Historic Rugby’s 4th Annual Irish Road Bowling Tournament Launches the Village’s 2025 Season
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Historic Rugby’s 4th Annual Irish Road Bowling Tournament Launches the Village’s 2025 Season
Tournament winners Bryan Taylor and Jason Lavender
RUGBY, Tennessee – A week-long rain delay couldn’t put a damper on Historic Rugby’s 4th annual Irish Road Bowling Tournament. After dangerous storms forced organizers to move the tournament from March 8th to March 15th, participants were rewarded Saturday with perfect weather and sunny skies for the rescheduled event.
About a dozen teams participated in last weekend’s tournament, with players ranging in age from seven to well into their seventies and beyond. Special awards were given to the youngest player, the first-ever dogs to bowl in the tournament (when they say anyone can play, they mean it!), and the team that lost the most balls along the course. Honorary medals were awarded to third-place winners Jacob and Heidi Stabler and Scotty and Melissa Bryant, second-place winners Shaun and Emily Hinds, John Mayer, and Kirk Miles, and first-place winners Bryan Taylor and Jason Lavender.
“We couldn’t have asked for more enthusiastic players,” said organizer Robb Goldwire. “As always, there were a lot of laughs and plenty of new friendships made during the tournament. We’ve found that Irish road bowling players who are new to Historic Rugby tend to keep coming back to the village all year long.”
Tournament attendees also enjoyed live music from Lucas McCoy, Gerald Hanwright, and Annie Motto, as well as fish and chips and corned beef and cabbage from the Harrow Road Canteen, macaroni and cheese and pork sandwiches from the Clear Fork Fire Department, and beer from MoCo Brewery. As an added treat, firefighters let volunteers hold the fire hose themselves during a demonstration beside the new Harrow Road Public House.
The Irish Road Bowling Tournament kicks off Historic Rugby’s season, which runs from mid-March through mid-December each year. During these months every Thursday through Sunday, tours of Rugby’s historic structures and printing press are offered, the Visitor Centre and museum are open, and the Commissary sells arts and crafts, books about the region, and more. Historic Rugby’s art gallery will open in June.
Special events happen often in Rugby, including Irish road bowling, which takes place twice a month from now until mid-October and Rugby’s popular British Festival, happening this year on Mother’s Day weekend, May 10th and 11th. For a full schedule of upcoming events, go to HistoricRugby.org/events.
All proceeds raised at Rugby’s events help support the year-round preservation and educational efforts of nonprofit Historic Rugby.
Rugby, Tennessee was founded in 1880 as a British colony. It’s adjacent to the Big South Fork National Recreation Area and is a 2 1/2 hour drive from Nashville and a little over an hour away from Knoxville. Overnight lodging is available at historicrugby.org. For more information about Historic Rugby, follow us on Instagram and Facebook.