Published on 2/11/10 in "The Item" Newspaper

The sport of rugby has been around for a long, long time. For the most part, however, the Sumter community is just starting to come around to the worldwide sport.

The first set of rules for rugby were set in 1845 in England, but rugby has been in Sumter for just over a couple of years. Up until about a year ago, it was only a high school team that brought rugby to the city.

Today, however, there are two adult teams - a men's and women's team - and a high school team consisting of young men - that compete for the Sumter Rugby Club. On Saturday, the club will host three games at Shaw Park.

At 11 a.m. the Sumter Sirens - the women's squad - will take on the Greenville Highlanders. After a 12:30 p.m. game featuring the club's male team, the Sumter Diamondbacks taking on St. Andrew's Rugby, the Sirens will take on the Columbia Bombshells at 2.

All three games are free to the public.

"It's (rugby) really grown in the United States," said club public relations liason Amy Catalino. "In the south particulary, I don't think people really know about it. There are several teams in South Carolina. With the number of adult rugby clubs, I don't think people realize how popular rugby has become."

Bryan Hinton, Dayme Hinton, and Chris Hall founded the Sumter Rugby Club about a year ago. Hall had been the coach of the high school team for a couple of years before forming the club.

The club is looking for members to play -- be it military or non-military. Catalino said with deployments of the Shaw Air Force Base players from time to time, it can create roster problems for the Diamondbacks.

"Most of our players come from Shaw and that creates a challenge when folks get deployed," she said. "While Shaw does bring an influx of players in, it also creates an instability. We're looking to recruit more folks from the Sumter area that aren't necessarily connected to military, but it's OK if they are.

"We have seen an interest outside of Shaw," Catalino added. "We hope to get our name out there. The rugby club is for all ages."

Catalino added that the ages on the women's team range from 16 years old to 34, but the club is willing to accept people outside of that range depending on their ability, especially on the younger side.

Shaw Park is located on U.S. 378, across from Scooter's Lounge.