MWRU Announces Thunderbird Cup Details & Fixtures

[CHICAGO, IL] – The Midwest Rugby Union is pleased to announce Winter 2024 fixtures for the men and women’s Thunderbird Programs as well as details on the 2025 Midwest Thunderbird Cup. First, the Thunderbird Women have officially received their invitation to defend their back-to-back Cup Championships at the 2024 Mary Graham All-Star Tournament in Dallas, TX. The women received their invitation this past week and confirmed the host city will be Dallas over the weekend of December 7th and 8th. The Texas Rugby Union puts on this event every year. While the women’s second side is the reigning Plate Champions as well, admission of the Union’s second side will not be guaranteed until all Unions have had a change to register. It is the intent of the competition organizers to have as many Unions represented before hosting second side. The Midwest will announce the inclusion of a second side in the event as soon as possible. Additionally, the Thunderbird Men have entered into preliminary talks with the Chicago Hounds to compete in a match against the Hounds Academy on Saturday, November 16, 2024, in Chicago. This will be hosted by the Hounds at a location to be determined the weekend after the Midwest Championship. More information about this fixture will be announced once it’s available. Finally, the Union is thrilled to announce that they will host the second installment of the Thunderbird Cup on Saturday, May 31 – Sunday, June 1, 2025, outside SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, IL. After a wildly successful first event in 2024, the Union has committed significant resources to holding this event once again for the benefit of their Member Unions, Clubs, and players. Additionally, this event is invaluable to Thunderbirds coaching in evaluating the best players across the vast Midwest in one location. Following the 2024 event, the Union sent out a comprehensive survey to Local Area Union administrators and coaches to garner feedback. The Union was met with resounding approval for the event and has listened to their membership to keep some key competitive aspects the same while making some minor adjustments for the 2025 event. Here are some key takeaways:

• 70% of Union respondents stated that the event in general either met or exceeded their expectations. This, coupled with the fact that all 8 LAUS sent at least one side (with 6 sending two sides), indicates that our Member LAUs are behind this event. It is the hope of the Midwest that all 8 LAUs send a men and women’s side to the 2025 event which is as it’s been designed.
• 90% of respondents requested that the event remain at the same time during the year, the first weekend in June. The 2025 event will fall 2 weeks after USA Club Rugby 15s Nationals and 2 weeks before the start of the qualifying 7s Series.
• All respondents requested that the Union keep the two-tier structure with Cup and Plate competitions for 2025. This year the Men’s Cup Competition will feature Wisconsin, Michigan, Allegheny, and Indiana while the Women’s Cup Competition will feature Minnesota, Ohio, CARFU, and Michigan. The Men’s Plate Competition will feature Iowa, Minnesota, CARFU, and Ohio while the Women’s Plate Competition will feature Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, and Allegheny.
• 80% of respondents supported the one 80-minute match per day with two matches per weekend. All respondents supported limiting rosters to 28 players for the duration of the event (with 23 players per match) with limitations on professional and foreign-born players. Moving into year 2, player eligibility and movements will be more strictly enforced than in the inaugural year.
• Over 50% of respondents requested the tournament permit collegiate players without requiring them to transfer or register for LAU teams or member clubs. For this reason, the Union will work with USA Rugby to open weekend registrations for this event to permit a more inclusive roster.

In the coming months, the Midwest will be working directly with LAU administrators to ensure they are placing both men and women’s sides into the 2025 competition. We strongly encourage all Member Clubs and Players to work with your LAU to ensure that they are building quality programs set up for success at this event. If you have any questions related to your Union’s participation in this event, we ask that you visit the Local Area Unions page to contact them directly. Details regarding the Midwest Thunderbirds Program, including upcoming fixtures, and the 2025 Midwest Thunderbird Cup can be found on the Midwest Thunderbirds page.