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PROVO, Utah (AP) -- BYU students competing in a national rugby tournament say they won't play on Sunday -- no matter what's at stake.
The Women's Cougar Rugby Club plays Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday in the USA Rugby collegiate tournament with a chance to advance to the quarterfinals, which are scheduled for Sunday in Samford, Fla. But BYU has a long-standing rule against teams playing on Sunday.
"It wasn't even a question on whether or not we were going to play. We immediately knew we wouldn't play on Sunday," team captain Kirsten Siebach said Friday. "Even though technically we could have, our personal standard is such that we won't do it."
The club is not sponsored by the LDS Church-owned school, therefore it's not required to abide by the Sunday competition rule. But the players are all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and felt they should forfeit rather than play.
Members of the LDS faith believe Sunday is a day for church and family activities.
Coach Tom Waqa said the Cougars suggested alternatives that would allow the club -- if it advances -- to continue playing without compromising the players' religious beliefs. He said as of Friday afternoon nobody had come up with a solution and he wasn't expecting a last-minute reprieve.
BYU is in the middle of finals and all the teams have already booked the flights to and from Florida, so staying and playing Monday wasn't an option. Playing twice on Saturday was also considered, but two full games in one day raised safety concerns.
"If that happens we'll forfeit the game and just walk away on Sunday," Waqa said. "It's disappointing for our players to come this far to the playoffs and then not participate any further."
USA Rugby is not the first organization to run into the scheduling conflict of having BYU in a tournament that includes Sunday play. The NCAA tournament committee had to come up with an alternate plan in 2003 after placing BYU in a regional that would have included a Sunday game if BYU had advanced past the round of 16. The Cougars would have switched to a different bracket, but the problem was avoided when BYU lost to Connecticut in the opening round.
The NBA usually does not schedule the Utah Jazz to play at home on Sundays because of the state's large LDS population, but it does happen every now and then. The Jazz will host the Denver Nuggets on April 25 in Game 4 of the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Siebach said the players took a vote after learning the schedule and decided unanimously not to play on a Sunday.
"We are all members of the Church," she said. "It was just a personal belief for all of us."
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
