Snow rugby refers to forms of
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
that are especially adapted to be played in winter conditions, particularly in deep snow. It is played in Canada, the Kashmir region in India,
[National Snow Rugby Championship begins in Kashmir](_blank)
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/ref> the Baltic states, Russia, the northern United States, and Finland. Specific locations of play include the Argentinian Ski Resort of Las Leñas and the Boitsfort Rugby Club in Brussels.
Because of the cold, and often subzero, temperatures at which snow rugby is played, players must dress warmly.
History
Rugby union is predominantly played during the winter months and it has been played in extremely cold conditions. In 1939 a Ranfurly Shield game in New Zealand was played in the snow and in 1978 a game in Russia was played at .[Cain, Nick & Growden, Greg "Chapter 21: Ten Peculiar Facts about Rugby" in ''Rugby Union for Dummies'' (2nd Edition), p295 (pub: John Wiley and Sons, ]Chichester
Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...
, England) More recently games have been organised to be played in the snow. In 2009, Gulmarg hosted India's first ever snow rugby tournament in Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
and it was included in the 2008 Indian Winter Games as a demonstrative event. During the 2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...
Mount Dobson hosted a "20 Below Rugby in the Snow" seven-a-side tournament. Tournaments have also been held in Finland, France, Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
, and Argentina.
The first European Championships were held in Moscow from 21 to 22 November 2019. Eight teams of each sex took part in it.2019 - RUGBY EUROPE SNOW RUGBY EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
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Rugby Europe Snow Rugby European Championship
Men
Women
See also
* Beach rugby, a form designed to be played on sand.
* Snow golf
References
{{Team Sport
Variations of rugby union
Snow sports