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Seattle Seawolves

Seattle's Ben Cima on Braving the Shave and Getting Ready for 2021

March 17, 2021 - Major League Rugby (MLR)
Seattle Seawolves News Release


Seattle's Ben Cima may have been born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the fly-half is very much a USA Rugby success story.

Moving to Washington, D.C. at a young age, Ben's rugby journey has seen him pass through the hallways of Gonzaga College High School and the University of Maryland.

During this time, his talents were spotted at an international level, firstly to become a USA High School All-American, then as a Junior All-American, before gaining his first caps for the national team while still studying for his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance.

Joining the Seawolves in 2019 after periods with San Diego Legion, Ben helped Seattle win their second ring in as many years.

After playing a part in two of Seattle's five games last season, Ben and the rest of the Seawolves pack will be playing their first game in just over 12 months this weekend in Houston.

Known for having his long hair escaping at the bottom of his scrum cap, this weekend the 24-year-old will look slightly different when making his way onto the AVEVA field. Currently raising money for Seattle Children's, Ben will be shaving his hair on Friday, donating the money to the children's hospital and physically donating his hair to Children with Hair Loss.

Hoping to raise $10,000 for Seattle Children's Cancer Emergency Patient Assistance Fund, Ben says that he was inspired by the League's Movember campaign last Fall, as well as learning of fellow Eagle, Lou Stanfill's Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis.

"Without getting too political, I do think that healthcare is a right," Ben said. "I think healthcare, especially for children, should not be dependent on their parents' financial situation.

"Kids should be able to live out their childhoods without having to worry about if their parents are going to be able to afford chemo treatment, if that is what they need, or being able to afford a wig if they have alopecia or are going through cancer treatment.

"The League went pretty hard with Movember too. Brad Tucker asked me if I wanted to shave my head at the end of November to raise money. I thought it was a good idea, at the time Lou Stanfill was doing his fundraiser for his treatment. Fortunately enough, he was backed financially, so we started to look at things in the local area that we wanted to support."

After consulting with Seawolves Marketing and Communication Officer, Carly MacKinnon, who is also a Senior Communications Specialist with Seattle Children's, Ben's decision was made, and the fundraising began.

But, after the shave, attention must turn to the reigning champions' first game. Having recently played a behind closed doors preseason scrimmage against San Diego, Ben believes that he and his teammates got exactly what they wanted from that encounter with his former team.

"A preseason game is a preseason game," Ben said. "Once the season kicks off, it is a different beast. We got what we wanted out of San Diego, we got some game time, and we got our hands on some people that weren't wearing Seawolves jerseys, which was nice, but it is going to come down to the games on Saturday's.

"The League is not won in the preseason, it is not won in week one, not even in the first few weeks of the season. It is won at the end and that is really what I think it is going to come down to.

"This year especially when compared to others and what bodies can be fielded in the last half of the season."

The Seattle Seawolves start their campaign to win their third MLR title this Saturday against the Houston SaberCats in Texas. U.S. fans can watch the game on the CBS Sports Network  at 8:00p.m. ET, and International fans can watch on The Rugby Network.

Written by MLR Correspondent Joe Harvey

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