Club Argentino hosts Anahí Menna de Vila national youth rugby tournament
Club Argentino hosts the twentieth Anahí Menna de Vila national youth rugby tournament
Players and coaches from across the region are gathering in Bahía Blanca this weekend as the club Argentino hosts the twentieth edition of the Anahí Menna de Vila national children’s rugby tournament, lanueva.com reported. The milestone event runs Saturday and Sunday at the Country grounds, bringing together boys and girls aged 6 to 14 from the Unión de Rugby del Sur alongside visiting delegations from Buenos Aires, Puerto Madryn, Rawson, and Pinamar.
The tournament began in 2006 with modest participation from just the Monte Grande club of Buenos Aires and local sides. Over two decades, it has grown into one of the largest youth rugby gatherings remaining in Patagonia, drawing nearly 50 participating clubs throughout its history.
Legacy and family coordination mark the milestone event
Marcelo Gigante, who previously worked in the institution’s youth development and coached junior categories while coordinating the event, noted the core philosophy of the gathering. “The rugby in this sport is the essence, it is purity taken to the extreme, because it is the stage where kids approach playing rugby, socialize, and begin to incorporate the values that this sport has,” Gigante stated.
The tournament honors Anahí Menna de Vila, who supported formative rugby during the 1990s and early 2000s by assisting with travel, organizing activities, and working alongside the field in a role similar to a modern team manager. Her involvement began when her youngest son, Bautista, joined the club’s M-14 side in 2006, extending across roughly sixteen years of active participation as her other sons also played.
Today, her eldest son, Tomás Vila, serves as the club’s youth rugby coordinator, preserving the family’s organizational role. “Surely, as I wrote once somewhere, she will be supervising everything, like when she was among us. And scolding us if something was not well done,” Tomás Vila said. “I will look at the sky waiting for her approval, because it is what I feel.”
Schedule and community activities for visiting delegations
The weekend schedule opens with a Friday night reception and welcome dinner for visiting teams, including clubs such as Curupaytí from Buenos Aires, Madryn RC from Puerto Madryn, Bigornia from Rawson, and Camarones from Pinamar. Athletic competition commences Saturday morning at 10 on the Country grounds, followed by a second full day of matches on Sunday.
Organizers have also arranged the “Patio Azul” near the clubhouse as a dedicated family space featuring food trucks and a live musical performance scheduled for Saturday evening.
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