Category Archives: Uncategorized

New Don Ennis Award Fund in Central Okanagan Announced

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We are pleased to announce the establishment of the Don Ennis Award Fund.

The Don Ennis Award Fund was established in April 2024 by Glenn Ennis, former National team player and Captain and BC Rugby Hall of Fame member, Glenn’s partner Gillie, a former rugby player who was coached by Don at KSS, and the Central Okanagan Rugby Enthusiasts (CORE).

Fund Purpose:
The Don Ennis Award Fund is intended to provide funding from its endowment for annual awards that further the broad objectives and purposes of Rugby Canada and the Canadian Rugby Foundation to develop and grow rugby across Canada, and that meet CRA requirements.

The Don Ennis Award is named for Don Ennis, a highly-respected Central Okanagan rugby player and coach. Don was also an advocate for rugby in his role as school Principal in the Rutland, Kelowna, and Okanagan Mission areas of the Central Okanagan.

Don Ennis Obituary

In its initial form, the Don Ennis Award Fund will be used to provide educational assistance to rugby players graduating from a Central Okanagan high school and admitted to the University of British Columbia (Okanagan). In the future, the Fund may be used to support other youth-oriented rugby initiatives in the Central Okanagan. These may include player development camps and/or competitions that improve rugby skills and experiences for local high school and/or university youth players.

Initial Award Criteria:
In its initial form, the Fund will be used to award one male and one female graduating Central Okanagan rugby player the funds to assist in the costs of playing rugby and attending school at the University of British Columbia (Okanagan). In the case that no eligible players are heading to UBCO, the award(s) will go to a local grad going to play rugby at a comparable BC post-secondary institute. Award recipients must demonstrate the following attributes to qualify for the award. They include:

  • Graduating or graduated from a Central Okanagan high school;
  • Accepted into a program at the University of British Columbia (Okanagan) or a comparable BC-based post-secondary institution;
  • Intent to play rugby for their post-secondary or club rugby team in the next year;
  • High-quality rugby potential, as judged by the Fund Representatives; and
  • Leadership skills, as demonstrated in at least two leadership experiences.

For more information on the awd process or to donate to the Don Ennis Award Fund and help support its aims, go here

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

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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

Canada U20 Men – 2020 Update

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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→

Aeroplan Miles Donations Program a Huge Success

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AEROPLAN_1

Thanks to the generosity of over two dozen donors from the USA and Canada, the Canadian Rugby Foundation’s inaugural Aeroplan Donation program received over 465,000 Aeroplan Miles.  Donated Miles will be used to keep the cost of travel for the Canadian Rugby Foundation to a minimum and the remainder being used to support Canada’s U20 men’s and women’s players and referees.

The next opportunity to donate Aeroplan Miles to the Canadian Rugby Foundation will be June 2012.  If you would like to donate, please email the Executive Director of the Canadian Rugby Foundation, Matthuw Ronald-Jones at mrj@canadianrugbyfoundation.ca.