Announcing the new Aurora Barbarians RFC Development Fund

Posted on March 9, 2023March 9, 2023 by Jeff

We are pleased to announce that the Aurora Barbarians Rugby Football Club established their new Aurora Barbarians RFC Development Fund on March 6, 2023.

Club History

The Aurora Barbarians RFC (Barbs) celebrated their 70^th anniversary in 2020. The Club began as two separate rugby clubs: The Toronto Barbarians and the Aurora Rugby Club. The club officially became the Aurora Barbarians in 2002 when the two clubs successfully merged.

The Aurora Rugby Club was constituted in 1998, developing from the original Aurora Yorks which were formed in 1961 by John .T. P. Brown, a member of the Ontario Rugby Hall of Fame and a past president of the Ontario Rugby Union.

In 1949 rugby was resurrected in post-war Ontario by a group of British expatriates who banded together to form the Wanderers RFC. The following year 1950, the group launched an intensive recruiting drive for players and drawing together a total of 80 would-be participants, set up three additional teams based in Toronto including the Barbarians

The club lead the development of junior rugby in the 70s and purchased a share of Fletcher’s Fields during this time. The club were at the forefront of the re-development of Fletcher’s Fields in the early 90’s, which lead to the construction of a stadium which brought International rugby matches to the GTA.

On the pitch, the club fielded a number of strong championship Senior Mens and youth teams in the 50’s 60’s,70’s and 80’s. After the merger in 2002, the Aurora Barbarians enjoyed a string of success at the Senior Mens level. The club captured five straight league championships, three McCormick Club Championships and made at total of seven McCormick Cup appearances from 2006-2013.

The Senior Women were a similar dominant group with three OWL championships from 2012 to 2016. The club has also seen success from their U-18 Boys and Girls program having won a number of Provincial Championships

The Barbs have a strong Old Boys network of “Black Sheep” supporters. There were notable tours in the 60s and 70’s to USA and Caribbean destinations; in the 80’s to Vancouver, California and Chicago; in the 90s and 2000’s to Las Vegas and NY. The Black Sheep have been strong supporters of the new ABRFC Development Fund.

The Aurora Barbarians philosophy is “A Club for All” and the Club has focused on developing and leading Junior, Minor and Women’s programs to consistently rank among the largest membership clubs in Canada. The ABRFC supports a broad array of teams and programs including: Adult Touch Rugby, Junior Boys, U14 Boys, U16 boys, U18 Boys, Junior Girls, U16 Girls, U18 Girls, Minor Rugby, U10, U12, U8 Flag, Senior Men and Senior Women.

The Aurora Barbarians Rugby Football Club (ABRFC) is a non-share capital corporation incorporated under the Corporations Act (Ontario). ABRFC is a not-for-profit organization within the meaning of paragraph 149(1)(l) of the Income Tax Act (Canada). The articles of incorporation of the ABRFC dated January 29, 2003, state the objects of ABRFC in part as follows: to promote and encourage the playing of Rugby union football, particularly in the area surrounding the Town of Aurora.

Aurora Barbarians RFC Development Fund

The Aurora Barbarians RFC Development Fund is intended to provide funding from donations, interest earned and capital withdrawals for the Aurora Barbarians Rugby Football Club that supports the growth and development of rugby in Canada, a specified area, or the Aurora Barbarians Rugby Football Club specifically, consistent with the Mission of the Canadian Rugby Foundation. These include:

To encourage and further the game of rugby in Aurora, Ontario, and Canada,
To maintain and conduct the Aurora Barbarians Rugby Football Club (the “Club”) and to promote amongst the members of the Club and others, an interest in the game of rugby,
To actively support rugby players in the Province of Ontario by furnishing equipment, kit, and facilities for the game of rugby,
To promote all forms of rugby and to arrange matches and rugby competitions and to offer or grant and contribute towards prizes, awards and distinctions related to playing rugby in the province of Ontario, and
To accumulate assets dedicated to capital projects, for which withdrawals will be made towards projects such as land and building purchases, construction, facility improvements and renovations in support of rugby in Aurora, the Greater Toronto Area, and the Province of Ontario.

USE THE FORM BELOW TO DONATE TO THE AURORA BARBARIANS RFC DEVELOPMENT FUND:

Canadian Rugby Loses Pat Aldous on February 14, 2023

Posted on February 27, 2023March 1, 2023 by Jeff

Obituary

ALDOUS, Patrick Alan

79, of Vancouver, B.C. Canada sadly passed away on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.

He was born on 12 March 1943 at Lionsgate (North Shore) Hospital in North Vancouver. He was predeceased by his parents Montague and Kathleen Aldous, brother Charles Aldous, and his uncle Alan Aldous. He leaves behind his wife Linda Aldous, brother Howard (Donna) Aldous, and step-mother Kay Aldous. His four daughters Kathleen (David Schleindl) Aldous-Schleindl, Wendy (Robert) Friesen, Betty (Matthew Downer) Aldous and Amy Aldous. His grandchildren Luke, Emma, Tyler, Sean, Sienna, Dylan and Max, and Lyn Dunn (née Sutton) to whom he was married from 1964-1984. He is also survived by his nephews Kent (Mary) Aldous, and Patrick (Janele) Aldous and their children Emily, Liam, Charlotte and Eloise; and his step-sister Jean (Norm) Pass, and step-brother Mel (Diana) Butler.

Patrick began his career as a Chartered Accountant and received his certification in Victoria, B.C., and then went on to article for Peat Marwick Mitchell in Vancouver B.C. He rose in his field to become the President of Okanagan Helicopters, and then with his business partner Dave Whyte bought Alpine Helicopters in 1988, thereby becoming co-owner and CEO of Alpine. Alpine grew to include Alpine Aerotech and Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH). That combined company was sold to Intrawest Corp. in 1998.

Patrick was an accomplished athlete and was passionate about supporting and promoting Canadian Rugby. Pat played rugby for Kats RFC and BC, captaining Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team in 1971. He was Chairman of Rugby Canada and Vice President and Board member of the Canadian Rugby Foundation until very recently, and remained a current member of the Canadian Rugby Sevens board. He was involved in the launch of Canada Sevens and was instrumental in the development of the Al Charron National Training Centre. Upon his retirement as Chairman of the Rugby Canada board in 2020 he was honoured with the Chairperson Award. Pat was also a Canadian Olympic Committee Representative for rugby.

Additional interests included playing the saxophone for the Kitsilano Boys Band under the direction of Arthur W. Delamont, which he enjoyed greatly, and in recent years he was on the advisory board for Quails’ Gate Estate Winery and the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra.

He enjoyed travel, theatre, spending time with his family and friends, good restaurants, fine wine, and watching sports. He always encouraged his children to strive to do their best, and to continually “accentuate the positive!”. He travelled extensively throughout his life, most recently in support of Rugby Canada, hosting large family trips, and taking trips with Linda and their friends.

As well as his successful career and rugby achievements, Pat will be greatly missed as a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend to many. He passed away on Valentine’s Day but on this day of love, we will always remember a man that loved life and lived it to the fullest. He had a formidable presence and was kind, charming, sharp-witted and generous.

The family wishes to thank the kind staff at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver for their care of Pat, where he passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family, after having suffered a serious stroke.

We invite you to make a donation to the Monty Heald Senior Women’s Fund in his honour, in lieu of sending flowers. https://canadianrugbyfoundation.ca/index.php/monty-heald-national-womens-fund/ NOTE : the preceding link and Fund name corrected from the newspaper version.

A private gathering was held for the immediate family but a Celebration of Life will be held in the summer 2023 in his honour. Details TBA.

Announcing the Meraloma Rugby Endowment Fund

Posted on January 23, 2023February 6, 2023 by Jeff

The Meraloma Rugby Endowment Fund was established in October 2022, in partnership with the Canadian Rugby Foundation, and is intended to further the club’s goals into the future.

The Meraloma Rugby Club was founded in 1923 and is located in the heart of Kitsilano in Vancouver BC. The Meraloma Rugby Club has teams for all ages and abilities, including three Senior Men’s teams, one Women’s team, a large Junior and Mini program offering rugby to a wide range of youth, and the Legends, who are the Lomas’ very own “old boy” team.

The Meraloma Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary later in 2023 and we thought this was an excellent time to start an endowment fund. Sadly, we lost two significant alumni in the past two years, Gary Rowles and Robin (Gonzo) Russell. Gary very generously had made a bequest in his will to Meraloma Rugby, and many of Gonzo’s friends, family and teammates donated to Loma Rugby in his honour. We thought these funds should be invested for the future of Meraloma Rugby, and hence the endowment fund was started.

The Fund will support Meraloma Rugby in perpetuity and will be an opportunity for alumni, players, and supporters to recognize their appreciation for the club through donations whether they be monthly, one-time, major gifts, or bequests through a will. A number of alumni have already made bequests through their will that we’re aware of. The Canadian Rugby Foundation matches 25% of donations up to $80,000. As such, we have an initial goal of $80,000 which would then result in a $100,000 Fund.

The Designated Fund Representatives are Sean Fahy (sean.fahy@scotiawealth.com) and Jebb Sinclair (vplomarugby@gmail.com). Please contact Sean or Jebb for more information on how to donate to the Meraloma Rugby Endowment Fund, or go here to make a donation: https://canadianrugbyfoundation.ca/index.php/support-a-fund/club-funds/meraloma-rugby-endowment-fund/

Canadian Rugby Foundation Newsletter – January 2023

Posted on January 19, 2023January 19, 2023 by Jeff

In this issue of the Canadian Rugby Foundation Newsletter, “News & Views”, we have updates since the June 2022 Newsletter. Click here to read the complete Newsletter.

The headlines are as follow:

Foundation News and Announcements

Funds News

Unrestricted Fund News

2022 Awards News

Donation Appeal and Contact

As always, we look forward to hearing from you – whether rugby club executives or members, donors, representatives of our 69 Funds, rugby players of all ages and levels, and dedicated or casual rugby union fans – with your questions, suggestions, or other feedback.

And watch for the 2022 Annual Report in March, 2023.

Cheers,

Jeff Chan

2022 CANADIAN UNIVERSITY MEN’S RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP

Posted on December 16, 2022December 16, 2022 by Jeff

December 4 saw the finale of the 2022 Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC) brought to you by Raymond James and Lougheed Wealth Management. Once again, the UBC Thunderbirds were victorious, winning their fourth championship in five years, and defeating the McGill Redbirds convincingly in the Gold medal match 48-5.

This year’s tournament was hosted by the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC from November 30-December 4. 34 teams competed this year to qualify for the CUMRC through their conference or regional leagues, an increase of 17 per cent from the inaugural 2017 tournament. Eight teams from all regions of Canada won the right to compete at the CUMRC. Returning from 2021 were UBC, UVic, Calgary and Guelph with Trinity Western, Laurier, McGill and Memorial joining them this year.

RESULTS

The results from the twelve matches played over three days follow. All matches were streamed on The Rugby Network (Links shown):

Quarter-finals

TWU 23, Uvic 22 – https://www.therugbynetwork.com/videos/2022-canadian-universities-mens-rugby-championship-quarterfinal-uvic-vs-twu-replay
Guelph 28, Memorial 22 – https://www.therugbynetwork.com/videos/2022-canadian-universities-mens-rugby-championship-quarterfinal-guelph-vs-memorial-replay
UBC 53, Calgary 0 – https://www.therugbynetwork.com/videos/2022-canadian-universities-mens-rugby-championship-quarterfinal-ubc-vs-calgary-replay-1
Laurier 23, McGill 22 – https://www.therugbynetwork.com/videos/2022-canadian-universities-mens-rugby-championship-quarterfinal-laurier-vs-mcgill-replay-1

Consolation Semi-finals

UVic 36, Laurier 12 -https://www.therugbynetwork.com/videos/uvic-vs-laurier-2022-canadian-university-mens-rugby-consolation-semifinal-replay
Memorial 29, Calgary 14 – https://www.therugbynetwork.com/videos/guelph-vs-ubc-2022-canadian-university-mens-rugby-championship-semifinal-replay

Championship Semi-finals

UBC 37, Guelph 17 – https://www.therugbynetwork.com/videos/guelph-vs-ubc-2022-canadian-university-mens-rugby-championship-semifinal-replay
McGill 17, Trinity Western 11 -https://www.therugbynetwork.com/videos/mcgill-vs-twu-2022-canadian-university-mens-rugby-championship-semifinal-replay

Final Day

7 vs. 8:Calgary 20, Laurier 12 -https://www.therugbynetwork.com/videos/2022-canadian-university-mens-rugby-consolation-final-7v8-live-replay
5 vs. 6: UVic 52 , Memorial 15 – https://www.therugbynetwork.com/videos/2022-canadian-university-mens-rugby-consolation-final-5v6-live-replay
Bronze medal:Guelph 32, TWU 31 – https://www.therugbynetwork.com/videos/2022-canadian-university-mens-rugby-championship-bronze-medal-match-replay
Gold medal:UBC 48, McGill 5 – https://www.therugbynetwork.com/videos/2022-canadian-university-mens-rugby-championship-final-replay

Finishing Results

8^th: Laurier Golden Hawks
7^th: Calgary Dinos
6^th: Memorial Seahawks
5^th: UVic Vikes
4^th: Trinity Western Spartans
Bronze medal: Guelph Gryphons
Silver medal: McGill Redbirds
Gold medal: UBC Thunderbirds

Bob Frid/UBC

Bob Frid/UBC Athletics)

(Bob Frid/UBC Athletics)

Photos from the tournament can be seen here

At the 2022 CUMRC Awards banquet on December 3, eight players – one from each team – were presented with the Lt. Col. W.D.C. Holmes Award recognizing their contributions to the game of rugby off-the-field. Full story.

Also at the banquet, the inaugural Liam Geddes Memorial Award was presented to Relmu Wilson-Valdes of UBC as the outstanding back-row player in the tournament. Full story

And finally, the McGill University Redbirds were named as the second winners of the Jeff Chan Spirit of Rugby Team Award. The Redbirds were selected by the Toronto Arrows selection panel, the tournament officials, and the CUMRC Board, based on their demonstration of the spirit, values, and culture of the game of rugby including respect for their opponents and the officials, competitiveness, good sportsmanship, and community building over the course of the CUMRC tournament.

Gabi Saini/UBC

Following the tournament, the First and Second Team All Stars were announced.

SPONSORS

The 2022 CUMRC Tournament had the generous support of the following sponsors:

Title sponsor: Raymond James
Presenting sponsor: Lougheed Wealth Management – Raymond James
Sustaining sponsors: The Canadian Rugby Foundation, Langara Fishing Adventures, Pemberton-Holmes, Toronto Arrows, and Michael Holmes.
All Stars sponsor: Toronto Arrows
Game Sponsors: “For the Love of the Game”
Player of the Game Sponsors: University of British Columbia
Official Tournament Balls provided by: Gilbert Canada
Continuing supporter: Rugby Canada
Host university: University of British Columbia
Host university sponsors: Sport Tourism Vancouver, VIA Sport, and the Province of British Columbia, Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel

2023 CUMRC

The 2023 CUMRC returns to British Columbia November 15-19 hosted by Trinity Western University in Langley, BC. See you next year!

LANGARA FISHING TRIP – SALE EXTENDED!

Posted on December 13, 2022March 5, 2023 by Jeff

The 2022 Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC) has now concluded with UBC winning its 4th title in five years. Hosted by UBC at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, this year’s tournament featured host UBC, UVic, Trinity Western, Calgary, Guelph, Laurier, McGill and Memorial meeting November 30 to December 4, 2022 at UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver.

To help defray the travel and accommodation costs for the six visiting teams, the CUMRC provides a subsidy based on the region from which the team is travelling. We now have FOR SALE a 4 or 5-day fishing trip for two, donated by CUMRC sponsor Langara Fishing Adventures, the proceeds of which will help fund those travel subsidies.

NOTE: This sale has now been extended to December 31, with the minimum bid reduced to $8,000.

RAYMOND JAMES STEPS FORWARD TO SPONSOR THE CANADIAN UNIVERSITY MEN’S RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

Posted on November 8, 2022November 8, 2022 by Jeff

We are pleased to announce a new partnership between Raymond James Ltd., Lougheed Wealth Management of Raymond James, and the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC).

The 2022 Championship will be hosted by the University of British Columbia from November 30 to December 4 at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, BC. Once again, the tournament will feature 8 teams from across Canada in the 5 regions in which university men’s rugby is played in Canada: the University of Victoria and host the University of British Columbia from BC, the University of Calgary from the Prairies, the University of Guelph and Wilfrid Laurier University from Ontario, McGill University from Quebec, Memorial University from the Atlantic region, and the wild card entry, either Trinity Western University or UBC Okanagan.

“As the excitement mounts on the pitch, we are excited to have Raymond James join us as the new lead sponsor, and to have Lougheed Wealth Management continue its support of our championship,” says Jeff Chan, CUMRC Co-Founder and Chair. “With rugby union one of the fastest-growing sports by participation and viewers globally and in North America, we look forward to growing together.”

“We are excited to participate in a great championship weekend,” said Dave Loughheed of Lougheed Wealth Management of Raymond James. “As a former player, the lessons I learned from rugby have been instrumental in my personal and professional journey helping clients. We wish all the players good luck for a successful championship.”

Founded in 2017 the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship was created to not only fill the gap in terms of a national championship with representation from all parts of Canada, but also has as a goal the growth of men’s rugby at the university level in both student-athlete numbers, number of teams, and audience interest and engagement, and the deepening of the talent pool for Canada’s senior national team. Already the number of teams vying to qualify for the tournament has grown from 29 to 34, including the new teams in 2022 at Memorial University in Newfoundland, and Carleton University playing in the Quebec league (RSEQ). Since its founding, the CUMRC has received the generous support of the University Rugby Supporters Fund at the Canadian Rugby Foundation.

Raymond James is a leading independent full service investment dealer offering an extensive range of professional investment services and products, including private wealth management services, financial and estate planning services, portfolio management, insurance, trust services, equity research, investment banking and institutional sales and trading. Through its network of more than 8,400 financial/investment advisors and portfolio managers across Canada, the United States and key international centres, Raymond James manages more than US$1.13 trillion in client assets under administration. The firm also has over 60 research analysts covering more than 1,100 companies in Canada, the United States, and internationally

For more information, contact:

Jeff Chan
Chair, Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship
Email: jeffachan@gmail.com

Announcing the Liam Geddes Memorial Award Fund

Posted on October 27, 2022November 1, 2022 by Jeff

We are pleased to announce the establishment of the Liam Geddes Memorial Award Fund at the Canadian Rugby Foundation. The Award is named in honour of Liam David Geddes (October 27, 1999 – March 11, 2022).

The Liam Geddes Memorial Award is intended to provide funding from its endowment for an annual award presented initially to the outstanding back row player at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC) and later when appropriate, the national university men’s Back Row Player of the Year, consistent with the broad objectives and purposes of Rugby Canada and the Canadian Rugby Foundation to develop and grow rugby across Canada, while meeting CRA requirements. The Fund has been kickstarted with donations from Liam’s family and friends.

Liam loved hard, worked hard, and played hard. Liam first began to play rugby for his high school, in Lindsay, ON. He went on to play with the Lindsay Rugby Club, and represented Ontario with U17 and U18 squads. He was a varsity athlete with the Queens Men’s Rugby Program, helping them to achieve gold medals in OUA finals in 2018, 2019, and silver in 2021. He represented Queen’s Men’s Rugby at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC) in 2018 in Victoria, 2019 in Montreal, and most recently 2021 in Kingston.

At the time of his passing, Liam was a 4^th-year student at Queens University, about to graduate with Honours with a B.Sc. in Kinesiology. He was an academic all-star during all four years of his studies, and was awarded his degree posthumously in June 2022. His plans for further schooling, with the ultimate goal of acceptance into medical school, were unfortunately cut short by his untimely death.

Liam was known by all for having a kind heart, quick wit, and keen intellect. He was ever humble and known to give the greatest bear hugs to anyone he was with. Liam was also known for being a clothes horse, with an eye for style. In addition to being very close to his parents, sisters and extended family, he had an extremely large group of well-loved friends throughout his home in Kawartha Lakes, ON, as well as his second home in Kingston, ON. Liam was tenacious on the rugby field from his position in the back row, but he also had a kind and caring spirit and was ever ready to lend a helping hand, or a compassionate ear.

Liam had registered as an organ donor of his own accord several years before his passing. Through his gift of organ donation, Liam was able to profoundly impact the lives of 4 organ donor recipients (lung, liver, and both kidneys), and their families.

You can continue Liam’s legacy through the Liam Geddes Memorial Award Fund by making a donation to the endowment fund here and scrolling down to the Fund name.

Liam Geddes Article 20221027

Rugby Canada Announces Monty Heald Fund Grant

Posted on July 20, 2022July 21, 2022 by Jeff

In the leadup to the Rugby World Cup in Auckland and Whangārei, New Zealand this fall, from October 8 to November 12, the Foundation’s Monty Heald Fund has made a significant grant to Rugby Canada in support of the Senior Women’s 15’s team. Details follow in the Rugby Canada media release: July 2022_CRF MHF_en