We take over the Design, Planning & Execution of an amazing Rugby Tour

What’s left to do when you’re thirsty for another rugby game but no one around has a clue of what rugby is? You form a team by yourself, you find a coach and a field, a Club House, and a few crazy heads to run this completely volunteer and free-for-all initiative, whilst calmly explaining to your co-citizens that rugby and baseball are a different sport. Or at least that’s what we did: we gave birth to the Cretan Gunners.

One cannot truly speak of dope, if they first haven’t felt it in the field. The explosiveness, the unity, the overstretching of limits. Rugby is such a multi factored game, and sparks emotions so intense, that makes it a very unique & hard-to-leave experience. Craving it in our lives, we needed more people to join in and play; so we formed the Cretan Gunners. The first Rugby team in Crete, end-to-end Volunteer, that invited everyone regardless of their backgrounds to join in for free only by embracing the team’s values, and become part of an inclusive, culture-creating, non-political and non-profit athletic club.

Building our team in Crete, we were excited to introduce the sport to the local community; a very well known warrior community by tradition. Little did we know about ignorance and indifference, the two biggest obstacles we’d face in our effort to spread the word of the new Rugby Team in town. We couldn’t get 10 seconds of attention- let alone explain rugby or our relation to it.

And then, the bureaucracy. No legal procedure can be done easily in Greece, especially when it comes to rugby, a sport from which Greece at the time was banned for a decade as punishment for misusing the capital that was to be invested in the development of the sport.
So with nothing coming easy, we needed to be extra creative in our methods of attracting outward interest.

That’s where parties came along. After establishing a Club for the team downtown we started hosting entrance-free events, the expenses of which were covered by consumptions from the bar. This way bit by bit we managed to maintain our non-profit character (free access to athleticism & culture) throughout the years, and as our events grew bigger and better, we even made enough to give back to the wounded society (by organising beach cleanups, orphanages paints, funding the children robotics team competition, and more).

The more active we were, the more the “Cretan Gunners” echoed on the island. Especially after the second CGF (Cretan Gunners Fest) in Vatolakkos “The Noble Giants”, where more than 3,000 people experienced our multilevel festival with a path of art, food tour and music concert, every indifferent person of the past finally started paying attention.

“Ochaderfismos” (check it out) passed the baton to curiosity: “Who did all this?” – The Cretan Gunners, “What are the Cretan Gunners?” -A Volunteer Rugby Team, “What is Rugby?”~Hallelujah. And that’s how we were finally able to communicate what rugby is to the public, hacking the resistance to anything new: they were the ones asking the questions.

This procedure built our name, reputation & know-how of providing ourselves with our own dreams, which have always been the same: find more people to play with. Since then we have conducted dozens of games with teams from Greece & abroad, Rugby Camps & Festivals, we built our official HQ in Kalorouma, Chania aka The YOD Village, and have professionalised the designing, planning, execution & hosting of athletic and culture get-togethers.

Hosting rugby events and holding friendly matches with teams from abroad has kept us alive in the sport all these years. So, fellow Rugby Clubs, listen carefully:

Join us in Crete for this year’s vacation. Enjoy the beauty of the island, our wild nature and crystal clear waters, meet our team and luxury HQ, and let’s create memories together with a friendly rugby match and afterparty. Help us stay motivated to keep going.

Or if you wanna spice it up a little, check our Activities Section and let your imagination go wild: we can plan and include an ultra-custom experience in your tour. You’ll share the vibe of the escape, and we’ll serve you 3 dishes to choose from.

Also, as an Events Production Company, we take over the production of any Party/ Recreational Event for your team. As a Hostel, we can offer these amenities for your stay.

Fill in this formula to get our meeting a step closer, and collect more information regarding this unprecedented experience.