The Old Christians
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The Old Christians rugby team was made up of graduates of the Stella Maris boys school in Carrasco, a suburb of Montevideo, Uruguay. Rugby had always been a part of the curriculum at Stella Maris and after moving on to prep schools and universities, graduates found they missed the sport, and longed for a league to play on. Thus, in 1964 they organized six other teams around Montevideo and formed the Rugby Union of Uruguay. The Old Christians organization grew in the years to follow, the team was divided into three groups: youth division, B division, and A division. Like the steps of a ladder, a young player would enter in the youth division and work their way up through B, then only the best made it into division A. In 1971 the Old Christians were invited to a match in Santiago, Chile. To save money on airfare, the team chartered a plane from the Uruguayan Air Force, whose transport rates were much lower than commercial airlines. The Old Christians played two games in Santiago, winning one and losing the other, but they found it an enjoyable trip. And so when invited back the following year, the Old Christians were only too happy to accept. Once again chartering from the Air Force, the Old Christians enlisted friends and family to join them on the trip, to fill the plane thus making the rate per individual passenger very affordable. On the morning of October 12, 1972 passengers began arriving at the small international airport, the grab-bag assortment of included not only Old Christians and Stella Maris alumni, but friends who had attended other schools, relatives, and a woman who had no connection with the Old Christians or their friends. The woman, Graziela Mariani, had purchased her ticket from the Air Force and was intent on attending the wedding of her eldest daughter in Santiago. Had she not booked the last remaining passenger seat her husband Hector would have accompanied her, but as it was they thought it good that at least one of them be present at the wedding, and were happy to save money by going through the Air Force. At around 7:40am the call was made to board and the passengers made their way out onto the tarmac where the plane was waiting. |