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This ‘Press Release / Community Information' is being sent to you as a collaborative effort by San Mateo Police Activities League and The Public Information Office of the San Mateo Police Department. We at the SMPD take pride in alerting our community partners about activities and current events relevant to neighborhood incidents.


PRESS RELEASE – COMMUNITY ALERT
CITY of SAN MATEO POLICE DEPARTMENT
200 Franklin Parkway, San Mateo, CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
San Mateo Police Activities League
www.sanmateopal.org



SAN MATEO POLICE ACTIVITIES LEAGUE RUGBY START 2011 SEASON RANKED 3RD IN NATION
Rugby Boys Have Overcome Challenges to Compete on a National Level


February 18th, 2011 –

We at SMPD just wanted you all to share some amazing news: Our City of San Mateo PAL Boys Rugby team has just been ranked third in the nation in the “Under 19 category” in the newly released 2011 National Rugby Magazine. Considering that most of these boys were at-risk or otherwise challenged when brought into the PAL program several years ago, and that our staff is composed of community-oriented volunteers - it is particularly noteworthy. Comparatively, the top two nationally ranked teams have paid coaches and trainers, and recruit nationally and internationally to fortify their perennially nationally ranked teams.

With thanks to PAL and Officer Keanaaina and many community supporters, these boys have turned their lives around. They do NOT get to play on our team until they renounce gangs and delinquency, get back in school and maintain good grades, and commit to tutoring and mentoring with our PAL coaches. We are now providing scholarships for these youth to attend college, and some of our PAL Rugby youth have been recruited to play for established college rugby programs.

The PAL Rugby Program has also repeatedly had players selected for the All Star USA Rugby team, which is a hand selected team of youths from across the nation to represent the US and play rugby against teams from other countries. This year, we have had two youths selected for the All Star USA Rugby team and they will travel to South Africa this summer to play against their national team. What a difference in a young person’s life!

Congrats to Officer Keanaaina and the volunteer coaches for continuing to break the barriers and of course the PAL Board for your continued support of our kids!!!!

To learn more about the San Mateo Police Activities League and how you can support our youth, call 650-522-7725 or visit www.sanmateopal.org



MAGAZINE ARTICLE (note we are a U-19 team and not a high school team because we have players from different high schools):
http://www.rugbymag.com/magazine/current-issue/rugby-magazine-winter-2011-reprint-high-school-and-u19-top-20s.aspx

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