History was made when 54 flag rugby playing middle school students took to the CanadINN Stadium field during the halftime of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs Toronto Argonauts on July 9th! As soon as the halftime signal went off, the field was awash in colour as the four flag rugby teams took over from the Pros. The event was in honour of the 80 years of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers who had their early start as a part of the Wanderers Rugby Football Club.

The Colette McAuley Award committee and the Canadian Rugby Foundation are pleased to announce Julie Foster of Saskatchewan as the 2010 award recipient.

Announced by Colette McAuley herself at this year’s NWL Finals in Toronto, ON, Foster was recognized for her years of loyalty and dedication to grassroots rugby in Saskatchewan.

McAuley acknowledged the impact her former teammate has had on younger players, while taking a playful shot at her age.

The Canadian Maple Leafs have announced their squad for the Abbotsford International 7's Tournament that will be led by 8 graduates of the Canadian U-20 program. The Canadian Maple Leafs Team are designed to develop the next generation of Sevens players in Canada and are funded in large part through the Canadian Rugby Foundation.

The Abbotsford Sevens Tournament is Canada's first international Sevens tournament and will feature teams from South Africa, New Zealand, Kenya, Fiji and Canada.  The Maple Leafs will be led by National Seven's coach Morgan Williams, alongside Joe Haley and Jeff Williams.

The Canadian Rugby Foundation is pleased to announce that Brett Beukeboom (Lindsay, ON), Jeff Hassler (Okotoks, Alta.) and Jeff McKinnon (North Vancouver, B.C.) are this year's winners of the Stuart Pegg Award. For the first time in the award's history, three players on Canada's Under-20 men's rugby team were recognized as the top players as voted on by their team mates for their performances at the Junior World Rugby Trophy in Russia.

The award, created by the Pegg family in memory of their son who passed away at a young age, has been presented at to an age-grade Canadian rugby player since 1998.

Kris Witkowski has won the 2010 Pat Anderson Commitment to Excellence Award.  Canadian rugby is very fortunate to have a company like Pat Anderson Insurance taking a leadership role with regards to funding and player support.  This generous award is geared specifically to helping the Canadian Men’s 7’s Team build towards the 2013 Rugby World Cup and eventually the 2016 Olympic Games.   Rugby 7’s inclusion in the Olympics means that the amateur nations must be particularly wary of being left behind by the professional nations in the quest for Gold. 

The British Columbia Rugby Union is proud to announce the creation of a new high performance initiative designed to identify, train and support 11-16 year old athletes who have aspirations of playing seven-a-side rugby at the Provincial and National level.  The BC Rugby Elite Youth 7s program provides a framework for player identification in key areas of British Columbia.  Once identified, players will be invited to skill sessions, followed by regional and provincial training camps.  This Elite Youth 7s pathway will result in the creation of a BC Junior 7s Provincial team, selected to tour internationally.

The Canadian Rugby Foundation is pleased to announce Tabitha Stavrou of the NSWT as the 2010 recipient of the George F. Jones Scholarship.

The George F. Jones scholarship was named in honour of a very passionate and dedicated rugby volunteer who has ties within the sport across the country thanks to his nomadic nature.

Last year’s National Women’s League Final was used as a platform for the first ever Colette McAuley Award, and although this year’s NWL is an abbreviated version because of the World Cup, the award will still be presented, but it has jumped up a weight class this year.

Thanks to the Canadian Rugby Foundation, the award is now attached to the Colette McAuley Fund, an endowed fund solely for the NSWT that collects annual interest. This interest, usually around $1000, will be presented as a cheque in the recipient’s name, along with a plaque.

Canada’s senior men’s team is back to business after celebrating a 48-6 victory over Uruguay to open the Churchill Cup, a victory that one player will never forget.

U-20 grad Ryan Hamilton received his first cap for Canada this past Saturday replacing Captain Pat Riordan at hooker in Canada’s 48-6 victory to open the Churchill Cup in Denver. Hamilton, alongside full-back Matt Evans, scrum half Sean White, prop Andrew Tiedemann and fly half Connor Braid, is a recent graduate of Canada’s U-20 program. Hamilton was very proud to receive his first Cap at the age of 22.