The U-19 Pelicans are a club for high school boys through the age of 19. The team competes with 19 other U-19 teams located throughout the state. The U-19 Pelicans are the first high school rugby team in the greater Tampa Bay area. Boys age 19 and under from through out the Bay area are eligible to join us. All players must be currently enrolled in high school.

Players do not need to have rugby experience to join us. Players of all shapes and sizes compete in the sport. In rugby there are few stoppages of play and, unlike football, there is no offensive, defensive, or special teams. Rugby is played with 15 players on the field for each team. All players have the opportunity to carry the ball and everyone plays defense. Substitutions are allowed but are limited. Players develop outstanding endurance through participation in individual fitness training, rugby practice and games.

Practices begin the first week of December. The season begins in mid January and continues through April. If the team qualifies for regional competition by winning the state title then the season may extend. It is the goal of every high school (or U-19) team to reach the national championships which are played in a different state each year.

Half of our regular season games are played in Tampa and half of them will be played at our opponent’s home field. Travel is a part of the sport. Some of our away games will be a day trip and some will require an overnight stay. All of our games are played on Saturdays. We have included on our “Links” page hyper links to some of our competitor’s web pages so you can get an idea of what our travel may include.

In addition to the regular season, there are opportunities for players to compete in an abbreviated form of the game that is played in the summer called 7s. The Pelican U-19 team will send teams of 10 players to 7’s tournaments during the summer months. Participation in 7s is optional. 7s is a faster more open form of rugby in which 7 players take the field for each team on a regulation rugby field. This game is faster and more open. It is also much shorter in duration. The halves are 7 minutes long and the half time is only 1 minute long. So it fits into tournament play very well. The tournaments are normally completed in 1 day.

We also will schedule friendly matches with teams from other states or countries that are on tour in Florida. Friendly matches don’t count towards our competitive record but they are a lot of fun and give us the opportunity to meet other rugby players and familiarize ourselves with new styles of play. The Pelican U-19s may also plan to tour during the summer or spring break depending on player availability and funding.

High school rugby is well organized nationally and in Florida. There are two all-star teams that our players may be selected to join. The Florida U-19 Select Side and the Florida Rugby Academy both have player clinics at various times during which selections are made. The all-star teams may play a touring team in Florida or may travel to another state or country on tour. In the summer of 2006, the Florida U-19 Select Side faced a team from England, The Harton School, that was on tour in Florida. Two players from our team were selected to play against The Harton School.