The Jerusalem Lionesses Rugby Club offers an alternative to all stereotypes about life in Israel. An optimistic conversation with player and team manager Shilat Vloch

(Ronen Dorfan)

Shilat hi, so give us a short cv

Okay, I’m 24 years old, left university, contemplating my life direction, working at customer service for Wolt. I have 7 siblings and 14 nephews and nieces, originally from Bet El.

Oh…. a settler?

“Absolutely. Settler, religious, I play rugby in a skirt.”

How did a settler girl become a rugger?

“Five years ago I was in my second year of national service in Jerusalem. My brother-in-law and sister live there, and he always looks for cool activities. So they tried rugby a few times and one Saturday they were at our place and told us how great it was. So I went along and was amazed, really.”

What sport were you doing before?

“Me?? Sport? Nothing! Couch potato. Hates sports. Hates the gym.”

So from no sport you jump into one of the toughest games – how so?

“Maybe it was the right moment in life. I found camaraderie at the club. Women from different backgrounds. Completely different from the world I grew up in.”

You mean politically different?

“Politically too, but also from every other perspective. There were women in their thirties. Totally not religious. Lesbian girls and feminist girls. I had no connection with the LGBT community before. The previous-previous manager, Lior, initiated a really nice project of dialogue between Jewish and Arab women. And I’m this cute, religious girl from the National Service.”

So what made you relate to them?

“In my own world I’m also a feminist. I like a place where women are strong. Not submissive. No one tells them to be careful about anything.”

And how did the girls receive you? You emerged from somewhere totally different

“In the most amazing welcoming way! See, I don’t have any other friends that I would meet twice a week. I probably see my teammates more than anyone else. And in all these years, I’ve never heard a word about my background or anything like that. They welcome me in everything. If at the end of a tournament we need to quickly organize to leave so I can make it for Shabbat, they speed up to make it happen. Even if I myself was initially hesitant to ask for it, they came and told me that I need to make it for Shabbat. And they will do anything required for me to make it.”

And really you knew nothing of rugby? Like that New Zealand are good at it or about women’s rugby… something

“I told you, I knew nothing! Not about rugby and not about sports. I didn’t know even what you are supposed to do. Now I know more. We watched for example games in the recent World Cup (for men). It was very exciting because I play and I could relate. I watch more women’s games. It’s very exciting to see our national team, even if they are not at a world-class level.”

Are you interested in representing Israel?

“From the moment I understood that it conflicts with Shabbat, I realized it’s not realistic.”

You know, our ‘Haredi’ marathon runner Beatie Deutsch campaigns to reschedule marathons at major events

“Yeah, I heard about her. I’m not a political person to get into these wars.”

It never occurred that you had to compromise Shabbat?

“Once I drove back myself to make it in time for Shabbat. My friends were with me in the car. Let’s just say they won’t forget the experience.”

Any other Shabbat observing teammates?

“Yes. At first, there was only me and now there are a few others. Elisheva, Aviva, Ester, Maya, Malka – some of them are ‘HAREDI’ – also not from my world.”

Haredi girls in rugby – you are destroying stereotypes with every step!

“Elisheva and Aviva are ‘Haredi’. Maya and Malka are American Orthodox, so it’s different. Malka and Ester are Baalot Tshuva.”

Any Arab girls on the team?

“Unfortunately not at the moment. I tried to approach some who were running track in Givat Ram, but those who came didn’t take to it. On the men’s team there are some great Arab guys.”

In your surroundings people must thing you’re insane

“My family is very open minded. The surroundings? They know i’m crazy.”

Tell us a bit about the Jerusalem Lionesses 

“Alright, I think we are the first women’s rugby club in the country. Many pioneers of the sport – Michal Trabulus, Roni Kipnis, Liat Geller – all started with Jerusalem. I’ve been at the club for five years. Currently, I manage the women’s team and on the field I’m number 9 (scrum-half). They shift me around from 9 to wing. I love the wing position, but they also need me in midfield.”

What is management about? Laundry?

“To make sure someone else does the laundry! To coordinate playing fields, cars, practices. To print promotional flyers. To know who is coming to each activity.”

Who is the coach?

“King Dima! (Dmitri Skobelev). He comes up from Ashkelon. we train with the guys on Mondays and girls only on Wednesdays.”

Why King?

“Crazy about him! Has this Russian facade. Always totally calm.”

You know, Russian coaches… another stereotype is that they’ll tear you up

“You have no idea how right you are.”

Example please

“Let’s say we run three full laps of the outside stadium, including stairs. We finish breathless but satisfied. Then he quietly says, very calmly, ‘now three more!'”

Challenging your mental barriers?

“Totally. All in on fitness”

More stereotypes… likes it’s super cool for a guy to have an athlete girlfriend…. until she’s seen with him with a blue eye…

“Ha. We laugh about it. It definitely happens. A blue eye is no big deal. We just explain it’s rugby.”

So your base is Jerusalem, international city, that should help you in recruitment

“All the time. It’s one of the cool things. Girls come from exchange programs, sometimes from strange places with strange stories.”

Give us a strange story

“A girl from Germany, Marie, came to us. I have a picture from her birthday. She proudly told us that she’s from a rural area and has a lumber-jacking license to chop wood. We said, ‘What’s the big deal? You need a license to chop wood? We just take a saw and cut!’ But no, in Germany it’s a thing. And she has one.”

Strange places?

“For example, there were several Chinese girls on the team last year. They spoke excellent English. I recently spoke with one of them. I saw a recipe online in Chinese, so she translated it for me. There was someone from Brazil a few years ago, Amanda. She came back after a few years to visit us with her husband and participated in a training session. It was very emotional.”

You had a tough first tournament?

“Tough? you mean scores?”

Yes, you know, sports… you have winners and losers. 

“Yeah, we know. Jerusalem’s always scraping the bottom. It’s been like this since I arrived. I have a different approach. I’m a competitive person but I come for the fun. Conceding a try is frustrating, but I won’t go home and say ‘damn…I lost.’ I’ll say it was fun. Don’t get me wrong, we’re doing everything to improve, and we will improve – but it’s first of all for the fun.”

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Jerusalem (or surrounding) woman – become a Lioness!

We train Mondays and Wednesdays at Givat Ram. 20.00.

No experience needed.

Come open minded – we are waiting for you!

Contact Shilat +972545254319

Take a look at our facebook or instagram pages:

https://www.facebook.com/jerusalemRugby/

https://instagram.com/rugby_jlm_lionesses?utm_medium=copy_link