After years of playing rugby, usually on co-ed teams, Abbie Higgins is now Number 13 (Outside Center position) for the Kansas City Jazz Rugby Club. This is a good time to be a player for the KC Jazz, since they are heading out to San Francisco this weekend to compete in the USA Rugby Semi- and Quarter-Finals On Saturday, May 30, the team takes on the Sacramento Amazons.
Higgins, daughter of Michelle and Larry Higgins, began playing rugby while a student at University of Central Missouri (UCM), Warrensburg. Since there was no girl's rugby team, she played on co-ed teams.
A 2007 Tipton High School alumni, she completed UCM in 2011 with a degree in marketing. A move to Kansas City, to work with Fred Pryor Seminars, an affiliate of Park University, in the Marketing Department, also led to a move to a women's rugby club, the Kansas City Jazz. Although Higgins has played several positions, she is currently in the Number 13 position (Outside Center), and has on several occasions, made a Try (the rugby word for goal).
On May 16, the KC Jazz defeated KU 82-0, going on to defeat the St. Louis Sabres 30-7. By defeating both teams, the team got first place in the Frontier Conference Women's Rugby Tournament. Those wins now take the team forward to San Francisco, hopefully for bigger and better things.
Higgins' love for rugby only increased when she spent a semester in Australia, where rugby is a premier sport.
According to the Kansas City Jazz website, it is "Kansas City's premiere women's rugby team." The Kansas City Jazz Women's Rugby Club was established in the fall of 1993, becoming an official USA Rugby team in the fall of 1994. Part of the Heart of America Union and the West Territory, the KC Jazz was undefeated in the territory and union from 1995 until 2008. The team has been nationally ranked among Women's Club teams in the U.S. for 8 of the last 12 years.
The KC Jazz is presently comprised of 25 women ages 18-35. With skill levels ranging from beginner to nationally recognized, the Jazz competes against Club level teams in the Mid-West. Not only does the Jazz play both spring and fall seasons, but the team has a summer 7s program. Most of the team's funding comes from frequent fundraisers and sponsors. It also relies on financial support from rugby alumni, businesses and individuals in order to continue competing.