On Saturday, November 22nd in Kelowna, BC the Central Okanagan Rugby Enthusiasts (CORE) Society held their first Annual AGM. The highlight of the evening was the official presenting Caps to Gary Grant who earned his first cap against England Under-23 on June 4th, 1977 and to Barry Ebl who earned his first cap against New Zealand on April 22nd, 1995. Former Canadian Captain Pat Aldous who also volunteers on the Canadian Rugby Foundation and Rugby Canada Board of Directors presented the caps to each of the gentlemen.
The CORE Society is a new local rugby society that was established in April 2010 and is dedicated to support rugby in the Central Okanagan. It will take the lead in the introduction of sevens to the region and has set a lofty goal – to place at least one local athlete on the 2016 Canadian Olympic Rugby Sevens team. To accomplish this goal, CORE organizers recognize there is a lot of work to be done. “Our region does not have the infrastructure today to support significant growth in rugby sevens”, said Doug Manning, one of the coordinators of the CORE initiative. “We need to develop a network of qualified coaches, referees, and team trainer/managers to effectively develop this new sport. CORE membership funds will be used to support development of this sport infrastructure.” The CORE Society will focus on four areas in support of existing school and adult teams: Development – Excellence – Sustainability – Fraternity. CORE memberships will be applied to these services.
A CORE Endowment Fund was also launched with the Canadian Rugby Foundation and over $20,000 has been fundraised in the past 6 months. For more information on the CORE Society, please contact Doug Manning by email at 4dougmanning@gmail.com or by phone at (250) 869-0575.
