Cross-campus Capture The Flag ft. The UVic Women’s Rugby Team
I’m sure if you’re reading this, you probably remember playing capture the flag as a wee one in elementary school. The good ol’ days as some may say.
If you’re unfamiliar with the rules of capture the flag, basically there are two teams. Each team has a flag that they hide in the given parameters. The playing area is split in half. When you are in your end, you are safe, if you cross “the border” you are subject to being tagged by the opposing team. If you are caught, you are escorted to “jail” (a fancy, high security center made of four cones) where you remain guarded unless a brave teammate comes to rescue you and take you back to your end. The objective is to find the other team’s flag and get it safely to your side.
Well after a few intense weeks, a Collegiate Women’s 7s Division Title WIN in Las Vegas, and Nationals coming up next week, on Monday night it was decided we were going to play capture the flag instead of having practice…and what an excellent decision that was.
Now here’s a warning. When you bring together about 30 athletes, there is bound to be an extreme amount of competition.
The game boundaries was all of Ring Road until we realized the game may never end because one team had the advantage of the woods. The final area is highlighted on the map in yellow. The red line cutting across the quad was the half-way mark.
It was almost man-tracker like. My teammate Sya, and I—along with our serious game plan—took the long way along the road to avoid people, creeping behind buildings and checking the coast was clear. We actually discovered a great deal of secret paths and neat little nooks around UVic that we wouldn’t have otherwise known were there. However, we both got caught behind enemy lines and were quickly taken to jail to wait out the rest of the game, yearning for a jail break. Our team ended up winning…both games. #braggingrights
The game ended up being extremely successful, especially because of the hidden fitness components. You don’t actually realize how long the sprint is down the quad until you’re running for your life going after a flag,.I’d say it’s definitely a little longer than 200m. Some sneaky people used the unsuspecting on-lookers as human shields walking behind them or with them to get past halfway.
In other news, the team has been getting ready for the National 7s Championship coming up March 6/7 right here in Langford!
At practice on Tuesday we had a guest coaching appearance. The Head Coach of the U20 Women’s National Team and Assistant Coach of the Women’s 7s Team, Sandro Fiorino, came and taught us some inside tricks. The team then had inter-squad games on Wednesday night – my first game back since October 17th and it felt amazing to be back out on the pitch.
The 7s Championship should be an exciting tournament to come check out with FOUR UVic teams competing (2 men’s, 2 women’s) out at Westhills Stadium. Hope to see some friendly faces there!
Jess
