Category Archives: Foundation News

Announcing 2022 Grassroots Rugby Assistance Grants

Posted on by

It’s no secret that the past year and a half have been hard on grassroots rugby across Canada. With COVID-19 protocols restricting play and most forms of activity that would normally engage club members, incoming revenue has been drastically reduced if not eliminated, and membership has taken a hit with the risk that some younger players might not return at all.

The Canadian Rugby Foundation has recognized these hardships, and are making available some funding to help clubs across Canada recover from the recent months. The Foundation’s Board approved new Grassroots Rugby COVID-relief grants to assist clubs who have been hard hit this year by the effects of COVID-19. A total of $40,000 is being made available through the provincial and territorial rugby unions to assist their most affected clubs.

Each provincial union has been invited to apply for assistance to a maximum of $5,000 per union, with funding available starting January 2022 on the condition that the CRF grant is matched by the union/clubs.

The deadline for applications is November 15, 2021 at 5:00pm EST.

The email that was sent and the application form can be seen below. If your club could use this type of support, contact your provincial union for more information.

Grassroots Assistance email to PRUs 20211013
Application for Grassroots Assistance

 

UPDATE: The following 5 Provincial Rugby Unions applied for and were subsequently approved for $5,000 grants payable in March 2022.

  • Rugby Ontario
  • Rugby Quebec
  • Manitoba Rugby
  • New Brunswick Rugby
  • Newfoundland Rugby

 

2021 Elections and Appointments

Posted on by

At the October 7, 2021 Canadian Rugby Foundation Annual General Meeting – for the first time a virtual Zoom event – and the subsequent Board of Directors meeting, the Contributing Members and Directors made the following decisions:

ELECTIONS

Three new Directors were elected by the Members to initial 2-year terms, effective immediately. All three have been active at the club and provincial level, with two having extensive experience with Rugby Canada.

Graham J. Brown, Director, CATAPULT Career Advantage Inc.

A founding Partner and current Director with CATAPULT Career Advantage, Graham was most recently the President & CEO of U SPORTS, the national governing body for University Sport in Canada. Following his ten (10) years lecturing in the Business Faculty at the University of Toronto, Graham most recently lectured on Leadership at McMaster University’s W. Booth School of Engineering, Industry Operations Leadership & Management (IOLM) Program.

Prior to U SPORTS, Graham spent fourteen years as President & CEO of Rugby Canada where he remains a Director on the Canada 7s LLP Corporate Board and provincially on the Board of Rugby Ontario.  Graham holds both an undergraduate and graduate degree from the University of Windsor and continues to provide corporate leadership for a number of Corporate and Canadian amateur sport boards in Canada.

Jerrold D. Marriott, Consultant, Eastmount Financial Consulting Ltd.

Jerry has been actively involved in the Toronto rugby community since 1983 as a member of the Toronto Scottish RFC. He has served as a captain on the field, Director of Men’s Rugby and two extended terms as the Treasurer of TSRFC. As the current Treasurer of TSRFC, he has become an advisor to the Board of Fletcher’s Fields Limited (“FFL”) to assist in the sale of its property north of Toronto, decisions regarding the use of sale proceeds and the transition of FFL to a new role in the promotion and support of rugby in the greater Toronto area.

Jerry’s business career has involved the practice of law, corporate finance, banking, debt capital markets, debt credit ratings, financial markets regulation and consulting. Most recently, he has run a consulting practice focusing on financial institutions with issues relating to asset valuations and funding or government regulation of capital markets.

Jerry’s financial acumen has developed over a number of years. He has completed a Bachelor of Commerce, a Master in Business Administration and levels I & II of the CFA designation. He has worked in debt capital markets for over twenty years at two major Canadian banks and was a senior executive at a Canadian debt rating agency during and after the financial crisis of 2008-2009. The result is a wide-ranging understanding of asset valuation and financial markets that will provide background for active participation in the Canadian Rugby Foundation Investment Committee.

 Nick Taylor, Director of Development, Athletics & Recreation, Ryerson University

Nick stepped onto the rugby field in 1990 at Queen Elizabeth High School in Halifax NS, and other than setbacks from injuries has not yet retired from actively participating in the game as a player. Along the way, Nick competed at the Provincial level with Quebec’s U19 program, played with five clubs in Quebec and Ontario, served as a board member with three of the clubs, spent eight years as a senior leader with Rugby Canada and currently enjoys watching two of his three children with shared aspirations of playing for Canada as they play 7s and 15s rugby at club, invitational, regional and provincial levels.

Away from the field, Nick currently volunteers with Sport4Ontario and his professional career has included a variety of roles across the for profit and non-profit sectors including senior leadership positions in Canadian sport, healthcare, and academia. With experience in sales & marketing, communications & PR, sponsorship, fundraising, lotteries, and major gifts as well as in strategic planning.

 

The 2021-2022 Board of Directors now consists of:

  • Mike Holmes (Chair)
  • Pat Aldous (Vice-Chair)
  • Rick Bourne (Rugby Canada appointee)
  • Graham Brown
  • Hans de Goede
  • Sally Dennis (Rugby Canada appointee)
  • Neil Duke
  • Barry Giffen
  • Randy Heward
  • Jim Kellett
  • John Lecky
  • Jerry Marriott
  • Colette McAuley
  • Nick Taylor
  • Bill Webb
  • John Woodward

 

APPOINTMENTS

The Board approved the appointment of the Foundation’s Officers and Executive Committee members as follows:

  • Mike Holmes (Chair)
  • Pat Aldous (Vice-Chair)
  • John Wrafter (Treasurer, non-voting)
  • Sally Dennis (Secretary)
  • Hans de Goede
  • Jim Kellett
  • Jeff Chan (ex officio, non-voting)

The Board approved the appointment of the Investment Committee members as follows:

  • Jim Kellett – Chair
  • Jerry Marriott
  • Mike Holmes
  • Bill Webb
  • John Woodward

Lastly, the Board approved the establishment of a Governance Committee, comprising Chair Sally Dennis, Mike Holmes, and Executive Director Jeff Chan. Among the primary objectives of the new committee will be a review, update and recommended revisions to the Constitution and By-laws of the Foundation, and the establishment of a formal Nominations process.

Jeff Chan Appointed Executive Director of the Canadian Rugby Foundation

Posted on by

The Board of the Canadian Rugby Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeff Chan to the role of Foundation Executive Director. Jeff replaces Clay Panga who will continue to assist with the development of the Canada U 20 program and head up the new British Columbia Grassroots Rugby Foundation that is looking to grow the game amongst young children throughout British Columbia.Continue reading→

Canada U20 Men – 2020 Update

Posted on by

The Canada U20 program has finalized plans for 2020. Forty eight players have been invited to Shawnigan Lake School for a selection camp Jan 3-7. It will conclude with an inter-squad game at noon on Jan 7. Players living in BC will come together again on January 18 and 19 for a game v the Pacific Pride on Jan 19.

The Portugal tour is now planned February 13-21 with games v Portugal on February 17 and 20. A tour to the UK will be from April 28 to May 9 with games v Bristol Bears Academy x 2 and Cardiff Met. The tour has been organized by Gethin Watts now Bristol Bears Academy manager.Continue reading→

Canadian Rugby Foundation Provides Grant for Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship

Posted on by

The board of the Canadian Rugby Foundation are proud to announce their support of the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship with an annual grant of $20,000 as a key part of its platform for developing Canadian grassroots rugby.

This idea had its genesis in discussions between Doug Tate (UVic) and Mike Holmes (CRF) and subsequently with like-minded individuals Jeff Chan and Keith Labbett in Ontario. Though the concept had been tried before it did not have staying power – likely due to the lack of financial support.

The championship takes place from November 16th to 19th at the University of Guelph.

from Rugby Canada

The University of Guelph, Rugby Canada and the Canadian Rugby Foundation are pleased to jointly announce that the inaugural Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship will be held November 16th to 19th at the University of Guelph.

The Championship will feature teams from all four U SPORTS conferences (Canada West, OUA, RSEQ and AUS) and will have a six-team format with two pools of three teams playing on Thursday through Saturday, November 16-18 at Guelph’s Varsity Field, home of the Guelph Gryphons Men’s and Women’s Rugby teams. Guelph will be one of the six teams in the tournament, either as the OUA Champions or as the host team. The Bronze medal match will be held in the University of Guelph’s Alumni Stadium on Sunday, November 19 followed by the Gold medal match to crown the first 21st century Champion of Canadian University Men’s Rugby.

“We are pleased to pick up an initiative dating back to the University of Victoria in the 1980’s and 1990’s to create a sustained and truly national Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship. We would like to thank all of the staff at the University of Guelph’s Department of Athletics for agreeing to host this exciting event and we hope that this will be the beginning of a great tradition,” stated Keith Labbett and Jeff Chan co-chairs of the organizing committee. “It’s not often there is an opportunity to be on the ground floor of an exciting championship event, and I anticipate the same kinds of success we enjoyed with the Canadian College Bowl Board – the Vanier Cup predecessor – from its early days” added Chan.

“Rugby Canada recognizes Canadian university rugby as an important historical and continuing pathway to playing for the National Men’s Fifteens Team and are pleased to support this championship. We believe the tournament will be a success and are very confident we will see numerous players achieve national team representation via this exciting competition. With the selection of many players from the tournament to the Canadian University XV, there is added incentive for players and universities to participate. Our national team staff are looking forward to the competition,” stated Jim Dixon on behalf of Rugby Canada.

Though the tournament is not officially recognized or sanctioned by U SPORTS, eligibility and format will adhere to existing U SPORTS rules (including academic and 5-year maximum eligibility) and the organizing committee is hopeful that in time both the tournament and the sport of Men’s Rugby will be sanctioned by U SPORTS in the same way as Women’s Rugby and its national championship.

“Rugby Canada is one of the top sport organizations in our country. Growing the number of sports that have that opportunity to compete for a U SPORTS National Championship is an important part of my vision for elevating university sport in Canada. Although U SPORTS is not officially involved with this project, Rugby Canada has the support of U SPORTS and I anticipate the success of this event will be similar to the very successful National University Championships hosted by Tennis Canada and Golf Canada” stated Graham Brown, President and CEO of U SPORTS.

“We are thrilled to be selected as the host site for the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship,” says Scott McRoberts, Director of Athletics at the University of Guelph. “Our men’s rugby program has developed some great rivalries within our conference, but we cannot wait to see the talent from across the country. We really believe this tournament will be the start of something bigger.”

Further details will follow on the Rugby Canada and University of Guelph Athletics websites.

2016 Chairman’s Report

Posted on by

Dear Foundation Members,

I am writing to provide a brief report on the 12th year of the Canadian Rugby Foundation ending Dec 31, 2015.

Financials

We had a record year in donations with over 700k in donations. Our assets closed out the year at almost 3 million and but for a poor year on the markets we would have exceeded this mark. Our expenses remained low at a total of $28,597 and we should now be comfortably delivering over 100k a year in grants without any impact on capital. Because of the growth in our funds we decided to look for an institutional investment firm. After a diligent process of solicitations of interest and interviews by our investment committee of Jim Kellett chair, John Woodward and Bill Webb, the firm of Leith Wheeler was selected and the process of transfer of our entire portfolio will have been completed at the time of distribution of this report. The investment committee also recommended, and has implemented some changes to our investment policy to permit a greater degree of flexibility with respect to investment choices in accordance with the policies of our new fund managers. I would like to thank Bruce McFarlane and Sarah Dunbar of Odlum Brown for their years of service. Bruce was one of our very first members and always had our interests first and foremost.

Read the full report in .pdf format

Curry Hitchborn Gerald McGavin Coaching Award Winner

Posted on by

There’s no doubting the passion that Curry brings to coaching, he loves rugby and where it’s taken him. He started coaching in 2006 at the high school where he first played rugby as a youth, Handsworth Secondary, not far from the club that would take him to the next level of coaching, Capilano Rugby Club.

He coached the Capilano men’s 3rd Division team and over the next eight years the club’s U16, U17, U18 and U19 teams. He was asked to assist with the men’s Premier side as the forward’s coach in 2012. That was the year they came back from relegation and made it to the Premier final against James Bay. It’s a year Curry remembers very well and you can tell the pride in his voice when he talks about that team. He credits the Capilano Rugby Club and the Vancouver Rugby Union (VRU) with actively supporting him during his early coaching career.

The Vancouver Rugby Union asked him to run their Vancouver North U16 squad which made it to the final and next year he was coach for the BC Blue U16 team. He went on to coach national championship teams for BC in the U16, U17 and U19 levels. He has also worked with the Canada U17 program as a guest coach.

He had a chance to be part of the UBC coaching staff in 2013 when they started their meteoric rise through the men’s elite ranks. UBC won the Division One Provincial title in 2014 earning them promotion to the BC Premier which they immediately won in 2015. Since winning the award he’s added two national U19 championships with BC, a national U16 championship, two Rounsefell Cup titles with UBC – as well as a club U18 championship.

His philosophy during his rugby coaching career has remained the same, care about the people you coach and try to listen more than you talk, pay attention to the process and the results will come.

Monty Heald Fund Update – Summer 2016

Posted on by

Below you will find comments from players on our National Senior Women’s 15, who, for the first time in recent memory, did not have to pay to play for Canada at the recent Super Series. They were subsidized by the Monty Heald National Women’s Fund via the Canadian Rugby Foundation. This fund was established to ensure players would not have to play in lead up to and at the 2017 Women’ Rugby World cup. In conjunction with Rugby Canada and National Women’s team management, budgets were reviewed and targets for the fund were set. The goal is to leave a legacy fund that will go beyond the World Cup. We have a remarkable donor who contributed an initial $50,000 to start the fund. In addition, this same donor offered to match $175,000 if we could organize the community to donate a similar amount. We have raised $102,000 to date and need to raise another $73,000 to meet our target.

Please help us in supporting the talented and dedicated young women whose ambitions are only to bring home the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2017. Your contributions will mean they can focus on their skills and preparation. Donations are tax deductible and will be matched!

Thank you for your support
Stephanie White
Chairwomen, Monty Heald National Women’s Fund
https://canadianrugbyfoundation.ca/rugby/index.php/monty-heald-national-womens-fund/