By: Lenni Ferreira

Coming off a very successful fall season, Severn River's women's side, the Honey Badgers, have been keeping busy through the winter. With fun events, touch 7s, and winter workouts, the squad is keeping minds and bodies occupied, as to not let the rugby withdrawal set in.

The Honey Badgers have partnered with Grounded CrossFit in Hanover again this winter to ensure everyone stays in good shape for spring. Grounded has a beautiful facility, and when paired with two team captains that both have personal training backgrounds, the perfect Saturday workouts are the result. The music is blasting, the weights are moved, and the Honey Badgers are sweating. Winter workouts will come to a close at the end of February as Saturdays will again be filled with rugby games!

The winter workouts have mostly been attended by the women’s side with a few special guests from the men’s team, but you can find a true mix of club members at 7s. Playing outside on Saturdays at Kinder Park or the Legion, and on Wednesday nights at an indoor facility, Severn River ruggers have been getting together for fun and fitness to play touch 7s. During the competitive season, the women's and the men’s sides don't do a lot of on-field collaboration, but touch 7s offers the opportunity to play with a bigger, fresh pool of players; the club has partnered with Annapolis Social for indoor 7s. Getting fresh blood familiar with the game of rugby and staying warm from the chilly weather has been keeping the winter blues at bay.

The Honey Badgers have been well-represented at Capital Selects this winter, as well! One of the camps was closer to home this year, and had a great turn out. A few of the Badgers traveled down to Raleigh to play with Capital Selects and further their skills. A huge shout out to Scrappy, Taylor, Maddie, Tina, Caroline, Lindsay, and Tanya! The whole club is so proud of you all!

All of this hard work and fun is leading into a big season for the Honey Badgers. Having only lost 8-5 in the quarterfinal of Nationals last season, this squad continues to have their eyes on the prize. The season is packed with league games, challenging D1 friendlies, and plenty of B-side opportunities to develop new players' skills and confidence in the game. This season features many home games, so the Badgers are hoping for some good home crowd turnouts to propel them toward their goal of another trip to Nationals.

The Spring season will be packed with so much fun, but no doubt, a lot of hard work. Looking forward, past all of the hard games and late practices, the Honey Badgers have a thrilling experience on the horizon- its first international tour. The men’s team has gone abroad before, but this will be a first for the women's side. For 10 days in August, over 20 players will be flying out to Ireland to play rugby and explore a new country. This is not an opportunity many women’s teams get, and none of the Badgers are taking it for granted. Everyone is grateful for the robust numbers at practices and the support of an incredible club. The community and Severn River ruggers past and present should keep an eye out for fundraisers to throw a few bucks towards an unforgettable trip!