Metropolitan New York
Rugby Football Union Est. 1967

Renee Ovrut of the Village Lions

Nickname: Shenaynay       
    
Height: 5'3''

Weight: 140 lbs

Birthplace: Norwood, MA

Birthdate: 3/31/1979

Residence: Brooklyn, NY

School: Ithaca College

Profession: Financial Analyst

Years Playing Rugby: 9

Positions: Scrumhalf

Present Club: Village Lions

Previous Clubs: Ithaca College, u-23s (New York/Northeast)

Most Respected Teammates: I respect all my teammates who work hard, both during season and in the off season, put their time and effort into the club, and play every game with all that they have.  However, my most respected teammates were two from college- Sara Fisher and Cara Treanor.  Not only were they amazing people and players, but they always had fun playing.

Most Respected Opponent: Albany

Best Memory Playing Rugby: Winning the d2 New York Championship in college and being appointed division MVP.  It was the first year my college team had been in d2 and also the first time we won a tournament, so it was huge for us.

Biggest Disappointment in Rugby: Losing to Detroit in 2005 nationals

Tours: Sadly, none.  Although I went to Australia in 2003 for the Rugby World Cup with a bunch of teammates.

Biggest Influence In Rugby: My college coach, Roger Riley

Comments on the level of Met Union: I think that, overall, the MetNY Union is very competitive and possesses strong teams with solid talent at all ages and levels.
What are your goals in Playing Rugby: To have fun and walk away from every game knowing I gave everything I had

How did you Start Playing Rugby: I went to college assuming I’d play varsity tennis.  My father told me that I should check out rugby in the off-season since he thought I’d be good at it.  I ended up getting cut from the tennis team and, just after that, saw a woman wearing an 'Ithaca rugby' jacket.  I told her I wanted to play, she told me to come to practice that afternoon and the rest is history...

Other Sports: soccer, tennis

Leisure Interests: traveling, hanging out with friends, reading

Personal Goals: Happiness, success and no regrets.

Most Embarrassing Moment in Rugby: It was early in college and I barely knew the rules of rugby.  We were playing Syracuse University and the game was tied 0-0 with a few minutes left.  SU got called on a penalty and I was told to take the penalty kick.  I had no idea what this entailed so I turned to the sidelines to clarify and was told, “just take a regular kick.”  So, I kicked the ball- not a place kick…or even a drop kick, just a “regular” kick.  Needless to say, it didn’t count and everyone got a good laugh at my expense.

Favorite Quote: “It’s funny, you work so hard, you do everything you can to get away from a place, and when you finally get your chance you leave, you find a reason to stay.”  (Gattaca)

Role within the Village Lions: I’m currently the President of the Village Lions RFC (men and women).  Some say it’s because I like to be in control.  While that might be true, I run for this position because I feel that I can positively impact this club. 

Notable Lions accomplishments:  Definitely our annual Four Leaf Fifteens Tournament.  It’s a ton of work and a ton of fun credit goes to those people who have put in endless hours, most notably Erin Martschenko.  This year and last, we’ve coupled with St. Baldrick’s, which is a charity that raises money for childhood cancer research.  Beyond the tourney, we’ve gotten involved in other community organizations, like Big Brother Big Sister, secured solid club sponsorship and improved on our membership. 

Areas where the MetNY needs improvement: What I learned in the longest AGM I’ve ever been to is that there’s a tremendous amount of passion and dedication in our union.  However, I feel that this energy is oftentimes misdirected. The individual needs of the clubs within the union are unknown and overlooked.  As a result of this, clubs feel that the union doesn’t do anything for them and these clubs have no desire to step up and give back to the union.  This creates a domino effect with no benefits.  By focusing on the small things initially, the union will get more support from teams and be able to optimally operate and reach their long-term goals.

Areas where the USA Rugby needs improvement:  USA Rugby needs the most improvement in the way in which it focuses on grassroots rugby.  Right now, the administration is taking a strong stance in developing youth leagues and strengthening the U-19s, which is admirable, but other grassroot feeders are ignored.  USA Rugby needs to lend more support to collegiate programs through promotion of rugby and a general push to get more collegiate athletes to participate.  So many high school athletes graduate only to never pick up a sport in college- if rugby captured even 10% of these athletes, the sport would see vast improvements.  Continuing, collegiate rugby players need to be siphoned into club play post graduation; rugby is losing many players at this transition too.  Finally, USA Rugby needs to lend its support to the D2 and D3 teams, esp. within women’s rugby.  These players build rugby because they pull in players who either don’t want to or can’t play D1, generating numbers and competition.  USA Rugby’s lack of support in this area implies that the organization has a disinterest in these players and this does nothing to improve the growth of the sport.
Additionally, USA Rugby seems to believe that support means money, when in fact, it also, and maybe more-so, means encouragement and recognition. 

Thoughts on this years Four Leaf Fifteens Tournament:  
You know, every year this tournament is a little different. From snow in the forecast, to teams not showing, to puddles as big as lakes in the middle of the pitch, we never know quite what to expect. This year was no different. But, at one point in the middle of the day, I looked around and thought "wow, it's really a tournament." I'm really proud of the club and all the members who put in the time and effort to planning the tournament.  The success of the Four Leaf Fifteens depends on our sponsors, (ING, Essex, Dr. Allen, Brooklyn Brewery, San Marcos and Mission Staffing) but also on the entire clubs' participation. Every club member had a task for the tournament. Some members forwent St. Pattys Day festivities to line the pitches, others managed fields during games and some were on the clean-up crew. Like years past, we had a very successful event and everyone seemed to have a great time The VLRFC women even took home some hardware! On another impressive note, we were very successful with the St. Baldrick's charity event and raised about $17,000 to help conquer kids cancer. The MetNY Union got involved in the charity too, which was great.
But... thank goodness its over!

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