Snow rugby refers to forms of

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

that are especially adapted to be played in winter conditions, particularly in deep snow. It is played in Canada, the Kashmir region in India,National Snow Rugby Championship begins in Kashmir
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the Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

, Russia, the northern United States, and Finland. Specific locations of play include the Argentinian Ski Resort of

Las Leñas Las Leñas is a ski resort in Argentina, located in the western part of Mendoza Province. It has reliable powder snow and climate for extreme and off-piste skiing. Construction of the ski center began January 1983, and by July 1983, it opened wi ...

and the Boitsfort Rugby Club in Brussels. Because of the cold, and often subzero, temperatures at which snow rugby is played, players must dress warmly.

History

Rugby union is predominantly played during the winter months and it has been played in extremely cold conditions. In 1939 a

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challen ...

game in New Zealand was played in the snow and in 1978 a game in Russia was played at .Cain, Nick & Growden, Greg "Chapter 21: Ten Peculiar Facts about Rugby" in ''Rugby Union for Dummies'' (2nd Edition), p295 (pub: John Wiley and Sons,

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...

, England) More recently games have been organised to be played in the snow. In 2009,

Gulmarg Gulmarg (), known as Gulmarag (; ) in Kashmiri, is a town, hill station, popular skiing destination, and notified area committee in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located at a distance of from Baramulla and from S ...

hosted India's first ever snow rugby tournament in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

and it was included in the 2008 Indian Winter Games as a demonstrative event. During the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South ...

Mount Dobson hosted a "20 Below Rugby in the Snow" seven-a-side tournament. Tournaments have also been held in Finland, France, Latvia, and Argentina. The first European Championships were held in Moscow from 21 to 22 November 2019. Eight teams of each sex took part in it.2019 - RUGBY EUROPE SNOW RUGBY EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
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History

Rugby Europe Snow Rugby European Championship

Men

Women

See also

References