By Amanda Kennedy
Bryn Mawr senior Becky Findlay was not always a rugby player, but there was no turning back once she began playing on the pitch.
Findlay rowed crew her freshman year. Her enthusiasm for the sport never waned, but her "time management skills and sleeping schedule just did not line up with it,” she said.
She decided to give rugby a chance during the spring of her sophomore year, and playing in the first game of the season brought about a realization that she had made an excellent decision. Her uncertainty on the pitch was overshadowed by enthusiasm and pure fun.
“I went out there, and I had no idea what I was doing. I was doing everything completely wrong,” she said. “But I told everyone who would listen, ‘This is the most amazing game ever!’”
As a member of the second row, Findlay plays more defensively in the lock position. Her height gives her an advantage as she pushes to sustain the front row and hold the scrum together.
The lock position forces Becky to come in incredibly close contact with her teammates.
“To be candid, I stick my head between the prop and the hooker’s legs…and I drive [and push forward],” she said. “I support a hooker, basically.”
Calling herself one of the “bruisers” on the team, Findlay has had her share of injuries. Besides plenty of bruises, she also suffered a serious concussion last fall after becoming a starter on the team. A triad of hits during a game led to the concussion, and she had to deal with the side effects for two weeks.
Findlay dons a mouth guard and scrum cap for protection. Conscientious of her team, Findlay is not solely concerned for her own safety.
“With my position, I want to make sure that I can keep as many people safe as I can,” she said. “And the way that I do that, the way that I am there for my teammates is to get quickly to the ball, to go to all of the scrums as quickly as I can and to play 100% all of the time.”
The close-knit nature of the team has heightened Findlay’s positive experience with the Horned Toads. Besides “secretive and silly” customs known to the rugby team, Findlay looks forward to Hell Week festivities. Traditions during Hell Week underscore team bonding as new players are “helled” not only by a personal Heller but also by the rugby team.
Interestingly enough, Findlay had hoped to find an institution rife with traditions as she embarked on a college search in high school. At a college fair, Findlay approached a Bryn Mawr alum and sparked a conversation about the specifics of the college. Looking for more than just a strong linguistics program and Latin department, Findlay told the alum, “This may sound kind of silly, but I really want a school with a lot of…traditions.”
Did she ever find the right place.
“What traditions usually mean is that the community is dedicated to bonding and becoming a community and growing together in a positive way,” Findlay said.
Within this community, Findlay finds comfort in the fact that women of different years can interact without intimidation. This is especially evident as she is a Hall Advisor on Brecon Third. Hall mates are usually found hanging out in the hallway and having fun together.
A linguistics major, Findlay is currently entrenched in thesis-writing.
In the spring, Findlay will also find herself in the director’s chair as she will oversee the staging of “Much Ado About Nothing” for the Shakespeare’s Performance Troupe. The arts are dear to her heart, and she is raising awareness on campus for them as one of two arts cooperative co-coordinators.
After graduation, teaching is on the agenda for Findlay.
“Ideally, my top choice is Teach for America,” she said.
As a caring person who looks out for both her teammates and her hall mates, this career seems like the perfect fit.
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