UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION
January, 2005
10th Annual Alamo City Andy Beck
Classic
By Barry Muth
The 10th Annual Alamo City Andy Beck Classic was held in San Antonio, Texas November 19th to the 21st. BlazeSports Clubs San Antonio and the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department did an outstanding job hosting the tournament. The San Antonio sub-chapter of the Texas Paralyzed Veterans Association also sponsored the weekend.
Teams from all sections of the USQRA were represented in San Antonio the weekend before Thanksgiving. The DI teams included the Phoenix Heat, Lakeshore Demolition, and the Texas Longhorns (a bare boned 6.5 Stampede crew). The DII teams included the San Antonio Ruff Ryders, U of A Wildchairs, Pasadena Texans I and Texans II – a new group of players with some of Dallas’ players. These seven teams set the stage for “Round Robin Raucous.” The Longhorns would surely play iron man rugby this weekend.
Friday’s and Saturday’s games were held at two gymnasiums, Copernicus and South Side Lions Community Centers. The starting two games were Mountain sectional battles – the Ruff Ryders banging with the Longhorns (31–20) and the Heat scorching the Texans II (35-15). There was nothing unusual in the outcome of the games in the morning. The Longhorns would play back to back against Texans I (12-29). Texans II would do the same against the Wheelchairs and would suffer the same result (15-39). The afternoon games would have no upsets starting with the Lakeshore playing in their methodical manner, beating the Ruff Ryders (38-31). On the other court, the Heat handed the Wheelchairs their first loss of the tournament (54-35). The first day of games ended with Lakeshore handing Texans I their first loss (47-36) and the Longhorns got into the winning column by beating Texans II (35-22).
Saturday would have one surprise game, but things started off as expected. The Ruff Ryders got off moving in the right direction by handing their in state rivals Texans I their first loss of the day (40-30). Meanwhile, Lakeshore continued its winning ways by handing the Wheelchairs their second loss for the tournament (42-30). The Ruff Ryders would stay on the court to beat its second Pasadena team, Texans II, in the second morning game (33-16). The Heat would warm-up for their early afternoon game, beating Texans I (45-29). The afternoon raucous started out as expected at Copernicus, where the Wheelchairs defeated the Longhorns (36-24). However, the surprise of the tournament was taking place at South Side Lions where the Heat overpowered Lakeshore (48-34). The afternoon would return to normal for the last four games. The Ruff Ryders handed the Wheelchair a loss (42-35) and the Pasadena teams squared off – Texans I beating Texans II (34-24). The day finished with the Heat beating the Longhorns (37-19) and Lakeshore rebounded from their earlier game handling Texans II (44-19).
Sunday would see three hard fought games. The first game set the tone for the day. Texans I kept it tie through the first quarter. But the Wheelchairs outplayed them the next three, beating them (40-32). The next game saw Lakeshore beating the Longhorns (36-20). And the last game of the weekend saw the Heat hand the Ruff Ryders their second loss for the tournament (51-20). The final outcome was Heat, Lakeshore and the Ruff Ryders. The highlight on Sunday was that Ms. Robin Laval, Andy Beck’s step-daughter, presented the Andy Beck Award to Shawn Meredith from the Longhorns. Well deserved Shawn! The weekend was filled with tough competition that tested everyone’s endurance and stamina. Everyone also managed to rest and relax on the River Walk at the end of the day.
Many thanks go to Tina Tholl, Tournament Director, and her outstanding Parks and Recreation and BlazeSports staff and volunteers. They are great hosts, with Karen, Aurora and Brenda serving home cooked food at both gymnasium locations and Robert providing transportation for the tournament and the River Walk. We look forward to next year’s Andy Beck Classic and hope to see you here, November 18 – 20, 2005.
How to Contact us | Quad Rugby Central Index
Home Page | Rugby Calendar | Sports Page | Score Board | USQRA Zone | Files