R ugby has been played around the world since the late 1800s. In the United States, it was played at the collegiate level from the late 1800s through the early 1900s. However, a drastic decline in participation occurred in the United States with the rise of American football and the removal of rugby from the Olympics after the 1924 games. In the 1970s there was renewed interest, and the game has grown dramatically at both the high school and collegiate levels. Most notably, the women's game has grown at a quicker pace than the men's. 48 This unique phenomenon may be due to the synchronous timing of the growth of the game and the enactment of Title IX legislation in 1972, which provided more opportunities for women in athletics. Traditionally in athletics, men have played games first and then women have followed suit, oftentimes playing a modified form of the game. Rugby is a unique sport because the women have always played the same exact game as men. 25 One possible reason for so much interest on the women's side is that rugby is one of the only games where women can compete in a collision sport on allwomen teams. In addition, successful teams require a diversely skilled group of participants so the game has appeal to a broad range of athletes. Another boost for the women's game came in 2002, when the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) classified women's rugby as an emerging sport.At present, most collegiate programs retain club rather than varsity status. As a result, they tend to have volunteer coaches, little training and conditioning support, and substandard field conditions and facilities. In addition, adequate medical coverage rarely exists, making large-scale injury surveillance extremely challenging. Furthermore, the sport of rugby is not

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