Rugby Manitoba
Playing rough and tough Manitoba style
The Rugby World Cup is without a doubt the crowning glory of the sport, though involvement in rugby has a huge following in a range of competitive levels.
Here at home, the provincial governing body for the sport is Rugby Manitoba, headed up by Gary Pacholuk.
Pacholuk has the enviable task of overseeing a sport that is one part passion and one part party; it has also grown to include new age groups and new areas.
"The biggest area of growth seems to be outside the perimeter," he shared, and noted that the increase in female teams seems to be on par with the increase in male teams.
Within city limits, a framework exists so that a player can begin around the age of 12, and move up through the levels to continue playing basically for as long as he or she would like. The youngest age groups play at the community club level.
"This program started off small, but we would like to see it grow," said Pacholuk.
Beyond this age group, players can move up to high school programs, or the Colts junior league. After this, the senior league has five teams at the men's Premier division, eight at the second division, and six women's teams. The growth in women's rugby has been especially notable, specifically at the high school level.
"For a while it seemed like the girl's teams were doubling overnight, but that has kind of levelled off within the city and is now growing more outside of Winnipeg," shared Pacholuk.
Rugby Manitoba is pushing for girl's rugby to be included in the Canada Games, which hosts an under-19 rugby tournament. Pacholuk observed that there is support for this, although the general organization of the event probably would not allow for the inclusion of women's rugby until the 2009 or 2013 games.
Preparation for the boy's team that will compete in 2005 has already begun. This summer, an under-16 boy's team represented Canada at the Nationals and these players will likely make up Team Manitoba at the Canada Games.
"It was great for these guys to have some national exposure," said Pacholuk about the experience this summer.
Manitoba has developed a strong reputation for providing quality rugby programs, and was awarded the honour of hosting the inaugural 2003 National Rugby Festival. This was a unanimous decision amongst the 10 provincial unions, and turned out to be a huge success.
"It was the first time that an event like this was held and it was great," said Pacholuk. "It was really something to see all the teams together."
As for what is in store for rugby in Manitoba, one area of growth that has not been explored yet is the inclusion of university teams in the CIS league. Currently, the University of Manitoba is home of the Wombats, who have teams through Rugby Manitoba in men's Premier, men's second division, and the women's division.
"The affiliation is basically limited to the name; the teams don't really have much to do with the university," Pacholuk noted.
For the record, the Wombats finished second in men's Premier, fifth in women's and fourth in the men's second division.
If you are interested in playing rugby, it is likely that any one of the teams in Winnipeg would love to hear from you. The great thing about getting into this sport is that regardless of body type or skill level, there is a role for everyone on the field. The focus of rugby is also very centered around teamwork, so it provides a great setting for social interaction. Rugby Manitoba is a good starting point for information about teams, and can be accessed on the Internet.