Our choice for the Women's Club of the Year is a bit unconventional. Instead of going with an established XVs or 7s side we've decided to reward the club that has done the most to improve the women's game over the last year. Even though the Stars have no regular roster,they are at the forefront of advancing the women's game in America by providing an opportunity to women who want to make the Olympics and opportunity to showcase their skills. For years the men have had traveling 7s teams like Tiger Rugby but the women have been often been left out. Atlantis and Tiger have had women's tours in the past but no team has put together a full schedule for the year. That is until the Stars came along.
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Under the tireless organization of Liz Entwhistle the Stars have taken teams to the Las Vegas Invitational, the Stampede 7s in Calgary, the Central Coast 7s in Australia, and the Tobago 7s. For developing players like Nana Fa'Avesi or players on the fringe of the Eagles like Deven Owsiany and Ryan Carlyle these tours have been extremely valuable. The Women Eagles 7s only have six tournaments all year so it's important that those that don't make the team or that want to eventually make the team get a shot. After all, the Olympics are now less than a year and a half away and the Women Eagles need as big of a pool as possible.
It's not just that the Stars take teams to these tournaments it's that they take multiple teams offering players of varying levels the opportunity to get a chance to test their skills. There was not Women Eagles team at the Las Vegas Invitational last year and instead there was a group of college aged women playing under the Stars banner. The same goes for the team at the Central Coast 7s. We know how much organization it take to put on a tour, that's why so many haven't done so in the past. That's also why feel feel the Stars are so deserving of this year's award. Congrats to the Stars!