"Six Teams, One Club"

This is the new motto for our NOVA family and the NOVA Nation we hope to build at the genesis of a new era in our club’s history.

In the 30 years since the NOVA Men played their first game, our family has expanded greatly, bringing more teams under our umbrella including, the NOVA Women, the NOVA Boys and Girls u-19s, West End R.F.C., and alumni teams. In addition, NOVA alumni have coached thousands of Washington area youths, as we boast that hundreds of players entered the collegiate ranks, after finishing our programs. Over three decades, we have been proud of our club’s accomplishments, both on and off the field for all these teams, players and administrators.

The time has come for our club to grow yet again - this time as an organization. NOVA needs your help to achieve this new mission.

In the past decade, the competitive rugby climate as matured to become more professional, making recruitment and retention of top players and coaches all the more difficult, particularly in our area. And after three decades of play at Gravelly Point, the National Park Service has denied us permits for Saturday usage and forced us to look elsewhere for home games. Field space across the entire Washington D.C. has become increasingly limited, with stringent restrictions on use during inclement weather and more expensive rates for rental. The NOVA Women and Men’s 7s teams repeatedly qualify for national competition, adding a heavy tab for those players, administrators and teams striving to be the best.

So this year, the NOVA Board of Governor's begins an historic drive to raise new funds annually to help sponsor exciting new initiatives that we provide all of our teams the tools to compete in the future.

The NOVA Family Fund is not designed to replace the collection of player dues or other fundraising efforts to support normal club operations (union dues, parties, etc). Rather, this is being created to support new programs and our urgent need for fields.

The club hierarchy realizes the pressures of today's economy and that there are many other worthy charities asking for your support. But NOVA Rugby hopes you will find our cause an important one.

NOVA Rugby is asking for a minimum donation of $100 annually, to help fund our present and future success. Please know that NOVA is a non-profit, 501c3 organization and all contributions will be tax deductible.

Our records indicate that there are easily more than 500 men, women and families whom have called NOVA home in more than 30 years of our existence. And if each of us donates even the minimum amount, NOVA can build a fund, never before imagined.

With your generous contributions, NOVA will be able to entice or retain top coaching talent by offering stipends or compensation, as well as fund their attendance to high performance coaching clinics. And such incentives will allow the Board of Governors to ask for higher accountability from our coaches.

Through improved coaching, NOVA will be able to attract some of the best collegiate players as well as experienced ruggers in America. To help retain those players, the NOVA Fund also will focus on player improvement, by offering grants to attend select side and high performance camps. As our teams improve, some funds may be used to supplement team travel to national competitions and tournaments. In limited cases, the money may be used to recruit foreign players to supplement the occasional leadership and experience needs of individual teams.

To further the growth of our great game, the NOVA Fund will offer grants to our youth clubs, which serve hundreds of teens each year, during spring and summer programs. Such grants would help purchase jerseys, equipment and support field expenses. For more than a decade these youth teams have been building better people for our community and have been expanding the exposure of rugby as a viable, serious sport.

Lastly, the club will use the funds to help support our long term infrastructure needs. For example, our longtime practice facility at Oakton High School will now cost us at least $5,000 annually, lest we lose our field time to local soccer clubs who have offered double that price. Over the past several years, the 2008 Virginia State Champion NOVA u-19 squad spent more than $6,000 per spring for our home pitch at Old Redskins Park. With this new fund, NOVA will have the dollars to partner with local government and civic organizations to guarantee our facilities use.

And maybe just one day, with your generous assistance, NOVA will finally be able to afford a true home of our own.

The NOVA Fund will be under the strict control of the Board of Governors, and funds will only be disbursed after team officers submit written proposals requesting authorization of the funds and following a majority vote by the board.

The Northern Virginia Rugby Club has brought us all together as players, friends and family. Today, your NOVA family needs the help of your tax-deductible contribution.

Together, we can help the NOVA Family rise to levels we've only dreamed of in the past and create the vision of "Six Teams, One Club."