Akron women's rugby team finds community and a shot at a championship

April Hall arm-wrestled a patron in a bar one night.

Impressed with her strength, he, a member of a local rugby team, suggested she join the women’s team.

Michelle Fretwell, 26, always held an interest in sports while growing up in Boise, Idaho, where she wrestled and eventually transitioned to playing rugby about a decade ago.

The two are among 25-30 active players going where no Akron Women’s Rugby club team, which played in Division 2 of the Eastern League of the Midwest Rugby Union, team has gone before – the second round of the playoffs.

The team, which plays games at their pitch on Wadsworth Road, defeated a Grand Rapids, Michigan, team last week to advance.

In existence since 2001, the team serves as an outlet for women with competitive spirit.

“I tried every sport that I could get into going through school,” Fretwell said. “And I think the sports generally were just this fun thing for me. But then, and I think I'm naturally athletic, so that helps me. It helps me have fun, but I don't know, I'm generally a competitive person and even when it comes to board games and stuff like that.”

Hall, who currently serves as president, shared a similar sentiment.

“The motivation that we have stems from growing up with sports in our life and always having that camaraderie to go to,” she said. “And when you age, for whatever reason, some people, you know, take other avenues, but some of us just have that ingrained in us that we need to be on a team and a part of a sport.”

Rugby? Why not?

Women have driven the growth of rugby in recent years. There are 2.7 million women players globally, according to World Rugby, a Dublin, Ireland-based organization dedicated to expanding the game, and the sport – rugby sevens – was added to the Olympics in Rio in 2016.

Hall said her team has benefited from that as they are seeing younger participants who played the sport from middle school through their college years.

It’s the sport of equity in more ways than one, Hall said.

“It’s amazing. It's absolutely an outstanding outlet to run around, hit someone, be hit by someone, and then afterwards you have a beer,” she said with a laugh.

That certainly sounds familiar to anyone who plays in amateur leagues throughout the area.

“I think what's unique about the sport of rugby is that regardless of gender, the playing field is the same,” she said. “All the rules are the exact same. There are no limitations based on gender. We all play the same exact sport under the same rules. And for us, it's about rugby and playing the sport that we all have a passion for.”

Akron Women's Rugby is about community, camaraderie

With that, comes the camaraderie Hall mentioned. Fretwell agreed. That feeling provided a sense of community, a feeling that runs deeper than the former. Fretwell has played for 10 years.

“But the reason I stuck around is the community that I found within it. I mean, I was in 10th grade, so I was about 15, 16 when I started,” she said. “And that's really when I was exposed to people similar to me in terms of queerness.

“Really joining rugby is when I realized that I was and I was surrounded by other gay fem people. And it was also a very empowering kind of environment right off the bat, having, I've had two, so maybe two or three, just a small handful of male coaches, but the rest have been fem people, whether they be straight or gay or trans or not.”

Their sense of community has spilled into the Akron area as they spread the word about the sport, they have a passion with participation in a number of local events including Akron Pride and Porchrokr. They also hold a tackle-a-thon to raise money for breast cancer support and Prom at the Pitch where they raise money for The Battered Women’s Shelter for Summit and Medina counties and they support the Andrea Rose Teodosio Foundation locally.

Yes, it's Akron against the world − again

However, there remains work to be done on the pitch. The focus for this weekend in Milwaukee, at a still to be determined time, is on the pitch where they hope to continue to advance in the Midwest’s playoffs. They will play the Milwaukee Scylla in Milwaukee.

Hall calls it a huge moment for the club – “history making.” Fretwell said she thinks the club’s founders, some who are still involved, are proud along with those in the broader community.

“I can feel and I can see and hear what it means to other people and the pride that they take in it,” she said.

She moved here three years ago, but she certainly understands the attitude of the region.

“Because I mean, Akron has historically been an underdog,” she said. “And I think not only the team, but the city generally, and I like ... we acknowledge that all the time. We always say it's Akron against the world because historically due to inequalities, that's how Akron as a city has been set up.”

Reach George M. Thomas at gthomas@thebeaconjournal.com or on Twitter @ByGeorgeThomas.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Women's Rugby looks to take another step in its evolution