Glendale’s Sammy Sullivan Stars In Paris Games; Women’s Elite Rugby Picks Denver As First Pro Site
by Glen Richardson
We Won: Sammy Sullivan, who lives in Glendale, reacts as she joins her Olympic teammates after winning bronze at the Paris Olympics.
Boundless Playground: Infinity Park is one of the only rugby-specific stadiums in the U.S., and the country’s first municipality- owned stadium.
Glendale, America’s rugby haven and its moniker as RugbyTown USA, is in the spotlight’s beam again as the U.S. earned its first-ever medal in women’s rugby at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
After never finishing an Olympic rugby competition better than fifth, the U.S. women took home the bronze medal after a thrilling 14-12 comeback victory against Australia, the gold medalists in 2016. In Tokyo, the U.S. was knocked out before the medal round by Great Britain. The Americans got payback in Paris, eliminating Great Britain in the quarterfinals.
The U.S. team included Sammy Sullivan. a star Colorado rugby player for Glendale’s Gray Wolves. Now Denver — and possibly Glendale — is getting a new team in the Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) league. The league is targeting next year (2025) for its inaugural season. The revelation coincides with the U.S. winning its first-ever Olympic medal. If WER does launch here, it would be the first fully professional women’s sports team in metro Denver.
Glendale Rugby Boom
Biding Time: First lady Jill Biden, left, speaks with Glendale’s Olympic women’s rugby player Sammy Sullivan, in Eaubonne, France.
American rugby got its start in 2007 with the building of the Infinity Park Stadium in Glendale. It is one of the only rugby-specific stadiums in the country, and the first municipality-owned stadium of its kind in the country. Infinity Park hosts oodles of different rugby events, matches, and activities. Glendale also offers a variety of youth rugby, including spring after school rugby, and summer flag rugby. There’s also a high-altitude training center, considered one of the finest rugby training facilities in the country.
Glendale’s Mayor Mike Dunafon — who played a stint with the Denver Broncos —launched Infinity Park and rugby for what he describes as “its camaraderie and sportsmanship.” The decision was his commitment to the community.
The strong performance in Paris will be impactful for Glendale, the Mile High City, and the sport as a whole. After this summer’s bronze-medal win, USA Rugby announced that Michelle Kang — owner of the Washington Spirit, Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, and London City Lionesses women’s soccer clubs — will gift $4 million over the course of four years to the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team. Enrollment in the sport has climbed in the U.S. ever since rugby sevens became an Olympic sport in 2016. Look for the game to soar in 2025.
Sullivan Stars
Tournament Town: Rugby tournament play has long been a staple at Infinity Park. The RugbyTown 7s tournament features the U.S. Armed Forces. AP Photo by George Walker IV
A shining star on the world stage, Sammy Sullivan — who lived in Glendale — was a key player in the Olympic games, leading the U.S. women’s rugby team to several victories to begin the Paris Olympics.
She plays for the Colorado Gray Wolves, as well as the U.S. women’s rugby team. The team was originally established in 1981 as the Harlequin Olde Girls before aligning with the City of Glendale in 2007 and becoming the Glendale Raptors Merlins. In 2020 the team became an independent club, run and operated by the players. The team still plays at Glendale’s Infinity Park. Sullivan started playing rugby at West Point and holds the rank of Army Captain. She’s originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Sullivan did not attend the opening ceremony ride down the River Seine because women’s rugby played shortly afterward. Instead, she built Legos. Her Olympic Lego project features iconic Paris sites including the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.
While in France for the Summer Games, Sullivan met first lady Jill Biden and former Philadelphia Eagles center Jayson Kelce and his wife Kylie.
Pro Women’s Rugby
Sammy Shines: Glendale’s Sammy Sullivan was a key player in the Olympic games. She led the U.S. women’s rugby team to several victories to begin the Paris Olympics. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) has announced that Denver, along with Boston and Chicago, will be the first cities to host a professional women’s rugby team. Goal is to have 30 players on each team when the inaugural season gets underway in the spring of 2025. The announcement coincides with the U.S. winning its first-ever Olympic medal in Paris. The league hopes to have six to eight teams for its inaugural season. Matthew Payne, director of the Denver Sports Commission — an affiliate of the Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Visit Denver — responded that the Mile High City is thrilled to be a founding city
“Denver has a lot of history in women’s rugby, and recently they’ve had some success with the Women’s Premier League and have won quite a few of the national championships,” said Jessica Hammond-Graf, president of the WER. “And so, we felt like bringing that energy and the continued history of women’s rugby to the area would just really make sense.” WER has the intention to start with 6-8 teams, and then looks to build toward a strategic expansion plan during the next 10 years. The league’s founding players will be announced following a selection in January.
WER is supported financially by private investors, including members of the rugby community, sports-focused venture capital, and former Procter & Gamble executive Deb Henretta. WER is adding to its roster of investors in its current capital round, which is on track to close by years end. WER prides itself in putting founding teams in markets that have a strong foundation and grassroots efforts in both the rugby and women’s sports. Team names and stadium details for all markets will be announced later.
Childs Play: Children from in and around the Denver metro area participate in rugby sports training programs at Infinity Park.
Colorado History
The nation’s first recorded competitive women’s rugby team hails from Colorado. In 1971, both the University of Colorado and Colorado State University were formed and they played their first match in 1972. The first women’s college championships were also held in Colorado.
During 1973 another Colorado team — the Scarlet Harlots — was organized, followed in 1974 by the Denver Blues. By 1974, there were approximately 29 women’s teams in the U.S. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, women’s rugby continued to grow with a majority of those teams adopting the names of colleges and universities.
Until 1990, very few rosters of women’s collegiate rugby teams were entirely undergraduate students of the university; most college teams were made up of graduate students, alumni, and local residents. Then in 2007, following the opening of Infinity Park in Glendale, tournament rugby has been a staple, with the venue hosting some of the largest and most prestigious competitions in the country.