According to the Meriam Webster's Dictionary, rugby is defined as the following: a football game in which play is continuous without time-outs or substitutions, interference and forward passing are not permitted, and kicking, dribbling, lateral passing, and tackling are featured.

Well, apart from the change in the substitution law, and a question about the dribbling, any layman might agree that that is rugby. However, rugby as a team.. as a way of life... as a club... well that is a very different story...

This past weekend the New York Women left the bitter cold Northeast and headed to the Sunshine state. Their mission: Play together as a team, and PLAY together as a team.

Most of the team arrived on Friday to a slightly Ghetto, but reasonably priced, motel in Tampa. After avoiding the smokey rooms and the cops arresting a nice young man in the parking lot, they crashed for the night and woke early, to enjoy breakfast before heading out into the heat. This would be the first of a series of unforgettable moments as Dr. Collier was called to duty in the Denny's bathroom to aid a mother entering labor. Most of the team was late to practice as their cars were blocked by fire and ambulance vehicles, but thankfully due to Annie's urgings of "DON'T PUSH!" mother and baby-to-be were transported safely off the property and there was no need to "go up there without a sterile glove".

Practice on Saturday morning started with some teamwork drills, conditioning drills and a chance for the team to go head to head with some contact. It also saw the inclusion of two more alegbra variables for our good friend X and then the team broke for a quick lunch.

In the afternoon session, the team was excited to learn that Jessa, back home in NY, was sporting orange and blue knickers, and that Candi Orsini, the WNT Back's Coach would be joining us for some handling drills. 2 v 1's rocked the house and about the same time it became understood that many members of the travelling team missed the memo about sunscreen, as the lobster necks, shoulders and knee-backs became blazingly apparent.

It was then on to Celebration Station and the start of the Olympic themed competition. After the match runner entered the stadium and lit the olympic candle, the games began. Room 5, AKA Team Kappa Epsilon Gamma (KEG), took an early lead with matching togas and beaters, but the competition was neck and neck throughout the evening. Go carts, air hockey, skeet skeet skeet ball, and mini-golf made for some confidence building moments and some heart wrenching losses, but things were only just heating up. The van ride to the restaurant, which should have been renamed "Rugby girls gone wild ride" provided some windblown entertainment, much to the Back Captain's concerns about driving off the road. However, everyone made it out alive.

Dinner came and went and so did a rumor that Drew was going to push practice back for more quality bonding in the night time. One member of the squad managed to talk a nice lady into borrowing her shoes for an upcoming performance and without further ado..The team gathered in the lobby for the much hyped "Front Row Skit".

Armed with matching outfits and the "little people" theme, the eight front rowers delivered a take-off on the take-off Airplane! with a little Alive and Cast Away mixed in. Surely they couldn't be serious, well they were serious and don't call them Shirley. It came complete with such lines as "Cream? no thank you, I like my coffee black, like my flankers" and paid hommage to the teams beloved coach, Drew. Despite mechanical difficulties, with their sound technology, they pulled off a shortened version of Tina Turner's Proud Mary with synchronized hand movements to boot.

After the front row spectacular, the team made it's way to Coyote Ugly for some serious fun, however due to a lack of identification the team settled for the bar across the street. It came complete with a stage that saw the likes of synchronized swimming, ice dancing, and jump roping. But the team points didn't stop there. There was major boat race upset, as a non-official boat race member beat out an official boat racer, followed by some regular dancing (can we call that regular?). But after many golf ballings the crowd began to dwindle and started their retreat to base camp. Unfortunately for one van, they ran into a very unfriendly parking lot attendant ,which almost caused a slight concern that the team may have to hide a body. Luckily it made for a good distraction, as one player put it "I don't remember the car ride home. I remember the fight, but nothing else about how we got back"

But some folks, led by the Pack Captain, took it to the limit and stayed well into the night. They weren't about to let this points thing end so quickly. Tequila flowed and so did the money and as they stumbled down the street carrying an inflatable kiddies pool, rumor has it one enebriated player apparently swapped $2 for a kiss in an attempt to regain the lead for her room.

Whether or not thats true it made for a slightly unhappy ending for a few players and for others... well, Sunday morning was going to be rough all around. Perhaps it is best described in a simple sentence. "I"m a little better now, but when there were little midgets banging on my temples at 5am this morning, I was NOT very happy".

During the burpees and the mountain climbers people managed miraculously to hold it together and discussed that "it was a good thing that Drew didn't have to come and bail us out of jail...that would have been BAD." Afterwards, the team split for their first scrums, lineouts and back plays of the season. Candi came to work with the backs and the forwards found much amusement from scrumming against a predator that was being supervised by a Floridian Tree Frog. A final semi-opposed run capped the practice for the weekend and mention of the beach began to take center stage.

Before the team disbanded the Olympic Committee Confirmed that Team Keg had indeed held it's lead and won the Olympic competition. They chose "Friends in low places" as their serenade song and the rest of the rooms sang to Katie "I think I just felt my brain hit the top of my skull" Brethel, Rachel "I get to play 8, I get to play 8" Flynn, Maura "On the rocks with SALT" Weikman, and Marion "Sunscreen? I don't need no stinking sunscreen" Leveque.

They thanked their coach, Candi and Bartoli for helping out and took themselves off in their own directions. Some to the airport, some to the beach, some to the motel and well...some back to the bar. But all in all is was a fun time to be had by all and as always, it reminds us that when you are part of a sports team it often involves meeting for practices and games, social events and outings. But when you are part of one of the best rugby teams in the country it means doing all that and then some...and loving every minute...

Highlights from keens, audie and buss

• An elegant syncronized swimming routine made extra impressive because of the last minute adjustments they had to make after losing one of their roommates.
• An escalatingly provocative flashing war between two vans. Snaps to Frank who was a first timer.
• Carrie "Earnhardt" Dubray leaning into the curves at the Go Carts
• Brucie proved that she is better at jump-roping with a few drinks in her than most of the rest of us are sober!
• Room 5, the eventual champions won the costume competition in Team Keg togas and Rookie Marion won for the most awe-inspiring sunburn. Aloe anyone?
• Lisa Lake's performance on Saturday night touched many of the fans and other athletes at these games. We got to take a glimpse into what Ms. Lake was like "all the time in college" as she outdrank and outdanced everyone there. Magnificant performance.
• Designated driver Jenny Kuchar brandished a halo as she waited for the last of the competitors to call it a night on Saturday night.
• Drew single handedly put his room in the running by pushing practice back an hour and a half. Thanks Coach!
• Hobbs with the "speed racer" helmet and goggles (classic)
• Katie-Mac with her excellent rendition of Tina Turner, skewed wig and all
• Kuch and Lee for their Dance Revolution competition
• Boatrace victory of Buss/PK over Brethelyzer/Fatty