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.