On Tuesday, the Saranac Lake-based Mountaineers Rugby Football Club, which hosts the tournament, was practicing for the upcoming event at the Spencer Boatworks field.

This year, it will place three teams in the event — all in the younger divisions, as they won’t have an Old Boys team.

“We’ve got a men’s club and a men’s social,” said Adirondack Rugby, Inc. President Libby Clark, who will be playing for the Mountaineers. “We have had a premier team in the past, not this year. And we do a women’s social team.”

The Mountaineers will be among the 100 teams in this tournment spanning across 11 divisions, according to Clark. While last year there were 113 teams — partly because it was the half-century anniversary — 100 teams is typical for this event. However, they are down some northern teams.

Mountaineers Rugby player Kevin Morgan, right, makes a pass to a teammate during a practice at Spencer Boatworks on Tuesday. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

“We are sadly missing some Canadian friends,” Clark said. “So, that’s definitely a loss for us, but we still have a lot of teams that are coming back year after year.”

The Can-Am Rugby tournament, which started in 1974, will kick off on Friday and hold championship games on Sunday. Games will be in Saranac Lake at Schroeter’s Field, Petrova fields, the Saranac Lake High School practice field and in Lake Placid at the North Elba Athletic Fields.

As the Mountaineers are gearing up for another tournament, most of their players are once again returning, having competed for many years. Clark herself has been playing rugby for about 20 years now.

“I started on the youth team that we had in Saranac Lake when I was 16, still playing with one of my best friends, Katie Alexanian, formerly Morgan,” she said. “So moving back here, it’s been really fun to pick it back up and be a part of planning the tournament and working with the board.”

Clark said what makes rugby so special to her is the camaraderie, especially within the Saranac Lake community, that comes with it.

Can-Am Rugby players battle for possession of the ball on a line-out play during the tournament in Saranac Lake on July 28, 2024. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

“We wouldn’t be anything without the people that are here tonight playing rugby with us. So it’s definitely, for me, really inspiring and an important thing to be a part of, which is why I love it. As the president of Adirondack Rugby Inc., which oversees the tournament, that’s been a really proud moment to be a part of it. Having been younger playing, as a teenager, playing in college and now playing as a 35-year-old and doing this, has really seemed like the wave of generations.”

Saranac Lake native Jacob Heverly has been with the Mountaineers for about five years now. He first started playing rugby in high school, but left the sport while in college. But since returning, and eventually joining the Mountaineers he said it’s been nice to watch everything grow.

“You see the same faces gonna come back year after year,” he said. “And it’s just in a good community where I think it’s important for this area, because a lot of people come that are new. Then they might not have a friend group, but they can find a great friend group through rugby and just meet new people.”

While Heverly won’t play in this weekend’s tournament, he’s been practicing with the team and taking part in that camaraderie. He described the Mountaineers as kind of a “hodgepodge.”

“Being in a small town, you don’t have all the numbers throughout the year to have a full team for both men’s and women’s,” he said. “But once Can-Am comes, you know, all these guys’ buddies from school who they played with throughout their years come back for the tournament.”

The sense of a tight-knit bond and community extends to the other teams in the Can-Am tournament. Clark noted that this tournament is very generational, as well as there are a lot of families coming up and repeat players.

“People tend to spend more than just the tournament days up here,” Clark said. “They come up here to enjoy where we get to live every single day. They go on a vacation. So a lot of them are staying in local hotels, Airbnbs and things like that. They get to come up here with their families, enjoy the water, do other things in rugby. It’s really kind of fun to see and hear their stories. You can hear a lot of different memories from all the people that come up here.”

While the tournament is relatively the same from the previous years, one big change is that there will be an Old Girls Women’s Over-35 division.

“That’s something we’ve never had before,” Clark said. “We’ve had like, an over-35 women’s one-off team, which is loosely put together. But this year, we’re really excited to have a division where we’ve got multiple teams playing.”

Clark said there are a few Mountaineer women who could compete in that age group, but they don’t have enough players just yet. Both she and Alexanian noted that it is super exciting for the tournament to add an Old Girls division.

“Especially with all of women’s rugby getting a really special moment right now this year with USA women getting bronze at the Olympics,” Clark said. “And Ilona Maher is a huge inspiration for so many people and women rugby players, too. It’s been really exciting to kind of celebrate that at this year’s tournament.”

With the event set to kick off on Friday, tournament director Cameron Moody, who has been involved with this event for well over a decade, won’t be able to attend this year. Moody is currently deployed with the National Guard overseas.

“But the work that he’s done to help plan this year has been really valuable and we couldn’t do it without him,” Clark said. “He’s doing it all from afar at 4:30 in the morning or earlier. It’s really amazing. His dedication to this, you know, in our community.”

Along with the typical action, there will also be two days of wheelchair rugby hosted at the Saranac Lake Civic Center and outside of the games, there will be the third annual Can-Am carnival in Riverside Park in Saranac Lake. The carnival will run from 1 to 8 p.m. on July 25, 2 to 8 p.m. on July 26 and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on July 27.

Clark said a big reason this tournament has lasted 51 years is because of the community. She credited the North Country Sports Council among the many other groups who have helped out.

“Everyone’s been really supportive, so we really appreciate that,” she said. “We know how much of an impact it makes on our communities and we love the support that we get, whether it’s from the village or Harrietstown or Franklin County and just individuals that are really enjoy the rugby weekend. We call it rugby Christmas. A lot of people do, so for us, it’s pretty special. And it’s just a great time.”

For the game schedules and results, visit canamrugby.com.