Emory Women's Rugby Launches Empowering "Because Of Rugby" Campaign

"We wanted to share the positive impact of rugby with our friends and family, and ended up sharing it with the world."

We released the campaign on Facebook around 10 p.m. during finals week, and it immediately exploded. We got thousands of likes, and hundreds of comments and shares by collegiate, national, and international rugby teams, friends, family, and alums, other Emory organizations, and Try on Rugby, a program that promotes girls' and women's rugby in the US. We wanted to share the positive impact of rugby with our friends and family, and ended up sharing it with the world. The positive responses were overwhelming and far surpassed our expectations, and further supports the positive, empowering environment that rugby fosters.

"It encourages us to be strong in a culture that tells us to be delicate. It teaches us how to improve the bodies we have, and not suffer for the bodies that society wants."

Rugby has a intimidating reputation. Most collegiate women's rugby teams struggle with recruitment. No matter how active the team is on campus, we still encounter people all the time who are surprised to learn that Emory has a rugby team, especially a women's team. When we try to recruit women, we get excuses that rugby is too intense, or they think they are not tough enough. The truth is, there is no prototypical rugby player. You can be tall, short, skinny, fat, muscular, lanky, etc. and still find your place on a rugby team. Yes, it is intense. But it is also empowering. It encourages us to be strong in a culture that tells us to be delicate. It teaches us how to improve the bodies we have, and not suffer for the bodies that society wants. It tells us to eat well and be healthy, and to never be ashamed to go back for seconds (or thirds).

"No more excuses. Play rugby."

If everyone were to take the plunge and try out rugby, they would find an incredible community, an awesome workout, and a rewarding game. If you are a female-identifying individual, graduate or undergraduate, at Emory University, contact us. If not, contact your local team. No more excuses. Play rugby. Check out our campaign below.

Contact President & Captain Danielle Berkowsky at EmoryWRugby@gmail.com

Photos by Rebecca Han