It has been a busy summer for many involved with Shawnigan rugby. Djustice S. '12 has been playing in England with the Leicester Tigers Academy Team, while numerous boys and girls participated in the Provincial Regional Championships at both the U16 and U18 levels. Also, Mr. Dukelow ran another very successful rugby camp at Shawnigan for coaches and players earlier in the summer.
This past week saw several members of the Shawnigan Lake School rugby program participate in the age-grade National Festival in Calgary. In order to do this, they first needed to be selected to their home province's representative team for their age group. At the U16 level, British Columbia entered two teams. Jenner T. '13 was a member of the U16 BC side that won the bronze medal, defeating an Ontario side that included Nathan F. '13. Meanwhile, Spencer S. '13, Guiseppe D. '13, Chris M. '13, and Randall B. '13 were all key members of the BC U16 Gold medal-winning side.
In the U18 event, Shawnigan grads participating in the tournament included Monty Tichkowsky '11 (Saskatchewan), Lukas Balkovec '11 and David Merrithew '11 (Ontario - Silver Medallists). Current Shawnigan senior players in the U18 tournament included Evan G. '12 (Manitoba), Brandon H. '12 (Alberta - Bronze Medallists) and Haydn E. '12 (British Columbia - Gold Medallists).
Congratulations to all of the participants, and especially to Mr. Williams for his leadership in his role as Head Coach of the Gold medal-winning BC U18 side.
Earlier in the summer, Spencer S. and Guiseppe D. were also members of the Gold medal-winning BC U16 7's team at the Western Canada Games, and Alexander S. '12 was a key member in the Ontario U17 forward pack that played several incoming touring sides back east. George B. was a member of BC U-14 side, the "BC Growl", that defeated Ontario to win the National Championship for that age group.
Finally, I would like to congratulate both Mr. Williams (Coach) and Haydn E. on their selection to the Rugby Canada National U18 7's team which is travelling to the Isle of Man this September to compete in the Junior Commonwealth Games!
Well done to all! It should be another fantastic year for Shawnigan Rugby!
- Tim Murdy, Director of Rugby
