Meet USA Women鈥檚 Rugby Team members, Downingtown East alumni Carly Waters and Elizabeth Cairns
EXTON, Pa. — Get to know Carly Waters, age 26, and Elizabeth 鈥淏itsy鈥� Cairns, 29. Both women are alumni of Downingtown East and the Downingtown Rugby Football Club (DRFC). In September, they earned two of the thirty-two spots on the USA Women鈥檚 Rugby Team roster to play in World Cup held in New Zealand in October, an exciting sports achievement for our area.
Bitsy and Carly started their rugby career in high school as members of DRFC. Even though Bitsy鈥檚 older sisters played the sport, she resisted at first, but never looked back once she experienced the fun of the game and camaraderie among all players and teams at every age and level. Carly, a soccer player at the time, was encouraged by DRFC players to try it during her off-season. She also loved the community feel of the sport and found building on her skill level addicting. During her time playing while at Downingtown East, Bitsy was one of her captains. DRFC gave the girls early opportunities to travel and play internationally as teenagers in Ireland, England and Wales.聽 After their respective graduations, Bitsy and Carly advanced to play for Penn State, one of the most successful women鈥檚 rugby squads who won six straight national titles from 2012 to 2017 and a 12 total national championships as of this summer.
Both athletes were compelled to elevate their level of competitive play and made it a goal to participate on the U.S. national level. Even though rugby is a center-stage worldwide, it does not get the attention, support, or financial backing as other American sports, such as football, baseball, and basketball. Playing for premier clubs is a requirement to succeed at this goal, which required Bitsy and Carly to move numerous times domestically and internationally to achieve the ability to perform at high level of competition. While living and playing in Spain, Italy, France, England and Wales have been wonderful opportunities, often they cannot get work visas, which has stalled their careers and caused them to forfeit a stable income. These sacrifices are indicators of their perseverance and dedication to the sport. Both women and their teammates know they are paving the way for generations of female rugby players. They want these women to gain the same resources that are baseline for all professional athletes. Their hope is the strides they are making persuades the World Rugby, the governing body for all rugby programs, to make a stand and back their women programs with the equal funding as the men. This common goal among all female players is one of the reasons why it is common to see members from both teams interact by hugging and congratulating each other with respect after each game.
For Bitsy and Carly, it鈥檚 been an intense, thrilling experience representing the United States at the World Cup made even more special after being devastated by the cancellation of the tournament in 2021. Their accomplishment is also a reflection on the DRFC program and its founder, Mike Drill, a math teacher at Downingtown Middle School. He voluntarily coached the boys with other DASD teachers and volunteers, Matt Dziunycz and Rich Bailey, coaching the women鈥檚 team during Bitsy and Carly鈥檚 time at DEHS.聽 Along with Bitsy, Carly, and the years of dedicated players, all have made DRFC an exceptional standout athletic program for our community.
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