Rugby union in Venezuela is a team sport that is played as an

amateur sport Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. The distinction is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are paid for the time they spend competing ...

History

The history of rugby in Venezuela goes back to the fifties of the last century, when a group of English oil workers played the first match in Zulia State. Martell and Renault played the first organized match on 14 July 1974. In 1978, the first rugby club formed exclusively with native players was founded at Simón Bolívar University: the Club de Rugby de la Universidad Simón Bolívar (CRUSB). In the course of time, more rugby teams were created in Caracas and other Venezuelan cities.

Governing body

The governing body is the Venezuelan Rugby Federation, which was founded in 1992. It is affiliated to World Rugby and

Sudamérica Rugby Sudamérica Rugby (previously known as Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby (abbreviated CONSUR) between 1988 and 2015),Campeonato Nacional de Clubes (National Championship of Clubs) contested by Venezuelan men's clubs. Another notable tournament is the Torneo Internacional de Rugby Los Andes (Los Andes Rugby International Tournament) played at Mérida. Santa Teresa seven-a-side, the Circuito Nacional de Sevens (National Sevens Series) and the Seven de las Flores (Sevens of Flowers) are important club competitions in rugby sevens. The matches of these competitions are played at weekends.

Popularity

In Venezuela, rugby is not as popular as sports such as

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

or basketball. The coverage of rugby competitions by Venezuelan mass media is sporadic. Years ago, rugby players had to fund themselves in the terms of uniforms, equipment, travel costs, etc. Recently, some financial support has come from the Venezuelan Ministry of Sport and private companies which offer sponsorship to the clubs. Rugby in Venezuela is an amateur sport and rugby players receive no remuneration.

References

{{South America in topic, Rugby union in

History

Governing body

Popularity

See also

References