Passion, drive has its rewards

WORCESTER — In high school, Mark Lavigne starred in football and track, but to this day, he will always tell people, “Rugby is the best sport in the world.”

For the Worcester Men’s Rugby Club, as a player and team administrator since the early 1980s, Mr. Lavigne has been a principal driving force for the team and a chief supporter of the Worcester Sports Foundation.

Mr. Lavigne has been named the foundation's 2018 Person of the Year for his many efforts in helping the foundation fulfill its mission and reach its goals.

“I’m very honored,” the 58-year-old Mr. Lavigne said. “It was a pleasant surprise.”

About his praise for rugby, Mr. Lavigne says, “It’s the contact, the brotherhood. It just creates long-lasting friendships.”

Born and raised in Uxbridge until age 12, Mr. Lavigne then moved to the Whitinsville section of Northbridge. He graduated from Northbridge High School in 1977 where he excelled in football and track. He was the captain of the school’s track team his senior year and still holds the school record in pole vault at 11 feet.

Mr. Lavigne went on to the University of Rhode Island where he began playing rugby during his junior year. He also played two seasons of rugby at Framingham State before joining the Worcester Men’s Rugby Club in the spring of 1984.

“I came in the fifth year of the club, but I got to know all the founding fathers,” Mr. Lavigne said. “I went to a recruiting party, and everyone made me feel so welcome.”

On the rugby field, Mr. Lavigne had tremendous success, having made the top squad after four games and keeping his spot until he was 39. As a Worcester rugby standout, he played in the club’s first USA Rugby National Sweet 16 and Final Four appearances in 1998. Following a injury and retirement, he came back to play for the Club’s first side at age 45 and then transitioned to the newly formed Worcester Faded Blacks over-35 squad, where he remained a steady fixture on the field until 2016.

He has been an active administrator for the club and foundation for more than a decade, including managing the foundation’s key relationship with the DCU Center following the untimely passing of Phil Callahan in 2008. Through Lavigne’s efforts, the foundation has raised more than $60,000 during his tenure. Mark was inducted into the Worcester Men’s Rugby Club Hall of Fame in 2009 was named the club’s Ironman Award recipient in 2004 and its Man of the Year in 2013.

Jeff Turgeon, the Worcester Sports Foundation director, credits Mr. Lavigne’s support of the Foundation for a large share of its success.

"Mark has been a passionate and committed volunteer for the foundation,” Mr. Turgeon said. “He has doggedly worked as a volunteer to coordinate our fundraising day in and day out and through the donations he has helped gather has built the footing on which our foundation operates. Without his strong leadership and work, we would simply not be in the position we are today and therefore not able to impact the people we do.”

The Worcester Sports Foundation was incorporated in 2004, and its purpose is the promotion of non-traditional sports in the city of Worcester and Worcester County. The foundation generates support of rugby, hurling and obstacle course racing in the area by pooling the resources of existing organizations including the Worcester Men’s Rugby Club, Worcester Shamrocks Women’s Rugby Club, Worcester Gaelic Athletic Association, youth and high school rugby and the Nor’Easter OCR team.

The foundation sponsors member club activities, coaching clinics and other events that further the development of healthy sports activities for children and adults. All personnel helping the foundation are volunteers and receive no remuneration for their efforts.

All raised money is used to cover program, equipment expenses and the fees required to use the sports facilities in the area.

Donations to The Worcester Sports Foundation are always welcome and are tax-deductible as a federally recognized 501(c)3 organization. For more information, visit Facebook at www.facebook.com/Worcester-Sports-Foundation.