News

The City of Kelowna has released its Activity and Program Guide for Spring 2018. Parents of young touch rugby players can register their children beginning March 6 at 7:30 AM. Parents are encouraged to register right away to assure a space for your child in these popular programs.

You can register in a variety of ways. Online registration can be done here, beginning on March 6. Just type in the keyword 'rugby' into the search box and select either the Rugby Mini or Rugby Touch Sevens programs. You can also phone in your registration by dialling 250-469-8800 on or after March 6 at 7:30 AM. You can even register in-person at the Parkinson Rec Centre, located at 1800 Parkinson Way in Kelowna.

Kelowna will host the Western Canada U16 Rugby XVs Championships for the next three years. The top U16 male and female athletes from the four western provinces will compete in Kelowna each summer in 2018, 2019, and 2020. This year's competition will be held at Parkinson Rec Centre from July 26 - 29.

Eight boy's teams and six girl's teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia will compete over the four-day tournament at the Parkinson Rec Centre. 330+ of the best U16 players in Canada will enjoy the Okanagan sunshine while playing their favorite game.

Six rugby teams in the Okanagan have indicated they will run Boy's XVs sides in 2018. Congratulations to the following coaches and schools for continuing to provide their athletes with access to the very inclusive game of rugby XVs.

Fulton (AA) - Coach Mike Scheller
Kelowna (AAA) - Coach Dave Marfleet
Okanagan Mission (AAA) - Coach Mike Ross
Penticton (AAA) - Coach Ken Sommerfeldt
Salmon Arm (AAA) - Coach Greg Seed
Vernon (AA) - Coach Stuart McKnight

Local rugby organizers are projecting that more than 750 athletes will participate in rugby-related programs this spring. This will be the highest-ever level of spring rugby participation in the Central Okanagan.

550 (73%) of those players will enjoy local spring touch rugby programs, including the Crows mini-rugby program (ages 4 - 7), the community touch rugby programs (ages 8 - 15), and the elementary touch sevens league (ages 9 - 11). 150 (20%) of the athletes will be playing rugby XVs in local schools and clubs, and 50 (7%) will participate in the Olympic sport of rugby sevens.

CORE Board Meeting Minutes
Monday, February 12, 2018

In Attendance: Clare Cassan, Marshall Corbett, George Curran, Barry Ebl, Chris Haynes, Doug Manning, Chris Ward, Darek Worrall

The meeting started at 7:03 PM.

"So, I heard there is some Rugby Centre being developed in Kelowna. Is this true?"

In a couple of words - sort of. Pull up a chair and let me tell you the story....

Five or six years ago, a group of hearty and hopeful local rugby enthusiasts presented the City of Kelowna with an opportunity. We offered to build a Rugby Centre of Excellence on City-owned fields. In return for raising the funds to build such a Rugby Centre, the Central Okanagan Rugby Enthusiasts society asked the City to grant them the right to operate the use of the building for a really long time.

Central Okanagan Rugby Enthusiasts
2017 Annual General Meeting Minutes
Saturday, November 25, 2017 @ The Capri Hotel

The meeting began at 6:10 PM.
52 individuals were in attendance, 36 of them Voting Members.
The meeting met quorum requirements of the Society.

1,083 rugby players in the Central Okanagan in 2016/17. 59% touch players, 6 % sevens players, 35% 15s players. Count is measured September '16 to August '17.

CORE goals for 2020 are to sustain existing game percentages while increasing to 1700 the number of rugby players in the Central Okanagan.
- 1000 touch players (59%)
- 100 sevens players (6%)
- 600 15s players (35%)

Thompson-Okanagan PRC teams were very competitive in the Provincial Regional Championships last weekend, with the U18 Girls winning the gold and all other teams moving up in performance. However, it was the Thompson-Okanagan U14 Boys PRC team that got the pundits talking. How is it possible that an interior U14 Boys team could reach a semi-final and, although they lost 19 - 17 to the VRU North, be a legitimate contender for the gold medal game?

The answer begins in 2010 when George Curran assembled a motley crew of 20 U6 and U8 kids to take part in the first year of the Crows Mini-Rugby program. Those same players were joined by more and more players throughout the years that followed. The 2017 minis program featured more than 150 players at the U6, U8, and U10 levels.

Bill Creasy was a key contributor to the revitalization of rugby in Salmon Arm.