Pride of a Nation

  When I first moved to Oregon I began to look into the rugby scene through the state. Many club names kept coming up but Battle Ground always stuck out, the name alone would make anyone interested as to why Battle Ground. Some years passed and now that we are coming out of covid and rugby is now being played I wanted to recheck in and see what programs are coming back online and who's playing. I couldn't find anything about Battle Ground but Chinook now took its place. So when I did a quick search it came to my attention that Chinook rugby is Battle Ground youth rugby. I Thank Lance , club vice president and head youth coach,  for taking the time to answer some questions and giving great insight to where this amazing program is and going. Even though located in the state of Washington,  Chinook Rugby sits just outside Portland and near Vancouver, WA plays under the Rugby Oregon banner. 

LLR- Chinook Rugby was previously named Battle Ground Youth Rugby and Hockinson Youth Rugby, why the name change?

LH- Most of our players originally were from those areas so were known as that. We represent all of North & West Clark County so formed a club to encompassed the wider community and a new name search began. Went through the process of considering lots of names like Clark County but another club/team had that, the mountains like St. Helens and Silver Star we could see from our original home field. We moved from that to wanting to represent  the heritage and native culture of the area. First name that came to mind was the Klickitat tribe and the battle they were to have with the Army became known as Battle Ground, but having klickitat as a neighboring county might again be confusing. The next tribe in the region were the Chinook so we approached the Chinook Indian Nation for permission to use the name, they gave us their blessing and to this day we still liaise with the tribe and have their support.

 

LLR- What age levels does Chinook offer for those interested in joining?

LH- Cater for all student athletes. Officially 3^rd to 12^th grade but often get 1^st and 2^nd grade that can cut it with the 3^rd graders and are keen to play, so we welcome them to participate. The 3-6^th play non-contact co-ed Flag Rugby and 7^th grade up we commence Tackle Rugby with boys and girls teams. The divisions are now all in 2 year brackets to ensure safety and appropriate size.

 

LLR- With the covid pandemic have the programs seen numbers dropped with registration?

LH- Short answer is yes. 2020 was tough on all sports, rugby included. We did pre-season practices for 8 weeks, had our pre-season Jamboree and 3 days later the season was cancelled. We wanted to get students back out in 2021 so delayed the start to the season. For the older grades it was not feasible to do tackle rugby wearing a mask and we also had to localize the league as crossing boarders was not recommended. Not to be deterred we had a successful season of Touch Rugby with the generous help and support from Portland Touch. We had 86 turn out for the Spring and another 19 new to the sport with Girls Rugby in the Fall, so achieved our goal of getting student athletes out of lock-down and back outside having fun with their mates. 2022 we still have the largest club in the Rugby Oregon league (OR & SW WA) with 108 eager and ready to go for this Spring season.

 

LLR- What is a few highlights that Chinook rugby has experienced over the years?

LH- Sometimes the first thing some think of is State Championship titles. Yes, all our divisions have those. The HS Boys have a couple, HS Girls have more, and they are both currently hold the title since the last competitive league in 2019. Highlights are more than State Titles for us, it is about the growth or providing the sport to local student athletes. Best I explain with some bullet points on history of the growth in our club:

• 2007 Founding of Rugby in our local area by Coach Andre de Klerk with a combined Battle Ground & Prairie High Schools boys team.
• 2011 Introduced the HS Girls Lady Pack team.
• 2012 First youth 4-6^th grade team and a 2^nd combined High Schoolboys team. 4 teams, 78 players.
• 2013 First 7/8^th Boys team and another 4-6^th. High School boys divided into Prairie Wolf Pack & Battle Ground Bulls school teams.
• 2014 Added another 7/8^th boys team. 7 teams, 105 players.
• 2015 Introduced 7/8^th Girls and 4-6^th became 3/4^th and 5/6^th grade. 8 teams, 138 players.
• 2016 First official year for 7/8^th Girls and now 2 of each 3/4^th and 5/6^th. 10 teams, 168 players.
• 2017 Split High School and had 1^st JV team. 11 teams.
• 2018 More 3/4^th and 5/6^th with 3 of each. 13 teams, 189 players.
• 2019 First club in OR and SW WA to have 4 x 5/6^th teams. 14 teams 200 players.

 

LLR- When is the first game for 2022 season?

LH- Pres-season tournament was March 12^th and first round of the league March 19^th. Season runs until the finals on May 21^st.

 

LLR- Are there any key players that everyone should keep an eye out for in the coming season?

LH- That is a tough question. With so many missing out the last 2 years and all the Freshman missed their Middle School tackle. We are proud to say we got 5 players into college scholarships this current school year and are looking to do better than that after this season. Aiden Kerr is one of those and he is really making his mark with the WWU team and he could very well go all the way to a national side. We have 2 seniors, Israel Duncan and Brett Ebert that have already been accepted into WWU rugby team so watch out for them this season. On the High School Girls side there are some Freshman like Mae Otoupal, Clara Kapelka, Dillynn Ledbetter who were outstanding as 8^th graders in last year’s touch season and represented us in the high performance teams, so with 4 years in tackle ahead of them they are looking good to go far in the sport.

 

LLR- How can people follow along on what's happening ?

LH- We try our best to keep the community up to date with practice and game schedules. We have put a lot of work into our website to do this so all you need do is go to: https://www.chinookrugby.com/2022-spring-schedule

 

LLR- Many youth programs have various ways of recruiting new players, what's the one or two ways that Chinook has found to be the most effective way of getting new people to join?

LH- Yes, we put a lot of our fundraising dollars into flyers into schools, social media and the like, but word of mouth is what we have found to be most effective. To achieve that we stand by our clubs one and only priority goal for the youth of “Have Fun At Practice And On Game Day”. Even with the season about to start I still have kids coming to me and saying this is so much fun, can I bring a friend along. A long time servant of the game, fellow Kiwi who got me into the club in 2013, and past Head Coach of Prairie High School team who took them to 2 State titles in 2014 and 2019, once said to me. “If you can start the pre-season with 10 of 12 players you will have a full squad of 23 before the season starts. Just be a good coach make it enjoyable and they will all bring a mate along”. And yes when he won State in 2019 that is exactly what he did.

 

LLR- Seattle has the Seawolves, many of our hopes is that eventually another MLR team joins the PNW. Is a Portland team the final piece needed for rugby growth in Oregon?

LH- That is a great question. I love going to Seawolves games and a best mate and fellow coach Bradford Batten has season tickets. The growth of the sport will eventually need another team and Portland is and ideal spot for that. I see from Super Rugby and Northern hemisphere they sometimes struggle maintaining a high standard when they have too many teams vying for the same pool of players. Then again isn’t it great to see teams like Moana Pasifika and Fiji now in the Super Rugby.

The Rugby Oregon Red Hawks, our high performance teams, have built a relationship with The Loggers, the USA pathways academy in our region. They in turn are supported by the Seawolves with coach and player education. It is great for a coach like me down in SW WA to be involved in meetings with the Seawolves coaches and players.

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  I wish all those in the Chinook Rugby programs the best this season, and I look forward to following them not just this year but in the many years to come. 

*if you have a program, youth, College or senior level that you wanted featured here please reach out at llrugby@yahoo.com or on any social media accounts. 

Rugby League Passion: Tiffany Salmond

Over the past few years I've been fallowing Rugby League more closely then usual. Like many social media has been a great tool to find stories, learn what's happening and to fallow along with any new developments. Especially since league is very minimal here in the states and the NRL and Super League is not easy to watch or fallow. So when Tiffany Salmond tweets regarding the NRL and the various players involved came across my feed , due to another party retweet , I was hooked as fallowing her for another source to learn more on what's happening. Her passion and willingness to call out how the code is perceived and treated by the media and the players themselves is something I am excited about. I hope you all truly enjoy what she has to share and give her a fallow, she is truly a bright person and knows what she is speaking of. 

LLR- Please share a bit about yourself

TS- My name is Tiffany Salmond and I work for Sky Sport NZ attached to the rugby league team on live NRL games and The Kiwi League Show. My role includes finding interesting rugby league stories around the country, conducting interviews, editing stories and other content for our productions. I have a big passion for growing the game here in New Zealand and giving it the recognition it deserves in the professional game as well as grassroots. I graduated university with a bachelor of communications majoring in journalism in 2018 and have been at Sky Sport now for a year and a half

LLR- With so many options why rugby league ?

TS- I grew up in a rugby league family. My poppa played and has referred for most of his life, and my dad played the game up until he was 50 so it’s always been apart of my life. Almost every Friday and Saturday night of my childhood was spent falling asleep on the couch in front of the late night NRL games and being woken up by the cheering of the crowd every time a try was scored. My dad comes from the old era rugby league days when fans of the game knew the history of the unfair treatment the sport had experienced and how much it had to fight to stay alive in this country and around the world. He’s passed down this knowledge to me which I am very vocal about as I can still see the injustice within the rugby league communities around the country so that also strengthens my passion for wanting to fight for the game.

LLR- You seem pretty passionate about the NRL and the growth of the game in the southern hemisphere, have there been athletes or other reporters who have reached out in support?

TS- No they haven’t. As I mentioned before about the history of the game, not many people (fans included) know the difficulties the sport faces specifically in New Zealand so it gets neglected. That’s why I’ve made it my mission to be so vocal about it and get involved with the communities and do my bit to tell their stories on The Kiwi League Show

LLR- In your opinion how can women's rugby league grow in the south and north regions along with developing regions like USA, Canada and Latin America ?

TS- In terms of growing the women’s game, I think it needs to become more professional for it to develop anymore than it has. From the first NRLW (women’s NRL) season it was great footy but also very amateur, whereas the second season looked sharper and more professional. Within two seasons of the competition the quality of the football improved immensely due to clubs seeing potential in the game and investing in their female athletes in the way of coaches, money and facilities. One thing I have noticed in New Zealand that I think will be a big step in developing the game is creating more grades in the grassroots competition. If I wanted to play rugby league next season there is only one grade I can join, which means as a compete novice I would be coming up against NRLW players and even Kiwi Ferns. It’s a very intimidating reality, which is why I think having more amateur grades would be a great way of getting more girls coming along and giving it a go

LLR- Does there have to be, it's ether Rugby Union or League or can both codes exist at the same time?

TS- They have both existed alongside each other for years now, despite unions efforts to eliminate the competition. In New Zealand rugby Union is our national sport and dominates our media which makes it very hard for rugby league to get any recognition and attention. Despite the disadvantages, rugby league still thrives, has impressive crowds and huge TV ratings. If it wasn’t such a great game I don’t think it could have survived the adversity quite like it has.

LLR- What advice do you give to those trying to grow rugby league in the USA ?

TS- One thing we know is rugby league is a great product so selling it to the masses isn’t the problem, but getting the word out there is the hard part. We know Americans love their contact sports like the NFL and I’ve seen how they react to our league players smashing into each other with no protective gear, it shocks them but they love it! Getting it into the schools would be a great start. Rugby league is a very simple and basic game compared to rugby union with all their rules, which makes our game very appealing to new comers

LLR- Who wins the NRL restructure season?

TS- Every season it can be anyone’s game, that’s the great thing about the NRL’s salary cap restrictions which insures wealthy clubs can’t buy all the top players. This season in particular though could really be anyone’s! With the completion being so rattled and uncertain due to the pandemic, I think there could be a few dark horses going for the trophy. I’ll have to say my NZ Warriors though of course! I always have to back my team.

LLR- What would you like to see done to take the game to the next level?

TS- The end of last year we saw the inaugural Oceania Cup which shook international rugby league with Tonga beating Australia for the first time in history. The international game has unfortunately been neglected through the years as the NRL has taken priority. I think as a sport we need to take advantage in this turning of the heads within the international arena and boost it to the rest of the world because that is a big reason the game hasn’t grown past NZ, Australia and the UK. Unfortunately the NRL/Australia are the ones who have to allow this to happen as they are the heart of rugby league and all it’s talent. There was a lot of discussion about this at the beginning of the year so I hope they realise we have something special right now and they need to allow it to grow for the good of our game and it’s future.

LLR- How can people connect with you and fallow along?

TS- You can find me on Twitter @Tiffany_salmond, on Instagram @Tiffanysalmond and The Kiwi League show now has an Instagram where we will be posting all our local Kiwi content @thekiwileagueshow



* I would like to thank Tiffany for taking the time in responding back to my questions and with the NRL season getting ready to start back up from this horrible virus we have all had to deal with I look forward to see how the NRL and other professional sports leagues around the world play out. Again I hope you all give Tiffany a fallow on her social media accounts and I personally look forward to more of what she has to say.