2022 -- S 2018

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING DEEPEST CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF KATHLEEN "KATHY"

FLORES

     Introduced By: Senator Tiara T. Mack

     Date Introduced: January 11, 2022

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, It is with immense sadness that this Senate has learned of the passing of

Kathy Flores, a trailblazing and legendary American rugby player and coach, a pioneer in the

sport of American women’s rugby, and a fierce advocate for women’s equality in rugby and all

sports; and

     WHEREAS, Kathy Flores was born in Philadelphia, and called Tallahassee, Florida, her

hometown. She attended Monmouth Regional High School in New Jersey where she was a

standout athlete who excelled at field hockey, basketball and track & field. She also attended East

Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) where she played basketball at the guard position,

threw the javelin for the track team, and earned a B.S. degree in physical education. In 1997, she

was inducted into the ESU Hall of Fame for her athletic excellence as an undergraduate student;

and

     WHEREAS, While attending Florida State University to begin a Master’s program in

exercise physiology, Ms. Flores discovered and fell in love with the sport of rugby. Thanks to her

prior experience playing basketball and as a track athlete, Ms. Flores had the strength, speed and

coordination to excel at rugby. Ms. Flores proceeded to serve as the team captain and play at the

number eight and scrum-half positions for Florida State where she helped lead the Seminoles to

four national championships; and

     WHEREAS, In 1985, Ms. Flores was a member of a grassroots organized, invitational

national team that was the first United States Women’s Rugby Team to play international

matches. Shortly thereafter, she became a member of the first official USA Women’s Rugby

Team, a team she was part of until 1994; and

     WHEREAS, In 1994, Ms. Flores began her legendary coaching career with the Berkeley

All Blues Rugby Team from the San Francisco Bay area. From 1994 to 2010, she compiled a

record of success rarely matched in the history of sports. Under her direction and guidance, the

All Blues would go on to win eleven national championships. During this period, she also

coached the USA Women’s Rugby Team, from 2003 to 2010, and was the coach of the 2006 and

2010 United States Women’s World Cup Teams. She was the first woman to coach any rugby

national team and the first woman of color to coach a national team. Ms. Flores also played a key

role in the formation of the Women’s Premiere league in 2009; and

     WHEREAS, In 2014, Ms. Flores became the Head Coach of the Brown University

Women’s Rugby Team, one of the first such Division I NCAA teams. Once again she excelled,

leading her 2014-2015 team to an undefeated season and the Ivy League Championship. In the

last two full seasons, Ms. Flores had led her squads to the National Intercollegiate Rugby

Association (NIRA) 15’s Championship Match in 2019, and the NIRA Quarterfinals in 2018.

She also coached the Providence Women’s Rugby team where for five consecutive years, it

placed in the national top 16 for its conference; and

     WHEREAS, Kathy Flores received many awards and honors throughout her

distinguished career as both a rugby player and coach. She was inducted into the East

Stroudsburg University Hall of Fame and was twice inducted into the US Rugby Hall of Fame,

first as an individual, and later as a member of the United States 1991 World Cup Team. She was

named a “Woman of Achievement” by the YWCA in 2016, Coach of the Year by the Women’s

Sports Foundation in 2000, and Coach of the Year by USA Rugby in 2014; and

     WHEREAS, While Coach Flores will be long-remembered for her incredible success in

rugby as a player and coach, she will live on forever in the hearts of the countless people within

the rugby community for her friendship, guidance and mentoring and they will forever remember

and be thankful for her legacy of fighting for women’s equality in the sport of rugby, in all

athletics, and throughout society; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby expresses its deepest

condolences on the passing of Kathy Flores; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Brown University President Christina Paxson.

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