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In Memory of Lindsay Babb


Lindsay Allisha Babb
April 8, 1982 - June 22, 2010

News and Updates

2010 BabbFest Theme: Year of the Unicorn

ORSU has proclaimed 2010 to be the Year of the Unicorn, in honor of Linsday Babb. The ORSU women will celebrate this theme at BabbFest 2010, along with ruggers from 9 other Pacific Northwest teams, as well as a number of visiting players from all over the country. Here's to you, Babberly: a tackle and a toast!

ORSU Women to Debut New "BABB" Jerseys

For their first home match on Sunday, September 19, the ORSU Women will debut their new uniforms. The kit features black shorts and socks, and most importantly, new black jerseys that say "BABB" on the back of each one. The presence of Lindsay Babb is everywhere on the pitch when we play, and in each of our hearts, so it is only fitting that she is on our jerseys as well.

ORSU Tournament Renamed: "BabbFest"

The ORSU Women's annual Jester Round Robin Tournament has been permanently renamed the Lindsay Babb Jester Round Robin, a.k.a., "BabbFest".

In its previous incarnation, the tournament was a men's and women's tournament called "Jesterfest". Babb won tournament MVP honors at Jesterfest as a college player.

In recent years when the tourney shifted to a women's-only competition, Babb was instrumental in organizing and promoting the event to keep it going. We intend to honor her mighty rugby spirit every year from here on out at "BabbFest".


A memorial for our beloved friend and teammate Lindsay Allisha Babb was held on Sunday June 27, at Fuller's Farm. Our extraordinary Babb was taken from us on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at the age of 28.

Babb’s family wishes to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

You can continue to show your support by posting memories and messages for her family on her Facebook memorial page.

ORSU club members can also submit photos and remembrances to be posted on this page.

We love you forever, Lindsay Babb.



From Jack and Tera Johnston:

Dearest Lindsay,

You were ripped cruelly from our lives, yet the charming passion with which you welcomed Tera and I into your life, and the glorious and contagious smile that shone on everyone you touched will live forever.

Allow us these few days of grief. These tears do not match your smile. This sadness does not fit the joy you always brought us. Time may heal the anguish of the wound caused, but the loss will never heal.

Yet still, everything will remain as it was. The life that you lived so fondly is untouched and unchanged. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. There is unbroken continuity. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still. We will remember you by the old familiar name, and put no more sorrow in our tone.

Your name will be spoken without effort, and you will be laughed about as we always laughed. You will not be out of mind because you are out of sight. On the field and stage, we will play, dance, smile, think of you and pray for you.


Where you now go, will be so much better for your arrival. Yet unlike you, our work here is not completed. Wait for us, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. One brief moment, and all will be as it was before, and how we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again.

Every summer solstice henceforth, we expect the question “What’s with the unicorn outfit?” We will regale them a story of a truly wonderful woman, and they will hold themselves cheap at the lack of knowing you.

Rest peacefully, rest joyously.

This week will forever be remembered by us as the time that a family grew larger, happy stories were told softly, through saddened tears. The sun came to warm us, and a unicorn took wings, and soared.


From Anna Symonds:

Lindsay Babb was outrageous. Outrageously talented, outrageously hilarious, and an outrageously good time. She was incredibly humble – but never timid. Babb did things her way: big, bold, bright – and always with that radiant smile, and a little bit of sass.

From the time she joined ORSU in the spring of 2007, Lindsay Babb had a huge and immediate impact upon us all. One of the most loving, giving, and sparkling people I've met, she became an irreplaceable pillar of our team and our club, both on the pitch and off.

In March, I interviewed Babb for a school project about ORSU, in her capacity as a long-time officer for the team. She spoke about how much work and devotion it takes to continually re-create and maintain the organization that enables our rugby passion. Ever humble, she spoke in a neutral way about it, but the fact is that she was a massive force behind ORSU not just continuing on, but reaching our greatest successes. Babb made ORSU, in so many ways, with her selfless and endless efforts on behalf of the club.

 Babb also spoke about the importance of the camaraderie and close friendships in the club, about how it feels like a family of sorts. I know that this feeling is shared throughout the club, and it is one of the reasons that ORSU is so special. And everyone you ask will tell you that Lindsay Babb was a major reason why our bonds are so strong, because she was at the very core of our rugby family.

 Rugby is a game that tests you. It challenges both your physical bravery and your courage of spirit. It demands a steadfast commitment to one’s teammates and a burning passion in oneself. It calls for sacrifices.

 These are the basic requirements, but as a truly exceptional player, Lindsay Babb did even more than this. She also played with a pure joy that could only find its expression on the pitch: running, tackling, rucking, passing, scrummaging, and being totally absorbed in every exhilarating moment. She was often the first to arrive and the last to leave the pitch. She urged her teammates on when she saw we needed a boost, and she picked us up – literally – when we were down. She protected us when we were in vulnerable positions, and if an opponent cheated Babb made sure that they didn’t dare to do it again.

 When we won, Babb could celebrate like no other. But equally, if we had just lost and were feeling down, Babb got us all smiling again at the ridiculous costume she had inevitably changed into, and joining in with that marvelous, sparkling laugh of hers. We won a lot of games together, and we also lost some games, but with Lindsay Babb on our team we were never defeated.

All of these attributes that Babb had, combine together to create that elusive quality called “heart”. And the unsurpassed, fire, joy, and heart that she brought to ORSU is what made Lindsay Babb such an outstanding rugby player, teammate, leader, inspiration, and above all –adored friend. Babb was OUR heart, the heart of our team.

 One more thing Babb said in March, was that she wanted to continue being a part of the club even after she was done playing. And I can say, for all of us, that that is certain. She is a part of the history we are still writing: not only our past, but our present, and definitely our future. Whether we are taking the field or taking a party by storm, Lindsay Babb’s extraordinary spirit and tremendous heart are with us, and will be carried in all of us, always.

From Val Burns:

I met Lindsay Babb in 2006. I was at ORSU’s pitch, and had just played a match against her current team the Eugene Housewives. She walked right up to me, sat down, and said “Hi I am Lindsay, are you Val”? And that was that. That was just how she was. Super friendly. No BS.

When she moved to Portland in the spring of 2007, we started hanging out a lot. I was kind of depressed at the time and she lifted my spirits tremendously. Whether we were out at Chopsticks singing Karaoke, hanging out with this new “Weird Kate” character, or hanging out with her U of O friends it was always good times. I even crashed her alumni after a little prodding. U of O alumni crashers! Babb was a great friend from the start.

Babb was then and shall always be, SUNSHINE. She walked into rooms and just lit them up with her infectious smile. Whatever was going on with her, she always shone through. Her outrageous costumes, funny laugh and phrases, great spirit, awesome athleticism, she was one for the ages.

The thing we can do in a situation like this is appreciate the time we had with her, although all too short. BABB was pure SUNSHINE. She lit up everyone’s lives when she was around. I am grateful for having known her.