The Ohio Aviators are an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 its m ...

team that played professionally in the short lived

PRO Rugby Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retire ...

competition. They are based in the

Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area includes the counties of Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Hocking, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Perry, Pickaway, and Union. The population of the MSA is 2,078,7 ...

, and played their home games at Memorial Park in

Obetz, Ohio Obetz is a Village (Ohio), village in Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,489 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History The community (originally Obetz Junction, in honor of settler Charl ...

. They are now playing in the newly formed World Tens Series.

History

PRO Rugby announced on February 9, 2016 the addition of Columbus, Ohio as the league's third team. The selection of Columbus came as somewhat of a surprise, because the original PRO Rugby announcement in November 2015 did not mention that the competition planned to place a team in the midwest in the inaugural season. Ohio's inaugural season home opener was played on May 1, 2016. PRO Rugby revealed the team's nickname — the Ohio Aviators — on June 6, 2016, a reference to the Wright brothers who were from Ohio.

10's return

On September 9, 2020, the Aviators announced on their

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

page their return to participate in the

World Tens Series In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

, occurring from October 24 through November 7, 2020 in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

Stadium

The Aviators during the 2016 season played their home games at Memorial Park in

Obetz Obetz is a village in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,489 at the 2020 census. History The community (originally Obetz Junction, in honor of settler Charles Obetz) was formed in 1838 as a stagecoach junction, and incor ...

, a suburb of the Columbus metropolitan area. The Aviators planned to move to

Fortress Obetz Fortress Obetz is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment complex in Obetz, Ohio. Its bleacher system holds 6,500 people. Including standing room for events such as concerts, Fortress Obetz can hold nearly 20,000 people. It opened in 2017 on t ...

, on the site of the former

Columbus Motor Speedway The Columbus Motor Speedway (CMS) was a 1/3 mile asphalt oval and figure-eight racing track located south of Columbus, Ohio within the town limits of Obetz. History In 1945, John Nuckles and Robert Roseberry purchased of land for site of ...

, starting with the 2017 season.

2016 roster

On December 20, 2016 all PRO Rugby players received notice their contracts will be terminated in 30 days if progress is not made towards resolving disputes between the league and USA Rugby. The squad for the 2016 PRO Rugby season:

2016 coaching staff

Current players and staff

Current roster

The squad for the 2020

Current coaching staff

World Tens Series

2020

Bermuda

Season summaries

Leading players

Coaches

References

{{Columbus, Ohio Rugby clubs established in 2016 Sports clubs and teams in Ohio 2016 establishments in Ohio Rugby union clubs disestablished in 2017 2017 disestablishments in Ohio PRO Rugby teams World Tens Series