Dallas Athletic Rugby Club

Season Award Finalists

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:21:00 +0000

During the banquet on May 31st, we will be presenting our annual awards for outstanding performances during this past season. Those at the AGM last week created the nomination lists and the winners were chosen by the attending board members (Cook, Swick, and Greg). We will, of course, keep the winner's name secret until the banquet. The nominees are:

MVP: Drew, Gonzo, Josh
Forward of the Year: Drew, Gonzo, Jay, Josh
Back of the Year: Mark, Red, Timmy
Most Improved: Greg B, Sam
Newcomer: Everyone who played their first season with DARC (okay, we can't make out all the names that were written for this one)
Merilee Kirkwood Cup (Sportsmanship award): Bear, Bloo, Josh, Ritchie

In addition, we may present a few "unofficial" awards, depending on how the creativity flows in the next few weeks.

Mudfish 2008

noreply@blogger.com ("Bear") — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:55:00 +0000

Seven's practice has started and tournaments are coming soon. That means that we need to start thinking about and getting ready for Mudfish. In case you weren't at the AGM this past weekend, and most of you weren't (well most of the team, anyway), Mudfish is our biggest money maker of the year. Unless you would prefer that we double the yearly dues, we need to bring in some cash. What this means to you is that you need to clear the first weekend in August off your schedule and resign yourself that you are going to work.

As a team member, you have certain responsibilities for Mudfish:
#1 Talk it up. When you are out at tournaments or hanging out with your friends, find a way to invite people to either come to play or to watch. We obviously prefer to have as many teams as possible entered (can you say entry fee?), but fans that buys hot dogs or drinks or even a t-shirt also means money for the team. I'll have a flyer put together some time this week and email that out as well.

#2 Tourney prep. I need a couple of volunteers to help get everything set up before hand. The past couple of years, we have used a rented trailer to load everything on Friday night. Ask any of the old guys that remember showing up at 6:30 at KC's warehouse to pick up stuff which is better. I need a couple of people to join me at Swick's place Friday afternoon to load the trailer. Plus, if anyone can land us a free or cheap loaner trailer, we would gladly take it.

#3 Set up/Tear down. This is the day of stuff. Setting up the fields, tents, tables, boards, parking, etc. Kenny has already volunteered to run the boards but I still need a cook, a field supervisor, a collections monitor, and a scale boss. I'm sure there are a few other choice positions I left out as well. If you volunteer early, you can avoid getting the stuck with the grunt work, not that any of it is all that hard. Remember, the point of the tourney is to make money, not for us to enter a team and play.

#4 Sponsorship. We are going to try to bring back the big money maker this year, the program. I'm putting together a price list for the program that will be handed out to everyone but I need you all to go out and find us some buyers. Spots in the program will start as low as $25 so it shouldn't be too hard to land one or two sponsors each. I'll email out the price list as soon as it is ready.

I'm hoping this will be another great Mudfish tourney but I need all your help to make it successful.

AGM Saturday Night - That's Tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Fri, 02 May 2008 21:40:00 +0000

We'd like to start the meeting at 6, so plan your drive to the Tipp accordingly. If you're behind on dues, bring them along.

See everybody there.

Texas Oklahoma Louisiana 7s Rugby Series

noreply@blogger.com (bloo) — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:36:00 +0000

There's a new 7s rugby competition: The TOLA, 7s Series (Texas, Oklahoma ,Louisiana). It looks pretty interesting. Clubs will be awarded points for winning and placing well, but they can also earn points by "exemplifying the spirit of rugby."

Examples of behavior that will be considerred for these points include travelling a great distance, entering multiple teams, assisting the tournament hosts in some way, playing up a division to fill a bracket, etc. [emphasis added]

And you get 1 point just for entering a tournament, including social tournaments. Might be just the thing Texas-area rugby needs for the summer. It starts out pretty competitively for 4 weeks straight, then mostly social but for one tourney in July and the Championships on August 9. Heck, our old, slow, fat, broken guys could earn 6 points just by showing up to all the socials, even if we pull the Iron Butterfly Maneuver on the pitch!

5/31/08: Los Perros De Mayo, Midland, TX (TOLA Series)
6/7/08: Lone Star Classic, Dallas, TX (TOLA Series)
6/14/08: Jamie Varrano Memorial, Houston, TX (TOLA Series)
6/21/08: Bloodfest, Austin, TX (TOLA Series)
6/28/08: West Qualifier, Dallas, TX (social)
6/28/08: Redfish, Baton Rouge, LA (social)
7/5/08: open
7/12/08: Parrotheads, Tulsa, OK (social)
7/19/08: Tornado Alley, Norman, OK (TOLA Series)
7/19/08: Sevens by the Sea, Corpus Cristi, TX (social)
7/26/08: Zeekers Midnight Sevens, Stillwater, OK (social)
8/2/08: Mudfish, Dallas, TX (social)
8/9/08: Horse Shoe Sevens, Shreveport, LA (TOLA series - Championship)

Congrats to Fort Worth, West DIII Champs

noreply@blogger.com (bloo) — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:31:00 +0000

Congratulations are in order for Fort Worth who won the West for DIII by one point, 20-19 over Northern State of Nebraska. The boys from cowtown go on to the next round on May 17, which will be played...somewhere. I couldn't find the answer at USA Rugby's site.

The eligible list for Saturday's AGM

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:15:00 +0000

Unfortunately, my computer issues have really screwed up my tracking of dues for this season. This is purely my fault and I apologize to everyone.

Having said that, going off an outdated file I could recover and my memory, here is the list of players that I know have paid dues and are eligible to hold and vote for officers. If I have left someone off it is completely unintentional. Please contact me and we will work it out. Honor system on that one, boys. I do have a good memory of many who haven’t paid.

Here are the good guys:

Richie Almond
Greg Beynon
Jesse Cavazos
Marc de Charmoy
Dan Cook
Bloo Daniels
Josh Erickson
Bear Hudson
Matt Jones
Kenny Mayon
Drew Mccure
Greg Necastro
Jay Rooney
Gonzo Ruiz
Russell Sanders
Jason Swick
Philip Wauters
Timmy Williams
Matt Wood
Azeem Zafar

Here are the remaining names who are actively CIPPed with the club:

August Blackburn
Michael Cardell
Tom Cowan
Phillip Erickson
Kyle Harrell
Rashad Harvor
Ryan Helm
Chris Keller
Nick Lock
Tom Morgan
Sam Saife
Jon Savage
Michael Voss
Jason Wilkins
Mark Wunsch

Again, I may have forgotten a couple of people who paid. If I did, talk to me and we’ll sort it out.

Practice at Schimelpfennig

noreply@blogger.com (bloo) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:59:00 +0000

7s Practice at Schimelpfenig (Shim-El-Fin-Ig).

Get to Independence and Spring Creek Parkway
Go North to Maumelle
Turn Right and follow road
Parking lot on the backside of the school on the right.
Field just beyond that.

Best behavior.

View Larger Map

New practice location (or an old one for those with a good memory)

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:54:00 +0000

We are back to Schimelpfenig. The school is located on Maumelle Dr., which is north of Spring Creek and Independence. Turn east at the Maumelle/Independence intersection and follow the road to the school. The field is on the east side of the school.

Remember, during the summer season, we invite all of our youth players to come out and play touch with us. Keep the talk G rated around our younger players and treat the kids well. They've worked hard in their seasons and we want to encourage them to come and have fun over the summer so they will keep playing. Beware of U11 Carter, he's sneaky.

Okay, one exception. One of my U-15's has been talking some smack to me because he's burned me a few times playing touch. I warned him that when he moves to the U17/U19 next year, he better be prepared to back it up because I practice full contact with the older kids. So, if you see Colby trying to break one wide, a "gentle" reminder earns you a beer from me.

AGM Agenda

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:17:00 +0000

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on May 3rd, 6 P.M. at The Tipperary Inn. We will be electing new officers as well as discussing the future of the club. This is the time for everyone to come out and express their thoughts and opinions. All ideas are welcome and encouraged because the end result will be a better club for everyone.

Here's a short overview of the meeting.

Gather and get some drinks.
Short discussion on the club's present and future status.
Nominations for officers.
Discussion on the candidates.
Vote.
Announcement of the new officer.
Once the elections are done, we will have an open forum to discuss the club and continue the drinking and merriment.

A couple of notes on the election process:

In order to vote or hold office, a person must be current on their dues. This means paid in full for the 2007-2008 season or on an approved payment plan.
There are no restrictions on who can be an officer. It doesn't matter if you just joined the club or you were an original member. What we need are officers with the desire and dedication to the club. Don't be shy. If you think you are the best person for the job, stand up and present yourself.
We usually vote by show of hands, unless there is a strong objection, in which case we will go to secret ballots.
In order to vote, a person must be current on their dues.

I hope you guys noticed a little emphasis on the requirement to vote. You have got to get your money in to me. You can use PayPal or you can call me. 214-558-1634. I will work with you, but you've got to talk to me. This is the number one issue with the club at the moment. Here's a chance to fix it and eliminate it.

We have 4 officer positions for election. Our current officers are:

President - Dave Tanguay

Secretary - Bloo Daniels

Match Secretary - Dan Cook

Treasurer - Greg Necastro

We do appoint people to special committees (Mudfish, social, etc.), but they are not elected.

Any member in good standing can hold an officer position. From the club by-laws, here are the officer descriptions:

5.4.A. President.
The President shall have overall responsibility for the regular administration of the Club’s business affairs, including the following:
i. Serve as primary contact with the USA, Western, and Texas Rugby Union to insure compliance with all Union requirements;
ii. Maintain banking and credit accounts as needed by the Club;
iii. Hold signature authority for the Club bank account (s);
iv. Present disciplinary matters to the Board for determination;
v. Supervise and organize club social activities (both after matches and otherwise);
vi. Appoint additional club officers pursuant to Article 5.4.E
vii. Monitor the performance of other club officers; and
viii Exercise such other powers as are set fourth in these Articles and/or are necessary to the functioning of the Club.

5.4.B. Secretary.
The Secretary shall assist the President in the execution of his duties and, more specifically, shall be responsible for the following:
i. Publication and distribution of the Club newsletter and web site.
ii. Maintenance of Club mailing lists, including Full and Social
Members, potential sponsors, and former Members.
iii. Take and maintain minutes of all general meetings of the Club.
iv. Coordination of recruiting efforts;
v. Maintenance of Club recruiting advertisements and match advertisements in local newspapers; and
vi. Such other duties as may be delegated to the Secretary by the President or Board

5.4.C. Match Secretary.
The match Secretary shall be responsible, in consultation with the Board of Trustees, for the scheduling of matches and tournaments for Club play and for the maintenance of such schedule, including the following:
i. Reservation of playing fields and payment of appropriate fees for such fields;
ii. Coordination with the Texas Society of Rugby Referees for scheduled matches;
iii. Reporting of match results to the Texas Rugby Union and local newspapers;
iv. Attendance at all Texas Rugby Union scheduling meetings;
v. Serve as Sergeant-At-Arms at all Meetings of the Club.

5.4.D. Treasurer.
The Treasure shall assist the President in the maintenance of all Club banking and credit accounts. In addition, he shall be responsible for the following:
i. Collection of dues and assessments, if any, pursuant to the dues schedules established by the Board;
ii. Coordination of all fund-raising activities undertaken by the Club;
iii. Assist the Board in annually establishing dues, payment schedules and budgets; and
iv. Report to the President and Captains when Members are not in good standing as a result of failure to pay dues and assessments.
v. Hold signature authority for all the Club bank accounts.

That's all for now.

Location Change

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:08:00 +0000

Over the weekend, the Plano U19 lost in the TRU quarterfinals and have had their 15 season ended. We have been able to practice at High Point this year because of the high school team. However, the City of Plano needs the lighted field to use for soccer games that have been rained out this spring. Therefore, we are not able to use the field at this time.

In all probability, we will hold 7's practice at Schemelfinig, where we practiced last summer. It's an unlit field and generally goes unused. We will post confirmation when we get it.

Fort Worth Win D3 Men's Rugby

noreply@blogger.com (bloo) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:54:00 +0000

Because you won't see it on the TRU's website, I thought some of you might be curious about what happened in D3 at the TRU playoffs.

Thanks to the Society of Texas Rugby Referees, we have the results:

Semis:

McAllen RFC Men 3 A - 56 vs. Oklahoma Crusaders Men 3 A - 19
Fort Worth RFC Men 3 A - 14 vs. Alamo City RFC Men 3 A - 10 (Detailed write-up from Referee Yusuf Johnson of the Fort Worth v. Alamo City Game)

Final:

Fort Worth RFC Men 1 A - 19 vs. McAllen RFC Men 1 A - 5

Consolation: ?

Cookie has a brief report of the final game, which I've liberated from an email:

Fort Worth won D3 by defeating McAllen 19-5 in a bruising affair. FW made their tackles, and McAllen had no answer for FW's back three speed.

Congratulations to Fort Worth! They're a good team and they showed it.

Fields are closed tonight

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:15:00 +0000

Plano parks has closed High Point tonight.

While 15 season is over, we did have a handful of guys come out on Tuesday and play touch with the Plano U19 players and U11 Carter "The Terror". Plano still has a few weeks left in their season, so you can come out next week and start playing touch or help Plano prepare for the playoffs.

15 Season Ends

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:48:00 +0000

We all knew it was going to take a miracle to make the playoffs. Denton played well against OKC on Saturday, but fell 17-3. So, OKC advances and we stay home this time.

AGM Postponed

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:42:00 +0000

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on May 3rd, 6 PM at The Tipp.

Also, our year end banquet will be on May 31st at The Tipp.

Details to come....

DARC Upsets OKC: 37 - 34, Cookie Retires

noreply@blogger.com (bloo) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:42:00 +0000

It was a great day for DARC rugby. One of the most challenging matches we've had, but the team was able to come back from an early deficit and win in injury time!

OKC scored very early but bounced the conversion off the post (which happened twice in the game) and then the going got tough for both teams, with DARC finally able to score a try deep into the first half, but OKC came right back with by using their back to exploit a gap in DARC's coverage. Too many players were committed into a ruck on the far side and didn't cover deep as OKC took the ball wide.

OKC again scored right away at the beginning of the half but then DARC fired up and got things work with lots of support and bangers, and good service to our backs let them run against the OKC back line. With that an great drives by the forwards, DARC gained three tries and one conversion.

But the game was by no means over. The Crusader's tall kicking center surprised everyone with a drop goal from about 35 - 40 m out. That motivated them and their backs game on hard with tries from that kicker and "Legs", between the posts - one coming from a simple overload and good passes, the other from speed and DARC's lack of good tackling as their backs ran it in together from midfield.

DARC summoned up the dregs of their reserve energy building on the fitness of the young team and came back with another try (unconverted). [I can't remember if this was Rashaad's run after a pass from Mark, or Kenny's powering in]. Score: DARC 32 - OKC 34 in injury time.

DARC advanced the ball hard, and it came down to hard driving fast rucks and bangers on the near side, which caught OKC offsides repeatedly, eventually with a penalty on the 5 meter line. DARC was excited because they could see victory was in sight, though we weren't there yet. There were screams of "Points! Points!" from off-field and on. But I think several players weren't sure of the exact score, and our kicking had an off day. So DARC took the ball in hand for the penalty....and scored it!

DARC wins: 37 - 34 in what was the single best day of rugby that I've seen the team play in quite a while.

(Having said that: as a team, the tackling was atrocious - it wasn't even tackling in large part - something that must be worked on).

Tries by: Timmy (2), Rashaad, Kenny, Cardell, and Mark (I believe - memory's going).

Cookie, you should give us another write up, especially now that you're "retired".

The Referee's Report.

There is still a mathematically possibility that we might make the playoffs, depending on OKC's game against Denton, so keep your boots clean. Come on, Denton!

DARC was 7-4 in league play this year with 32 league points (5 of which were bonus point). 209 Points For, 227 Points Against. For the year, our record was 17-6, a big increase from last year's .500 ball. It's gotta be the fitness.

Cookie Retires

Veteran DARC player, one of DARC's very first recruits after the merger of Our Gang and the Blues, and long-time Match Secretary Dan "Cookie" Cook, is retiring (potential playoff game excepted). He's played lock, flanker, even fly-half and been a core member of the club, both on the pitch and off. Congratulations to Cook and a great career with DARC.

Of course, Mrs. Cook is very happy.

But we don't think of it as losing a starter, we think of it as gaining an Old Boy! And after the old boys and extras second side game last week against alliance, that Old Boy team is beginning to look very good! They should come around more often.

Golf for a fellow Rugger

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:21:00 +0000

Robert "Red" Brooks, Arlington player and former teammate of Swick, is battling brain cancer. Arlington is holding a golf tournament with proceeds to benefit Red and his family. The tournament will be played on April 10th. If you can make it out, a nice day of golf for a great cause.

Details at www.maverickrugby.com.

Check the Calendar - AGM

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:31:00 +0000

Take a look to the right -------->

We are planning on having our Annual General Meeting on April 5th. This will involve the election of new officers and a chance for everyone to talk about ways to improve our club.

Details to come.

St. Patty's Day Parade Slide Show

noreply@blogger.com (bloo) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:43:00 +0000

As we explained previously, the parade was greatness. Here are the best (and one of the worst photos I took - you'll know the worst one when you get to it).

To see the pictures in greater detail, and without the slideshow, just click the little link in the lower left corner of the slideshow image.

Fort Worth Slideshow

noreply@blogger.com (bloo) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 04:33:00 +0000

Slideshow of photos from the Fort Worth Game.

I wasn't able to take many photos since I had to run touch, but here's what I got.

A perfect night for rugby

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:13:00 +0000

Mother Nature is making up for the rain on Tuesday with a great night for practice. Be ready to go at 7.

Kyle with the radio promo!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:24:00 +0000

Anyone who happened to listen to The Jagger Show this morning on 105.3 may have heard newbie Kyle doing a little DARC promoting. Nice one.

Practice Cancelled Tonight

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:57:00 +0000

Didn't your mother teach you to come in out of the rain??

Hope for better weather Thursday.

St. Patty's Day Parade - Attendance Required From Now On.

noreply@blogger.com (bloo) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:29:00 +0000

The St. Patty's Day Parade was a blast! Sam, Kenny, Bear, David and I rode the Tippary Inn's float. This was the first St. Patty's weekend we didn't have a game on in as long as I can remember.

Henceforth: Parade Day Is Required!

This was a barebones effort but still very fun. Bud Light gave the Tipp some necklaces to give away. Kenny and Bear brought old mudfish t-shirts, which were very popular. I brought a bunch of our cards, which were all handed out.

But now that we've done this, we know what to do next time. If you're in town, you're going to be on the float! (Although, we might allow a few to man a 'refreshment station' along the route).

I've got a lot of pics of the parade that I'll post soon.

Tips for future Parade Float Riders:

be in one of the early floats
keep your float low maintenance - easy to set up, fast to take down because unless your prepared to go to the level of these guys (Krewe 37): ,
no one cares what your float looks like
do your drinking before the parade starts moving (alcohol is not allowed in the parade)
have LOTS of stuff to give away no matter how cheap or paltry, or the crowd might start to turn on you
be prepared to trade stuff for beer with the crowd
be prepared to block, catch and/or deflect the following:
- beads
- marshmallows (of the stale and high-velocity type)
- donuts, honey buns, moonpies, ding dongs and other type of confectionary treats and baked goods
- bottle caps
- those hard peppermint drop candies
- jello shots in those little plastic containers (this crowd loved its jello shots and was very professional about their preparation)

DARC on Parade

noreply@blogger.com ("Bear") — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 20:58:00 +0000

For the first time since the Tipp became our sponsor bar, DARC did not have a St. Patty's day game. Upon the Tipperary's request, five of us gave up our free Saturday to ride on a float in the St. Patrick's day parade down Greenville. Not knowing what to expect, we showed up fully expecting to put in a boring couple of hours then go drink some beer at the bar.

How can I say this nicely.... You fools that didn't make it out missed one hell of a good time! This MUST become a regular DARC tradition. From the jello shots being tossed to the float from the crowd to the beers we traded for the give away t-shirts, everyone on the float had an absolute blast.

We also learned a few things that will make next year's parade even better. First, we need more stuff to give away. With some notice, I'm sure we can get sponsors to provide an array of merchandise. We also need to bring some 'beverages' of our own. We even had the idea to make the Thursday night practice into crew night and do the float up right. Add some better music and more speakers, and we can have an awesome outing.

I'm sure Bloo will be posting some of the pictures soon so you can all see what you missed. I can only imagine what kind of tradition the Parade can become and who knows, we might even recruit some new blood from our participation. Not to mention bringing in some more spectators!

Think Green

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Necastro) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:26:00 +0000

St. Patrick's Day festivities begin early tomorrow. The healthy ones will be running in the Dash Down Greenville 5k. Registration begins at 7 for those still looking to get in. Jesse and Timmy are registered and should be milling around the area. Timmy has a great plan for the run, talk to him about it today.

Others will be getting the Tipp's float ready for the parade. Here's the schedule from Bloo:

We're meeting to at the Tipperary Inn at 7 AM to help decorate the float/truck.
Then it has to be in line no later than 8:15.
Then there is a bunch of waiting around apparenlty.
Parade begins in full at 11 AM. Should be over by 12:30.
Ends at Yale and Greenville or thereabouts.
Then we'll be taken back to the Tipp.