Kevin Kitto

Kevin Kitto was born on April 29, 1946, in New Zealand, where he grew up in the Naenae community of Lower Hutt. He began playing rugby at the age of seven and continued through his youth and into senior club rugby with the Naenae club. He arrived in the United States from New Zealand in 1973 and immediately became involved in the rugby community, joining the Queen City RFC in Denver, Colorado. He coached the Eastern Rockies Select Side from 1975 to 1978 and the Western Rugby Union from 1976 to 1979, while also serving as a selector for USA Rugby during that same period.

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In 1979, Kitto relocated to Florida, where he spent the next four decades building and managing rugby in the Southeast. He served as President of the Florida Rugby Union from 1979 to 1983, and later as Treasurer from 1996 to 1998 and Secretary from 1998 to 2000. He became Manager of the USA Rugby South Panthers Men's side in 2002 and was elected President and Director of Rugby of USA Rugby South in 2005, a position he held until his death. In that role, he led USA Rugby South teams in international competition across Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica, Cuba, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, the Cayman Islands, and Barbados through the Rugby Americas North competition. USA Rugby South under his leadership was the only team from the United States competing internationally on a regular basis in the region.

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In 2020, Kitto co-founded the Panther Rugby Academy, a verified National Development Program, and served on its board. He was active in bringing World Rugby under-19 RAN competition events to the United States on multiple occasions. Kevin Kitto passed away on February 27, 2025. He had been continuously active in American rugby for more than 46 years.