Prospectus of an exciting new ball game took roots in Kashmir following conduct of a Snow Rugby demonstration match by Tourism Department during 5th National Winter Games at Gulmarg in February this year writes Mohammad Yousuf
Rugby is one of the ancient games. Basic principal of the game is same but with the modification of rules and regulations it is now played in different formats such as 7 players’ a-side, 10 a-sides, 12 a-side and 15 a-side. Rugby was initially played on grass but with the passage of time it is now played on sand and snow as well. There are different types of rugby which are played in different situations and conditions such as Beach rugby, Touch rugby and Tag rugby.
To oversee Rugby League world wide the Rugby League International Federation was set up in 1948. In India the sport is controlled by the Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU). To further its aims and objectives, the J&K Football Rugby Association is operative in the state since 2002. The JKFRA has produced many ace rugby players which include Sarib, Syed Hanan, Gh. Sibetein and Fahdul Hassan etc. who were selected for a national coaching camp but due to certain reasons the Indian team could not participate in under 20 International 12 a-side Rugby Championship in Korea during summer this year. The General Secretary JKRFA, Irfan Aziz attended Ruby Ready and Rugby Smart training camps in Mumbai this summer.
Snow Rugby:
The Rugby played on snow is called “Snow Rugby”. Snow Rugby is today played internationally. The last International Championship was held at Riga, Latvia in February 2008. The enthusiasts are trying their utmost to include this new combat ball game in winter sports events of the country, for which the Tourism Department is making its all out efforts. Snow rugby is not a gimmick. We do play a proper social game of rugby and it is genuinely enjoyable and fun..The rugby players consider snow rugby as a new recreation, thrill and challenge Playing rugby on snow is more difficult than playing on grass or sand because it is slippery on snow and running in ankle deep snow is more exhausting and tiresome. Besides, snow rugby is played at high altitudes where oxygen lacks. Playing a combat game on high altitude is itself a difficult task unless the players are fully acclimatized. One has to acclimatize himself properly before undertaking this outdoor pursuit. The other factor is that snow rugby is played under cold climatic conditions. One has to wear extra clothing to keep him warm. Wearing specially designed gloves, caps and footwear further restrict his free movement during the game. They sweat more which causes dehydration and that leads to early fatigue of the players. But to add to its merits, snow rugby causes fewer injuries to a player than grass and sand rugby because every fall is soft here.
There is a saying that “football is a gentleman’s game, played by thugs and rugby is a game of thugs, played by gentlemen”. This saying is proved correct when we find many famous gentlemen playing rough rugby, among them include famous Bollywood actor Rahul Bose, who has represented India in International Rugby Championship. Pramod Khanna (younger brother of actor Vinod Khanna), Nomin Mehta, Managing Director Selvel and Australian player Greg Devy. Rahul is such a dedicated player that he himself organized one day clinic for Kashmiri players last year in December at Polo Ground in Srinagar and taught finest points of the game to our budding players.
Promotion and Development:
Snow Rugby is growing fast in snow bound European countries for last some years. It is also gaining popularity in the Himalayan states of India, where snow is in abundance. Big credit goes to Tourism Department (Kashmir) for introducing and encouraging this unique sport in India in general and Kashmir in particular. For last two years the department has been regularly conducting training camps and feedback completions for local youth at premier snow sports resort, Gulmarg, with the help of J&K Football Rugby Association. With a view to acquaint people to this newly developed snow sport the department included Snow Rugby in Kashmir Snow Festival in 2007 and was repeated in 2008. With the intention to recognize this healthy sport at national level the Tourism Department managed to get it included as a demonstration even in the 5th National Winter Games, held at Gulmarg in February 2008. Besides local teams, a team from Delhi was also invited to participate in this inaugural match. The then Chief Minister, Jenab Ghulam Nabi Azad himself inaugurated the first match of its kind. Delhi defeated J&K by a solitary try.
First National Snow Rugby Championship:
It is laudable that the Director Tourism, Mr. Farooq Shah has conceived a lovely idea to organize first-ever national snow rugby championship at Gulmarg during ensuing winter. It would certainly promote and develop not only Snow Rugby as a competitive discipline but will also attract a sizeable number of tourists to Gulmarg during winter months, when we do not have much tourist activities in Kashmir. Like skiing and snowboarding many foreigners will be lured to participate in snow rugby programs in near future. At domestic level we have tremendous potential to bring snow rugby players from Indian plains to Gulmarg and other snow bound areas of the valley. This type of activity is possible only few Himalayan states of the country. The championship is being organized under the auspices of Indian Ruby Football Union 16 men and 9 women are expected to participate, which include Maharashtra, Kerala, Haryana, Delhi, West Bengal, Orissa, U.P, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and our own state. The competition will be held in 7 a-side format in both men and women categories. This sport is now making a welcome entry into winter sports. If persuaded it could find a place in next National Winter Games as a competitive event.
It is suggested that the Tourism Department must give sufficient time to players to acclimatize both at Srinagar and Gulmarg before they go for the game, because most of the players will be coming from Indian plains. With the direct transfer of players from Srinagar to Gulmarg the players may have mountain sickness, which would be unpleasant for the visiting teams and may cause worry to the organizers. Their trip should be made enjoyable so that one player could get ten players to Kashmir next year.
The article was published in daily Rising Kashmir on January 11, 2009
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