LIHU‘E — Angie Smallidge has never let age get in the way of playing a sport she loves. Now 75, Smallidge is looking to recruit other women around the island to join her for some athletic competition. Yet she isn’t
LIHU‘E — Angie Smallidge has never let age get in the way of playing a sport she loves.
Now 75, Smallidge is looking to recruit other women around the island to join her for some athletic competition. Yet she isn’t talking about golf or tennis or other sports thought of as ageless.
She’s talking about rugby.
The sport known mainly as an Australian and European pastime has gained momentum in the United States through recent decades. Smallidge picked up the game 35 years ago at the age of 40, while living in Phoenix.
“I am the oldest rugby player in the country,” said Smallidge, a mother of six. “Most people quit when they are 40.”
Though she initially decided to give it up at age 67, Smallidge is now back on the field and hoping for more Kaua‘i women to join her. She will be hosting a meeting on Sunday to try to increase participation.
Her first meeting brought in six women curious about the prospects of playing rugby, but Smallidge says there will be more this time around.
She said Friday she is expecting about 15 and hopes some more will decide to drop by. They will be watching some film from Smallidge’s earlier days on the field to become more familiar with the game, then heading outside to toss the rugby ball around a bit, which will likely be the first time many have even seen one.
The goal is to form two teams, so they can play against one another. If successful, she said it will be the first women’s rugby teams formed on Kaua‘i.
The meeting will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday in Kilauea at 4791 Wailapa Road.
For more information, contact Smallidge at 828-0580 or on her cell phone at 602-321-0173.
