For Immediate Release

January 7, 2009

 

USA Rugby Names Mark Griffin its Youth, High School Director

 

BOULDER, Colo. – CEO Nigel Melville has officially named former Eagle and Play Rugby, Inc founder, Mark Griffin, as the USA Rugby Youth and High School Director.

 

“I feel both excited and privileged to take on the role of the Youth and High School Director for USA Rugby,” Griffin said. “The timing couldn’t be better, given the hard work that Katie, Nigel and the team have put into Rookie Rugby and the important platform it provides to lower the age at which children are introduced to the game.”

 

One of Griffin’s first tasks will be to lead the development of State-Based Rugby Organizations (SBROs) within the USA. Currently, the U.S. has 14 SBROs nationwide at various stages of development and USA Rugby has made it a goal to grow this significantly by the end of 2009.

 

In addition, Griffin will combine his efforts with Play Rugby USA and his new director position at USA Rugby to bring both programs closer. Mark has nearly three years of experience running Play Rugby, Inc. and its Play Rugby USA Youth Development Program in New York.

 

“It has been a fantastic learning process and one we continue to move forward,” Griffin said. “The most important take-away from that for me has been the importance of linking the development of the business model to the development of youth programs and the game of rugby as a whole.”

 

USA Rugby’s youth efforts will be complemented in several ways by joining forces with Play Rugby, Inc. USA Rugby strives to grow the game, increase the base of talent and decrease the age of the players, while Play Rugby is focused primarily on urban youth development by changing children’s lives through after-school programming. If successful, bonding the two organizations, will result in more kids playing rugby in areas that otherwise would not naturally play the game.

 

“I have worked with Mark during the past 12 months and he is an obvious pick for the role of Youth and High School Director. In addition to his work at Play Rugby, he has worked on the USAR Youth Committee and his knowledge will enable him to hit the ground running in 2009,” USA Rugby’s CEO Nigel Melville said.

 

“I very much look forward to helping drive the growth in the youth and high school game in America,” Griffin finished. “If everyone puts the youth and game development first, we’ll be able to make some powerful progress in creating growth, developing players and implementing high quality programs in addition to creating sustainable systems, processes and businesses to support long-term success.”

 

Griffin will officially start his new position at USA Rugby this week. For more information on the Youth and High School game, please visit www.usarugby.org. For further information or to contact Mark Griffin, please email him at mgriffin@usarugby.org.

 

USA RUGBY, founded in 1975, is the national governing body for rugby and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Rugby Board (IRB). The organization is responsible for the development of boys, girls, high school, collegiate and club rugby programs, as well as the nation’s rugby coaches, referees, administrators and all of its national teams that represent the U.S. in international competitions. As part of this development, USA Rugby hosts a number of courses, clinics, National Championship events and international matches throughout the year. For more information, please visit www.usarugby.org.

 

Play Rugby, Inc. is a non-profit social enterprise delivering transformational change for youth through sports. The organization’s core character development program “Play Rugby USA®” is founded upon a philosophy of “developing youth through rugby”. Play Rugby’s rugby, fitness, nutrition and community development programs provide children with a fun, athletic and developmental experience giving them the tools they need to succeed in life. For more information, please visit www.playrugbyusa.com.

 

 

 

Inspiring America to fall in love with Rugby
Sara John | Director of Communications | USA Rugby
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