The Seawolves are Coming!
Written by: Chris Perotte
Look at out Seahawks, Mariners, Sounders FC…Here come the Seawolves.
Coming to Seattle, Washington in April 2018, a new professional team will make its presence known in the city.
The Seattle Seawolves Rugby Football Club was founded by Shane Skinner and Adrian Balfour earlier this year. They saw a need for professional rugby in the area and in North America.
The Seawolves will be part of the inaugural Major League Rugby, commencing in April 2018. Seattle Seawolves will be one of seven teams who will bring their exciting brand of rugby to their city. Major League Rugby will consist of the following seven teams: Austin Elite, Glendale Raptors, Houston Strikers, NOLA Gold, San Diego, Utah Warriors, and Seattle Seawolves.
When next season starts, fans who come out to the game will see the Seattle Seawolves bring a fun and fast-paced style of rugby to the Northwest region. For the 2018 season, the Seattle Seawolves’ Head Coach will be Tony Healy, with Canada’s own star player Phil Mack acting in a dual role as Assistant Coach and also player. As a coaching duo, Healy and Mack led the BC Bears to a perfect record and the MacTier Cup in 2017.
For Adrian Balfour, hiring Healy and Mack helps to promote and grow the Seawolves Northwest local brand. “For us we want to have a Northwest presence,” says Balfour, Co-founder of the Seawolves. “As the Seattle Seawolves, we want to help develop the sport of rugby and be in the [Northwest] community and expand the sport of rugby to reach new people.”
“We also want to promote local talent,” explains Balfour. “We wanted to get the best available coaches that we could find, but also have people that come from the area. Both Tony and Phil are BC [British Columbia] natives and have grown up in the area, and they are fairly close to Seattle. So we felt they were the best coaches that fit that category for us.”
The question on everyone’s lips is how the idea of the Seawolves came into existence to represent the Northwest community? The answer is that the Seattle Seawolves is one of the founding members of the Major League Rugby which was built from within the current local rugby infrastructure, and was basically created as a response to a growing demand for rugby in North America, especially given the halted start-up of professional rugby last year.
The primary goal is to continue to grow the game throughout North America at all levels, from elementary schools to universities right up to local community rugby clubs.
“Vertically integrate rugby so it can stand the test of time,” Balfour explains. “Building for a long-term infrastructure to develop and mature the game at all levels.”
The Starfire Sports Stadium, a 4,500 seat arena in Seattle, Washington will be the home of the Seattle Seawolves for the upcoming 2018 season.
If you are planning to be in Seattle or nearby cities between April to June 2018, I encourage you to check out the powerful and high energy brand that the Seattle Seawolves will bring to rugby.
For further details, you may visit their website at www.seattleseawolves.com for upcoming schedule and other team events.
As their logo says…
The Seattle Seawolves. Your Team. Your Rugby.
