Written by: Jaylin Emond-Hardin | Entertainment Editor
Content Warning: this article contains mentions of domestic violence
In the fall of 2001, while she was president of the Oregon Sports Union, also known fondly as ORSU, Toni Fujiwara started a Women’s+ only collegiate rugby tournament, intending to show the team’s facility and introduce college players to the next level of rugby.
The tournament ran at the beginning of the spring season, with non-rugby games between matchups and awards given to those who embodied the spirit of rugby. The teams had a social afterward, and ORSU connected with the college players to help them with the transition to the club level of play.
This then evolved into the Jesterfest Tournament in 2005, an inheritance from the ORSU collegiate tournament which the club ran in the ’90s and 2000s.
In 2005, the University of Oregon was still a relatively new club, and it was where Lindsay Babb played her collegiate career. She graduated with a sociology degree and continued her rugby career with ORSU. In Babb’s time with ORSU, the team went to their first Sweet 16 in a National tournament in 2006, a number six ranking nationally in 2007 and a membership in the brand new Women’s Premier League in 2009.
“Babb and a few other college players joined ORSU in our epic bus tours to Canada for the Abbotsford Tournament and knew on that trip that ORSU was the club for them,” Fujiwara said. “Babb was such a bright light, both on and off the field. She was a tenacious competitor and the best of teammates.” Fujiwara credited Babb as a major part of creating the vibrant culture at ORSU.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck June 22, 2010. Babb was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in an extreme act of domestic violence the morning after she broke up with him. Five days later, Babb’s killer was charged with domestic violence murder. “Even in the end, Lindsay didn’t think her life was in danger,” said Mike Babb, Lindsay Babb’s father, at the sentencing.
That year, the rugby community across the entire nation came together in memory of Babb. For the 2010-2011 season, almost every team in the Womens’ Premier League wore a unicorn — ORSU’s mascot — on their sleeve to honor Babb. “It was a reminder that our community is so strong and truly has each other’s back, through thick and thin,” Fujiwara said.
In 2011, the club renamed Jesterfest to Babbfest, keeping Babb’s memory and impact alive. It’s not about winning the tournament, but instead bringing the rugby community together for a day full of joy.
The tournament features speakers and sessions from Raphael House of Portland — Portland’s shelter for survivors of domestic violence — and Rose City Self-Defense, where Fujiwara works as the Youth Coordinator. Part of the proceeds from Babbfest are donated to Raphael House in continued support of survivors of domestic violence.
“When we talk about (being) prepared to defend ourselves in the line of work I do, I always remember that you can be the most prepared, you can know how to defend yourself, you can be the toughest of tough people and the reality is it can happen to anyone,” Fujiwara said.
Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu
