OMBAC RFC
Old Mission Beach Athletic Club or OMBAC as it is more commonly known can trace its beginnings to 1954. Mike Curren and a few beach friends wanted to form an athletic organization. Currently OMBAC claims over 450 active members on its roster.
The history of OMBAC rugby dates back almost as old as the athletic club. In 1966 a group of OMBAC members who were ruggers, worked to form the first OMBAC rugby club. The OMBAC rugby teams of 66 and 67 were competitive, but an infusion of graduates from San Diego State near the end of the 1968 season catapulted OMBAC into the thick of the First Division competition in the Southern California Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) where it has remained to the present.
Over the past two decades, OMBAC has been at or near the top among the elite teams in U.S. Rugby. They were the first team in the United States to win the National Club Championships in both Sevens and Fifteen-A-side competition. OMBAC was victorious in the inaugural U.S. Club Sevens Championships in 1985 and duplicated that feat in 1995. OMBAC has also won the U.S. National Club Fifteens Championships in 1988, '89, '91, '93, '94 '96, and 2006. 2006 OMBAC became the first club to hold both the U.S. 7's National title, and 15's Title. In addition to its success at the National level, OMBAC has won countless tournaments throughout the western United States, are ten-time Southern California League Champions and six-time Pacific Coast Champions.
In the past, OMBAC has toured Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti, England, Scotland and Wales. OMBAC has also hosted a number of foreign touring sides including the French National Champions of 1991, Toulouse; and Llanelli, the runner-ups to the Welsh Club Champions of 1990 and Welsh Club Champions in 1992 and '93. In 1994 OMBAC hosted and defeated such world powers as the Orrell Rugby Football Club from England and the Brothers RFC from Brisbane, Australia. In 1995 OMBAC was on the losing side in a very physical game with another top English side, the Sale Rugby Club. In 1996 OMBAC played host to one of Argentina's top club sides, Cuidad Universidad de Buenos Aires (CUBA).
OMBAC has not only set the standard to emulate on the field, but has been a model for clubs to follow off the pitch as well. In 1991 OMBAC raised funds to build a new clubhouse joining only a handful of teams in the United States to have such a facility. OMBAC has a complete and dedicated coaching, management and medical staff of trainers and physicians who attend all OMBAC practices and matches. OMBAC also has a public relations director, responsible for all media releases, match recaps and the team newsletter.
