After a season marred by a lackluster economy, the Gentlemen of the Blue Goose Rugby Club will get to finish off the summer in one of the premier rugby tournaments in the region. And it's going to be right in their own backyard.

The town of Breckenridge will play host Saturday to the first-ever Eastern Rockies Rugby Football Union's Rugger Fest, a tournament with some of the top teams in the state.

“It's a very good deal for us,” Goose head coach Peter Clarke said.

The Rugger Fest will consist of four separate pools of teams for both men and women.

The men's draw will be divided into a first and second division. The first division of teams will have some of the best rugby clubs in the state, if not the country. Both the Denver Barbarians and the Denver Hylanders will compete in the four-team pool, along with a Boulder squad and last year's Mountain League champs Aspen.

The Goose will play in the first pool of Division 2 teams that also includes a team from Santa Fe, N.M., and Queen City club of Denver. The other Division 2 pool will have the Denver Harlequins, Colorado Springs and the Glendale squad.

The women's side will have only three teams, but one will be a local Summit County squad.

All the games will be played at both Kingdom Park and Upper Blue Elementary School beginning when the Goose take on Santa Fe at 9 a.m. The tourney is likely to run until around 6 p.m.

Clarke said that fans will not only be treated to the usual concessions and beer sales, but also some help in understanding the game. Because the tournament is run by ERRFU, officials will be at each game to help explain some of the finer nuances of rugby to any spectator that wants it.

“It helps make it more enjoyable when you know what's going on,” Clarke said.

Clarke said that there were many factors that played into Breck hosting this year's Rugger Fest, but a good part of it had to do with the more ideal playing conditions of the mountains as opposed to Denver.

“Well up here, right now, it's nice and in the 70s. It's 90 down there,” Clarke said.

When it came time to choosing the mountain town to host the tourney, Clarke said he feels Breck got the nod because of the Goose's organization.

Due to the troubles of the economy, many of the other mountain clubs severely struggled. The majority of mountain teams — including Vail, Aspen, Glenwood Springs and Steamboat — rely on players coming into their towns for the summer to play. Some players even cross the pond to come.

“It's just the nature of the beast,” Clarke said. “You can't invite people here to play if you don't have jobs to offer them for the summer. That's how a lot of teams have had trouble this summer.”

Because most towns didn't exactly have a surplus of job openings, many of the clubs had to simply not have a team this summer. The only other teams in the Mountain League this year were Steamboat, the Goose and Glenwood Springs.

Clarke said that the Goose have had a little easier time than most because they normally rely heavily on college kids coming into Breck for the summer.

“College kids aren't usually too worried about making lots of money; they'll take almost any job,” he said. “They are usually coming for the experience of the rugby and the experience of the mountains.”

Though Clarke called the Goose's season “a little disappointing,” as they've been right about .500 all season, he's certainly looking forward to ending the summer on a high note at Saturday's Rugger Fest.

“This is a good opportunity for us and for the town,” he said.

Bryce Evans can be reached at (970) 668-4634 or at bevans@summitdaily.com.