Queen Elizabeth & the Spanish Armada: An Interview with Kirstin Hartos
written by Vincent McLeod IV

Queen Elizabeth of England (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) ruled during the so-called "Golden Age" of the British Isles. She was not just an excellent female leader, she was ruler of all English subjects and one of the most highlighted rulers in British & European history. In SoCal Women's Rugby, there is argueably not a bigger name circulating then Kirstin Hartos. Griffins All-selection, numerous honors and awards and still contributing to the reign that is San Diego Surfers Women's Rugby; the Spanish Armada. As a SoCal Rugby supporter and general supporter of the game outside of the region, Women's Rugby is rarely given even a quarter of the coverage that the Men's game recieves today. Sadly, to this dismay, quality talent in the game far too often goes missed through our Rugby brains. SCRN sits down with Kirstin Hartos to ask some in-depth Rugby questions about her personal growth and development in the game and to see if the Spanish Armada can in fact get a Championship this season in the WPL!

          

SCRN:   First off, congrats on the dominance that San Diego Surfers Women's Rugby Club is bringing to the USAR Women's scene.  D1 Champs back to back in 2009 and 2010......what are the "obvious" plans for this season?  Does SDSW look just as strong as in the past seasons? What seperates SDSW from other Women's clubs?

KH:   We have been improving every season since Richie Walker took over Head Coaching responsibilities in 2007. That first season with him, we narrowly edged out Belmont Shore for the SCRFU Championship and our first trip to Nationals, where we finished in the bottom four. We improved our finish in 2008, and continued that trend finishing an undefeated 2009 season with our first Division I National Championship, and we were lucky enough to repeat in 2010. From there, we got promoted to the Women’s Premier League and will be competing in our first season there this fall.

Our team continues to get more competitive each season, which is a reflection of the quality of coaching and our collective mentality that we can’t be comfortable with where we are – we have to keep striving to improve. Our younger players are continuing to develop, and we’ve had an influx of experienced players join the team this fall – so we will have even more competition for starting positions this season. And that is a really good thing for us because it will push us all to work harder and improve.

I think rugby players in general are a unique breed. But what I think sets the Surfers apart from other ‘premier’ women’s clubs is that we have always been an underdog, and we are used to having to prove ourselves. We’re heading into the WPL as the 8^th seed (out of 8 teams), and we’re going to have to fight for everything. But coming from SoCal, we’re used to that. We are not a team of individual stars with all kinds of accolades and capped players that we rely on to win. Sure we have stand out players (and I could name a handful), but I think what truly makes us different is that we are a great team together. We respect each other, play for each other, and have fun playing together. Of course we want to win and be successful, but we are determined to have fun doing it.

SCRN:   You are a UCSD alumni. Been playing Rugby for over 8 years. What did the playing expereince at UCSD (however much) do for your game development?

KH:   I started playing rugby in 2001 during my freshman year at UC-San Diego. We had a new coach that season, and about 12 rookies. I think that about half of our starters were rookies, actually. I was lucky enough to earn a starting spot in my first season with the team. We had some great leadership from experienced veterans that really helped the new girls get up to speed and learn quickly, including WNT Player Mari Wallace who has played in the last two World Cups. We ended up beating UC-Santa Barbara 3-0 in the final seconds of our last league game to earn our first trip to Collegiate Nationals in the Spring of 2002. I think we were certainly excited to earn a spot at Nationals, but I think that was a pretty pivotal point for me. Prior to playing in the National tournament in Florida that year, our coach at the time had gotten her hands on an email from the coach of another team in another territory that was particularly degrading toward SoCal teams. I recall one of the lines from the email said something to the effect that “SoCal doesn’t even deserve a seed at Nationals.” That’s a statement that’s stuck with me throughout my playing career, and has made me feel like I’ve always got something to prove.

In college we were lucky enough to win the SCRFU Championship for four consecutive seasons and to get to compete at Nationals. It didn’t really seem like a big deal at the time, just seemed like that was what we expected of ourselves. In 2003, we actually made it to the Final Four and played at Stanford’s Steuber rugby stadium for the first time – which was an awesome experience. I learned so much in college, and was fortunate to get to play U-23s with some great players from SoCal and I think that despite some setbacks (like losing both games and playing with only 12 girls at my first U-23 National All-Star Championships in 2002), it has helped me develop as a player and see the possibilities to continue playing rugby beyond college. There aren’t too many sports that women have an opportunity to play beyond college at such a competitive level, and I’m glad I’ve had that opportunity. If I wouldn’t have had a great experience playing in college, I doubt I would have continued to play after that. Not to mention that some of my best friends are girls I played rugby with in college.

SCRN:   For those who do not know Kirstin Hartos outside of the Griffins U-23/15s/7s all-star, what should supporters of the game know about you as a Rugby player that we have not already seen on the pitch?

KH:   Due to my stature, most people think I am a prop, so it usually comes as a surprise to see me line up with the backs. But I kind of like it that way.

SCRN:   Concerning Women's Rugby in SoCal, what if anything needs to change to promote the sport more to a bigger pool of Women? Does lack of coverage ever make particpants in Women's Rugby feel obsolete?  If you had to make any changes to Women's Rugby, what would your ideal league set up look like?

KH:   Our Division II teams play a Spring season, but then the winning team doesn’t advance to the National Championship until November. I think it might benefit the teams more to play a competitive league season in the fall (like the rest of the DII teams do around the country, and as the DI and WPL teams do) leading up to Nationals so that the qualifying team peaks at the right time. I’m also not without bias that it would make things much easier and more sustainable for our club specifically if our developing players could play on a DII side during the same season (so we could field two teams).

For women’s rugby on the whole, I think that the new WPL and DI structure has exponentially increased the costs for travel for teams in both divisions. Obviously for the teams that want to improve and get better, it’s important to get as many competitive games in as you can during the season. In the last two years, SoCal and Pac Coast DI teams played in a combined league. I would argue that this has been a tremendous benefit to our teams to play a wider variety of opponents and be exposed to different styles of play before reaching a national tournament. I think I can fairly say that we, along with the other DI women’s teams (Belmont and Tempe), had gotten sick of playing each other all the time. Sometimes things get stale when you’re always playing the same teams – so it was great to change things up a bit and expand the league. But the costs and commitment are staggering. The men’s DI and DII teams furthest league games are a few hours drive, rarely an overnight trip. In the last two seasons, we’ve had to travel all the way up the West Coast to Seattle for a league match. And this season we’ll fly to New York for our first WPL match. The financial burden to the individual player is tremendous. And it’s tough to find sponsors interested in supporting a women’s sports team. I think we’ve definitely benefitted from the expanded competition, but I worry that it’s not sustainable to get players to contribute upwards of $2,000 from their own pocket just for travel expenses in one season.

Of course if there were some league sponsor to help offset the financial expenses, that would certainly help ensure that the best players continue to get to play (and not just the players who can afford it).

If there were more coverage and exposure of the women’s club teams, I think that would also help get the word out to younger girls who are interested in playing. I don’t think girls in high school are looking to be the first one to start playing a non-mainstream sport, but the more exposure there is locally, the more that can help grow the game.

SCRN:   As stated earlier, the game is growing rapidly at the U-19 and below level. Females like Jamie Garcia and Megan Pinson are emerging and showing they can compete at a high level with players like yourself.  What advice do you give to future Female Rugby players about their development in the sport?

KH:   The best advice I have for future and younger players is that they just need to take advantage of the opportunities at hand. When you have a chance to tryout for any Griffins Select Side, go to the tryout and work your butt off. I guarantee you will learn something from the coaches or other players that are there. And if you don’t go, somebody else will. You’ve got to work hard, and take advantage of the chances that you get. Rugby isn’t a sport that us older girls grew up watching for the most part, so the best thing you can do is just play as much as you can.

SCRN:   Fun Questions for Kirstin Hartos!

1. Prince Harry or Prince William?
Can I say neither?

2. Mission Bay or Point Loma?
Mission Bay

3. Who will win the Rugby World Cup in 2011?
   If I didn’t say New Zealand, I would likely be sitting on the bench for the entire season. So I’m not going to take any chances.
4. If you could have the chance to play one Men's team in SoCal...who would it be?
   The Chargers. Oh wait, did you mean rugby?

5. Favorite Professional Rugby Player? Since no answer was provided....SCRN will answer with Dan Carter:)

6. Chances of SDSW club winning the National Championship this season?
Any given Sunday…

7. Todd Clever, Chris Wyles and Tai Enosa have been asked this by SCRN, so we will keep it going here...Justin Bieber or Justin Timberlake?
JT… Is Justin Bieber even 18?

8. Biggest rival in Women's Rugby for SDSW?
Those pesky gophers who call Robb Field home during our season… you know who you are. Oh, and Flag Football.

9. Favorite San Diego food joint?
The Local, and not just because of the lobster tacos.