Sixty Years Strong: Seattle Rugby Club Celebrates Its Past, Funds Its Future

On the evening of May 30, 2026, Seattle Rugby Club filled the Washington Athletic Club with something that has defined this organization for six decades: people who showed up. Players, coaches, families, alumni, partners, and supporters — spanning three generations and three distinct rugby organizations — came together to mark a milestone that few clubs in American sport ever reach. Sixty years of rugby in Seattle. And by the end of the night, they had raised $150,000 to make sure the next sixty are even stronger.

Three Clubs, One Story

To understand Seattle Rugby Club today, you have to understand where it came from. The club was founded in 1966, but its story is not the story of one organization — it is the story of three. Over the decades, Seattle RFC grew alongside Old Puget Sound Beach, founded in 1971, and the Puget Sound Breakers, founded in 1980. Each club built its own identity, produced its own champions, and cultivated its own generations of loyal players and families. And through mergers, evolutions, and the kind of fierce commitment that only rugby people truly understand, those three organizations became one.

The combined record speaks for itself: nine 7s National Championships, two 15s National Championships, a founding role in the Rugby Super League, a hand in shaping Major League Rugby as it exists today, and a pipeline of USA Eagles that stretches across decades. Saturday night was a celebration of all of it — every jersey worn, every championship contested, every player who ever called one of these three clubs home.

A President's Perspective

Club President Kevin Flynn has seen a lot of Seattle Rugby Club's history firsthand. In his remarks to guests on Saturday, Flynn reflected on 28 years of watching this club evolve — through different iterations, different challenges, and different eras of leadership. His message was clear: the club has never been more powerful or more cohesive than it is right now.

Flynn spoke with conviction about what comes next. His vision is not simply to maintain what the club has built — it is to make Seattle Rugby Club a foundational institution in rugby across the Pacific Northwest. Not a club that competes at the top level and occasionally punches above its weight, but one that is permanently woven into the fabric of how rugby grows, develops, and sustains itself in this region. Saturday night was a declaration of that intent.

Honoring the People Behind the Club

No celebration of Seattle Rugby Club would be complete without honoring the people who make it run — not the ones who score the tries, but the ones Flynn's club motto was built to recognize. TSPDS. The Stuff People Don't See.

The Club Challenge Coin — the most coveted recognition Seattle Rugby Club bestows — was presented to this year's newest recipients, joining a roster of 36 individuals whose names are now permanently part of the club's history. These are the members whose relentless preparation, quiet sacrifice, and behind-the-scenes commitment have made this club what it is. The kind of contributions that rarely make headlines but define a club's character over sixty years.

Introducing the Heritage Club

One of the most significant moments of the evening was the formal launch of the Heritage Club — Seattle Rugby Club's new major giving program, and the clearest expression yet of where the club is headed.

The premise is straightforward: just 100 members contributing $500 per year generates $50,000 annually, covering one-third of the club's total operating expenses. But the Heritage Club is about more than a number. It is about creating the kind of sustainable, recurring support that allows a self-funded club to plan, invest, and grow — rather than scrambling to cover costs one season at a time.

The founding members of the Heritage Club were honored on Saturday night: David Bruck, Chris and Julie Prentice, and Dick Smith as Benefactors; Jerry and Vic Penington and the Martyn Foundation as Stewards; and Peter Buckley as Patron. Each of these individuals and organizations was recognized not just for what they gave on Saturday, but for decades of investment in Seattle Rugby Club, Old Puget Sound Beach, and the Puget Sound Breakers. They are the foundation on which the Heritage Club now stands.

Membership supports player and coach development, world-class facilities and infrastructure, youth and community growth, and national competitive excellence. For anyone who has ever believed in what this club stands for, it is the most direct way to make sure it continues.

The Auction

The live auction brought some of the night's most electric energy, with the room responding generously to a series of unique lots that reflected the character and community of the club. The paddle raise that followed drove the total higher still, with guests digging deep in a room that clearly understood what the money was for. The results exceeded expectations and played a significant role in reaching the night's $150,000 goal.

Keynote: Oli Kilifi, USA Eagle

The emotional heart of the evening belonged to Oli Kilifi. A USA Eagle and Seattle Rugby Club Challenge Coin recipient, Kilifi took the stage and spoke honestly about where he came from — his childhood, his upbringing, and the circumstances that rugby walked him out of. He talked about what the game gave him: structure, belonging, purpose, and a trajectory he might never have found otherwise. Rugby, he made clear, did not just give him a sport. It changed his life.

In a room full of people who have dedicated years to building and sustaining this club, Kilifi's words landed with particular weight. They were a reminder of why the work matters beyond the scoreboard — and why every dollar raised, every volunteer hour contributed, and every young player welcomed into the club is an investment in something real.

Where the $150,000 Goes

The $150,000 raised on Saturday night has a clear and immediate purpose. A core portion goes directly to club operations: travel expenses for teams competing at the national level, training facility costs, coaching and operations, and medical support for players. These are the essential, unglamorous costs that keep a self-funded club competing at the Division I level year after year.

A dedicated portion will go toward launching the Rugby Growth and Sustainability Program — the club's most ambitious investment in the region's rugby future to date. The program is designed to fund a Head of Rugby position focused on increasing youth and adult participation across the Pacific Northwest, strengthening regional rugby infrastructure, building strategic partnerships, and generating the kind of sustainable revenue that reduces the club's dependence on one-time fundraising events. It is the infrastructure behind Flynn's vision — the mechanism that turns ambition into a lasting institution.

The Next Sixty Years

Sixty years is a milestone. But no one in the Washington Athletic Club on Saturday night was looking backward for long. The Heritage Club is launched. The Growth Program is funded. A community of several hundred people just proved — again — that they will show up when it matters.

Seattle Rugby Club enters its seventh decade with more resources, more cohesion, and more purpose than at any point in its history. The best chapters, as the program said, are still ahead.

To join the Heritage Club or support the club's mission, visit seattle.rugby/heritage-club.

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