Empire Geographical Union

Empire Rugby Football Union Geographical Union

Abbreviation| Empire GU
Formation| 2012
Headquarters| New York City, New York

Region served

| New York State; Northern New Jersey; Southern Connecticut, United States of America

President

| Renee Ovrut
Website| http://www.empiregurugby.com

The Empire Rugby Football Union Geographical Union ("Empire GU") is the governing body for over 100 men's and women's rugby union clubs and colleges in New York State, Northern New Jersey and Southern Connecticut.[1]

## History

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### Formation

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The Empire GU was created in July 2012 as a result of the merger of three governing bodies in the Northeastern United States: Northeast Rugby Union, New York State Rugby Conference (NYSRC) and Metropolitan New York Rugby Union (METNYRFU). When formed, Empire GU was one of four pilot Geographical Unions that have been developed by USA Rugby, and the first in the country to have been created by merging multiple former unions. The creation of these new GUs was carried out with the intention of creating a "more streamlined structure, effectively support growth in the game and provide increased member services in local areas".[2] As of 2013, the GU structure ceased to be seen as a pilot program, being fully adopted as the local governance model for Club Rugby moving forward.[3]

### Structure

[edit]

Empire GU comprises teams from New York State, Northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut. Some college teams are also included in the union. The GU encompasses the former Northeast Rugby Union, a Territorial Union (TU), and two former Local Area Unions (LAUs): New York State Rugby Conference (NYSRC) and Metropolitan New York Rugby Union (METNYRFU).

Upon creation of the Empire GU, NRU, NYSRC and METNYRFU were all dissolved. The last remaining member of the former NRU, New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU), was not absorbed into the new union, instead becoming a separate GU in its own right. Some NERFU teams, however, continue to compete in Empire GU's league system, namely in the Senior Men's D1, and the Senior Women's D1, D2 and D3.

## Clubs

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### Senior Men

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Division 1  | Division 2 New Jersey  | Division 2 NYC  | Division 2 Upstate

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|
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* Boston*
* Mystic*
* Middlesex*
* NYAC
* Old Blue
* Wolfhounds*

* Bayonne
* Monmouth
* Montclair
* Morris
* Princeton
* New Jersey
* Union

* NYRC
* Village Lions
* White Plains
* New Haven
* Fairfield Yankees
* Old Blue

* Rochester Aardvarks
* Buffalo
* South Buffalo
* Syracuse

Division 3 CT/NY  | Division 3 New Jersey  | Division 3 NYC  | Division 3 NY South  | Division 3 Upstate

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|
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* Greenwich
* Danbury
* CT Yankees
* Saratoga
* Hudson Valley

* Monmouth
* North Jersey
* Union
* Princeton
* Montclair

* Old Maroon
* NYRC
* Gotham
* Lansdowne
* Village Lions D3

* Brooklyn
* Long Island
* Suffolk
* Rockaway
* Montauk

* Ken-Ton Misfits
* Buffalo
* Southtowns Saxons
* South Buffalo
* Binghamton
* Rochester Aardvarks
* Rochester Colonials
* Genesee Creamers
* Barracks Rangers

### Senior Women

[edit]

Division 1  | Division 2  | Division 3

|
|

* Albany*
* Boston*
* Monmouth
* Morris
* Providence*
* Village Lions

* Beantown*
* Brooklyn
* Burlington*
* Charles River*
* Danbury
* Hartford
* North Shore*
* Portland*
* Seacoast*
* Worcester*

* Amonskeag*
* Hudson Valley
* Middlesex*
* Saratoga
* Springfield*
* Suffolk

* denotes a team that is a member of NERFU, not Empire GU

## See also

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* Rugby union in the United States

## References

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1. ^ "USA Club Rugby: Geographical Unions". usarugby.org/. Archived from the original on February 13, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
2. ^ "Northeast, N.Y. State, and Met N.Y. To form one Union". Archived from the original on October 10, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
3. ^ "Geographic Unions".

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* USA Rugby Official Site
* IRB Official Site

* v
* t
* e

Rugby union in the United States

Governing body|

* USA Rugby

Geographical Unions|

* Capital
* Carolinas
* Empire
* Eastern Pennsylvania
* Florida
* Mid-America
* New England
* Northern California
* Pacific Northwest
* Rocky Mountain
* Southern California
* Texas
* True South

National teams|

| Men's|

* Eagles
* USA Falcons
* All Americans
* U-20
* U-19
* 7s

|

Women's|

* Women's
* 7s

Competitions|

| International|

* U.S. at the Rugby World Cup
* Americas Rugby Championship
* Global Rapid Rugby

|

Domestic|

* Major League Rugby
* Women's Elite Rugby
* Women's Premier League Rugby
* Premier Rugby Sevens
* USA Rugby Club 7s
* Midwest Rugby Premiership
* Pacific Rugby Premiership
* National Rugby Football League
* USA Club Rugby XVs

College|

| Bodies|

* NCR
* NIRA

|

Conferences|

* Colonial Coast
* East Coast
* Heart of America
* Ivy
* Northeast
* PAC
* Potomac
* Red River
* Southeastern

Competitions|

* Division 1-A
* Results
* NCR Champions Cup
* NCR Nationals
* Collegiate Championship (7s)
* USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships (7s)

Hosted events|

* 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens
* Americas Rugby Championship
* USA Sevens
* USA Women's Sevens

Defunct|

| International|

* Churchill Cup
* North America 4

|

Club|

* Elite Cup
* Pacific Rim Championship
* PRO Rugby
* Rugby Super League

College|

* Atlantic Coast League
* Bowl Series
* Varsity Cup

Related articles|

* American flag rugby
* History
* First match
* International players
* Comparison with American football
* Rugby union in American Samoa
* Rugby union in Guam
* Rugby union in the US Virgin Islands
* Stanford rugby teams (1906–17)
* USA Rugby South

* Category
* Commons

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