The Pittsburgh Harlequins are an American

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 ...

founded in 1973. The team is a member of the USA Rugby Football Union, the

Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union The Capital Geographic Union is the Geographical Union (GU) for rugby union teams playing in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. It is an association of youth, high school, collegiate, and adult men's and women's rugby teams in the Mid-Atlanti ...

, and the

Potomac Rugby Union Potomac () may refer to: Places in the United States Washington, D.C. area: *The Potomac River, which flows through West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. **The Potomac Highlands, a region of the Potomac River's watershed in West ...

. the team had 40 active players, and has had over 300 alumni members since its founding by

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

law students. They advanced to the Final 16 of the National Championships in 1999 and 2004. The Pittsburgh Harlequins Rugby Football Association was created in 1995 to support the club, its facilities, and rugby youth outreach programs targeting underprivileged youth. In 1997, the RFA bought of land in Indiana Township,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and constructed two full-sized lighted rugby or soccer pitches with an adjacent parking lot and clubhouse. The Pittsburgh Harlequins help develop rugby in the Pittsburgh area through youth outreach programs, supporting High School rugby teams, university teams such as the Carnegie Mellon Rugby Football Club and other age-grade all-star teams.

External links

Official SiteMid-Atlantic Rugby Football UnionPotomac Rugby Union
Rugby in Pittsburgh 1973 establishments in Pennsylvania American rugby union teams Rugby clubs established in 1973 {{Pennsylvania-sport-team-stub