjunction with the Club National Championships, on Saturday Rugby Ohio will be hosting the Rugby Ohio State High School Championships. There will be a total of eight games played across both boys’ and girls’ Division I, Boys’ Division II, Boys’ and Girls’ Junior Varsity, Boys Developmental; and Boys’ and Girls’ Presidential Cup. These games will be played inside Fortress, as well, as the surrounding fields outside.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming the wider USA Rugby community to Fortress Obetz,” added Rugby Ohio Director, Standish Fortin. “It’s going to be a great weekend of rugby and we also look forward to showing off the future of Ohio Rugby at the High School Championships.”
The Upward Star Center, in Spartanburg, South Carolina- will be the home of the Eastern Championships. The eastern championships will act as the National Semifinals, with the champion of each eastern division advancing through to the final. The Upward Star Center has previously been used by USA Rugby for College Championships.
“We are excited to be returning to Upward Star Center,” Wilber noted. “They’ve been tremendous hosts in the past and we are sure they’ll provide the perfect location for this year’s Eastern Championships.”
The Western Championship will be held at the Austin Blacks' Burr Field. Burr Field is one of the most historic fields in all of club rugby. It was one of the first rugby specific and club owned grounds in the country and with the history it holds it proves to be a fitting host for this year's western club championships.
"Burr Field is a special place,' started Wilber. "It is one of the few club owned and run facilities and it is a testament to the hard work of those down in Austin do within their community. We feel incredibly privileged to be hosting a leg of our National Championship Series there.'
