Steven Batie
Some people give to rugby quietly, consistently, and completely — showing up not for recognition, but because they love the game and the people in it. Steven Batie was exactly that kind of person.
A graduate who found his rugby home at the Burnaby Lake Rugby Club, Steven gave 15 years to the club as a player at every level, and just as importantly, as a coach, mentor, and fitness trainer — volunteering his expertise to support players working toward representative selection. It was at Burnaby Lake that he met his wife Jean, and the club became a home for his entire family.
Steven's talent and dedication also earned him a place on some of BC's finest representative sides. He was a valued member of the Mid Island Tsunami and BC at all levels, including a starting role in the BC Bears' celebrated 2014 victory over the Uruguayan Men's National Team. He also represented Canada at the U21 Men's Rugby World Cup — a testament to the calibre of player and competitor he was.
In 2021, Steven's family honoured his 25 years of service to the game by establishing the Steven Batie Memorial Award Fund through the Foundation — ensuring that the clubs and communities he loved will continue to grow and thrive in his name.
Steven's family also asks that we honour his legacy in a deeper way: by being kind — to ourselves, our teammates, our friends, and even strangers — for everyone we meet may be fighting a battle we know nothing about.
David Burnett
David Burnett arrived in Canada from Gloucester, England in the early 1970s carrying with him a passion for rugby that would shape the game in this country for decades to come.
Settling in Montreal, David made his mark quickly as a tenacious scrumhalf with the Town of Mount Royal Rugby Club, earning Canada East representative honours before eventually relocating to Ontario — where his most enduring contributions to the game would unfold.
As a player and coach, David's fingerprints are all over Ontario rugby. He led the Burlington Centaurs to Senior A promotion in 1989, served as Club President, and built a long representative coaching career through the Niagara Rugby Union, where he chaired the Niagara Thunder and managed provincial and national-level teams. He later served as President of the Rugby Canada Super League — a role that reflected the breadth of his vision for the game in this country.
His commitment extended well beyond elite rugby. David devoted over 20 years to refereeing, championed high school rugby across Halton and Niagara, coached at Waterdown District High School, and served as Secretary of the Eastern Canada Junior Rugby Championship until his passing in 2011.
Inducted into the Rugby Ontario Hall of Fame in 2013, David Burnett's legacy is not measured in titles or trophies, but in the players, coaches, and administrators he mentored and inspired throughout a lifetime of quiet, tireless service to the game.
The David Burnett Memorial Award Fund, established through the Foundation in his honour, ensures that legacy lives on — supporting the grassroots rugby communities he gave so much to build.
John Cannon
John Cannon was, by any measure, one of the finest rugby players ever produced by Abbotsford — and one of the most respected Canadians to put on a jersey at the international level.
John began playing rugby at WJ Mouat Secondary before progressing to Abbotsford Senior, graduating in 1998. He first represented Canada on an Under-17 tour to England in 1996 at just 15 years of age, followed by the Canada U-19s, Pacific Pride, and his first Senior Men's cap at age 20 — going on to earn a total of 39 caps, 31 at 15s and 8 at 7s.
A powerful inside centre, John's professional career took him to England where he played for Rotherham, Doncaster, and Coventry. He was a member of Canada's squad at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, starting a game against the All Blacks. In 2006 he was described by Rugby World Magazine as "perhaps the best centre outside the Premiership in England."
John was respected not just for his skill, toughness, and tenacity on the field, but for his caring nature and love of life off it. Having progressed through the full Canadian development pathway, he understood firsthand the financial commitment required to pursue representative rugby — and it had long been his dream to establish a fund to help Abbotsford players do the same.
John passed away on March 19, 2016, at the age of 35. The John Cannon Memorial Award Fund, established through the Foundation that same year, honours that dream — providing financial assistance to aspiring Abbotsford rugby players pursuing representative rugby, just as he once did.
Dennis Crawford
A formidable loosehead prop, Dennis was a long-standing pillar of Westshore RFC — known during much of his playing career as the Velox Valhallians — where he spent over 40 years as a player, mentor, and volunteer. He was respected by opponents and teammates alike, not just for his physicality and dedication on the pitch, but for the character he brought off it.
In his later years, Dennis channelled his vast experience into mentoring the next generation — front row players in particular. He understood that the dark arts of the scrum take time, patience, and a good teacher, and he was exactly that. Beyond coaching, he volunteered countless hours to his club in ways that went far beyond rugby — his sharp trade skills made him one of the key volunteers instrumental in building the former clubhouse on Gordon Head Road, leaving a physical mark on the club that will long outlast any match result.
Dennis Crawford passed away in the fall of 2020, still an active rugby player to the end — a testament to how deeply the game ran through him.
The Dennis Crawford Memorial Scholarship Award Fund, established through the Foundation in partnership with Westshore RFC, honours his legacy in the most fitting way possible — providing financial support and specialized front row training to young student-athletes pursuing both their rugby and their education. For Foundation members, Dennis Crawford embodies the club rugby volunteer at his finest: tireless, skilled, generous, and utterly devoted to the game.
Frank Deacy
When Frank Deacy arrived in Newfoundland from Galway, Ireland in 1971, rugby in the province was virtually nonexistent. By the time he passed away in 2008, he had spent nearly four decades building it from the ground up — as a player, coach, referee, administrator, and tireless advocate for the game at every level.
A scrumhalf by trade, Frank had already developed a deep love for the game in Ireland before crossing the Atlantic. Once in Newfoundland, he wasted no time. He co-founded the first Newfoundland and Labrador provincial rugby team, which went on to compete in the Montreal 7s and national 15-a-side championships — putting the province on the Canadian rugby map for the first time. He also founded the Baymen's Rugby Club, was a founding member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Rugby Union, helped establish women's rugby locally, and played a key role in creating the high school inter-city league for both boys and girls.
Few people in Canadian rugby history have touched so many parts of the game in one province — player, referee, coach, and builder all at once.
Frank Deacy passed away on November 9, 2008, at the age of 63. The Foundation honoured his legacy by establishing the Deacy, Browne, Parfrey Fund in his name — ensuring that the game he gave so much to in Newfoundland and Labrador continues to grow for generations to come.
Don Ennis
Born March 30, 1940, Don moved his young family to Kelowna in 1972 after winning the principalship at Rutland Junior Secondary, becoming the youngest high school principal in the province at just 32 years old. His career in education took him through Hollywood Road Secondary, Okanagan Mission Secondary, and ultimately to a long tenure as principal at Kelowna Secondary — where he touched the lives of tens of thousands of students.
Rugby was woven through all of it. Don coached the game at Kelowna Secondary School, nurturing young players in the Central Okanagan at a time when the sport was still finding its footing in the region. Among those he coached was Gillie, partner of future Canadian international and BC Rugby Hall of Famer Glenn Ennis — a connection that speaks to how deeply Don's influence ran in the Okanagan rugby community.
Don passed away peacefully on January 26, 2024, surrounded by loving family and friends.
The Don Ennis Award Fund was established in April 2024 by Glenn Ennis, Gillie, and the Central Okanagan Rugby Enthusiasts (CORE) to honour a man who believed every student had something special to offer — and who used rugby as one of the ways to help them find it. The fund supports graduating Central Okanagan rugby players pursuing post-secondary education, carrying forward exactly the kind of opportunity Don spent his career creating for others.
Liam Geddes
Liam David Geddes was the kind of teammate every rugby squad is lucky to have — the one who played with his whole heart, lifted everyone around him, and made the game a little brighter just by being in it.
A varsity athlete with the Queen's Men's Rugby Program, Liam helped the Gaels achieve gold medals at the OUA finals in 2018 and 2019, and silver in 2021. He represented Queen's at the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship in 2018 in Victoria, 2019 in Montreal, and most recently in Kingston in 2021 — competing at the national level across his entire university career.
Liam was known by all for having a kind heart, quick wit, and keen intellect. He was ever humble, and known for giving the greatest bear hugs to anyone he was with. He was as beloved off the pitch as he was respected on it.
Liam had registered as an organ donor of his own accord several years before his passing. Through his gift of organ donation, he was able to profoundly impact the lives of four organ recipient families.
The Liam Geddes Memorial Award Fund was established in October 2022 through the Foundation, and the award bearing his name is presented annually to the outstanding back row player at the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship — a fitting tribute to a player who embodied exactly that combination of grit, skill, and generosity that the back row demands.
For the Foundation and the broader university rugby community, Liam Geddes is a reminder that the game is about far more than what happens on the pitch.
Howard and Marina Gerwing
Behind every great rugby program, there are people who show up not for glory, but out of pure love for the game and the young people who play it. Howard and Marina Gerwing were exactly those people for the University of Victoria Vikings — and for rugby in the Cowichan Valley.
Howard Gerwing was the first coach of the University of Victoria Vikings, leading them on three historic tours including a match against the national team of Yugoslavia in 1978. A man of equal parts sport and scholarship, Howard was also a bibliophile who built up the Special Collections section of the UVic library into a well-known national scholastic resource — a fitting reflection of someone who understood that education and rugby were not competing pursuits, but complementary ones. With scant resources, he was also the joint founder of the first UVic rugby scholarship fund, the Brian Williams Scholarship, established in memory of one of his players.
Marina was in charge of domestic matters, and the family residence on Palmer Road served for many years as the UVic clubhouse and home for itinerant and wayward rugby players. For countless young men finding their feet at university, the Gerwing home was a sanctuary — warm, welcoming, and always open.
The late Howard Gerwing passed away on August 15, 2019, and the late Marina on May 7, 2017. Together they established the Marina and Howard Gerwing Award Fund through the Foundation, dedicated to supporting the growth of junior rugby in the Cowichan Valley and Gulf Islands — one of the most productive rugby regions in the entire country.
Monty Heald
Few people in Canadian rugby history have given as much, for as long, as Monty Heald — a man whose journey from the pitches of England to the boardrooms of the Canadian Rugby Union spans more than six decades of devoted service.
Monty's rugby story began at the Royal Masonic School in England before he settled in at Derby RFC, where he played for 15 years — appearing in a club-record 107 consecutive first-grade matches and serving as club captain from 1965 to 1967. The discipline, commitment, and character those years instilled in him would define everything that followed.
After immigrating to Canada in 1968, Monty wasted no time making his mark. He captained the Hamilton Hornets before becoming a founding member and first captain of the Burlington Centaurs Rugby Club — a club he would go on to serve as President and for which he holds the distinction of Life Member.
His contributions to the national game were equally profound. Monty served as National Selector, Chair of the CRU Selection Committee, and Manager of both the Canadian Sevens and the National Team, before being elected President of the Canadian Rugby Union — a role he held from 1991 to 1999. Inducted into the Ontario Rugby Union Hall of Fame in 2004, he has never truly stepped away, remaining active in coaching and service to Rugby Canada to this day.
The Monty Heald Senior National Women's Fund, managed through the Foundation, honours a man who has given everything to this game and ensures his legacy continues to support the highest levels of Canadian women's rugby for generations to come.
Lt. Colonel W.D.C. "Desmond" Holmes
The award that has recognized so many outstanding Canadian university rugby student-athletes bears the name of a man who embodied the very qualities it celebrates — discipline, honour, and a commitment to excellence in all things.
Lieutenant Colonel W.D.C. "Desmond" Holmes served with distinction in the British Army during and after the Second World War, a career that began when he won the Sword of Honour at the Royal Military College of Canada in 1942 — awarded to the top graduating officer cadet. He went on to be decorated with the Military Cross for his service during the war, a recognition of courage and leadership under the most demanding circumstances imaginable.
His son, Foundation Chair Mike Holmes, established the Lt. Colonel W.D.C. Holmes University Awards Fund in his father's memory — a tribute that connects Desmond's values of duty, service, and personal excellence to the Canadian rugby community he never knew, but whose spirit he would surely have recognized.
The award, now part of the Foundation's For the Love of the Game Fund, is presented annually at both the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship and the U SPORTS Women's Rugby Nationals to student-athletes who give back to the game off the field — mentoring younger players, volunteering in their communities, and leading by example.
In honouring Desmond Holmes this way, Mike Holmes has ensured that a father's legacy of service lives on in every young rugby player who carries those same values forward.
Dave Huang
Dave Huang was the kind of person who made everyone around him want to be better — on the pitch, in the classroom, and in life.
Known affectionately as "The Huang Express," Dave was a rugby player who graduated from Lord Byng High School in 1995 and represented British Columbia at the U-19 level. As team captain, he led the Lord Byng Grey Ghosts to a 5-2 record on their legendary Tour '95 to Australia.
Dave demonstrated excellence in all pursuits on and off the field — except, as his teammates would tell you, his post-match speeches. Upon returning from Australia, his academic ability opened remarkable doors. Dave earned a full-ride academic scholarship to Princeton University, where he also captained the rugby team. Graduating with honours, he went on to medical school at Columbia University in New York City. Tragically, Dave passed away in 2003.
The Dave Huang Memorial Award Fund was established in August 2024 to honour Dave's legacy of excellence and high achievement in rugby, academics, music, leadership, and community service. It is awarded annually to a graduating BC high school rugby player who demonstrates that same rare combination — someone who leads by example, gives back to their community, and pursues greatness in everything they take on.
George Jones Q.C.
Victoria born, Brentwood-schooled, and Lakefield-finished, George Jones arrived at UBC Law with the kind of background that produces either admirals or lawyers. He chose law — and Canadian rugby is all the better for it.
After a brief and apparently mutual parting of ways with Revenue Canada, George spent the next 50 years defending individuals in Tax Court, bailing out rugby players from various situations, and billing clients on what colleagues generously described as Robin Hood principles. Along the way he found time for five children, two more children, and a friends list that reads like a rugby Who's Who of British Columbia.
His resume in sport was as impressive as his legal one. Player, coach, referee — George showed up at virtually every level of virtually every sport, but rugby held a special place. When the idea of a national foundation for the game began to take shape at the turn of the century, George was one of the people in the room making it happen. He became a co-founder and first director of the Foundation — helping lay the very groundwork that today supports clubs, players, and programs from coast to coast.
In 2012, 300 of his closest friends gathered at the Empress Hotel in Victoria for a roast in his honour — raising $50,000 for the George Jones Scholarship in the process. That a man's roast could raise that kind of money for rugby says everything you need to know about how George Jones moved through the world: with humour, generosity, and an irrepressible commitment to the people and the game he loved.
Paul "Koby" Kobayashi
Paul was an athlete who excelled at any sport he played, but it was through rugby that he found a camaraderie like no other. A brotherhood.
Koby joined the Campion Grads in Regina at 17, and was fortunate to have an exceptional group of veteran players who mentored and developed him — both personally and as a player. Whenever Paul was going through dark and tough times in his life, it was his rugby brothers who stepped up and came through for him. That bond, that mutual loyalty, defined his relationship with the game throughout his life.
In his last few months, Paul reminisced fondly about his rugby days and the Grads. He shared many stories about his rugby brothers and had many laughs. He also talked about the opportunity he had to play for the Prairie Fire and travel to Halifax — and reflected on those days as some of the best times of his life.
As one of his former teammates put it: "He who sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother."
The Paul 'Koby' Kobayashi Memorial Award Fund was created by Paul's family to honour his memory and his love of rugby, with awards recognizing leadership and providing support for elite players to compete at a higher level — giving future Regina players the same opportunities that meant so much to Koby, and the same chance to find their own brotherhood in the game.
Quinn Lauridsen
Quinn Mitchell Lauridsen was born on April 29, 1992, all 10 pounds and 12 ounces of him — the biggest baby at Victoria General that week. He left the world on September 23, 2019, at 27 years old. In between, he lived with a fierceness of love and a gentleness of spirit that left everyone who knew him better for it.
Rugby was woven into the fabric of Quinn's upbringing. His father Craig coached rugby in the Cowichan Valley — one of Canada's most storied rugby regions — and the game was part of the family's identity long before the fund that now bears Quinn's name came to be.
As a child he cried hardest when playdates were over, as though he couldn't bear for time with the people he loved to end. That quality — the inability to hold people at arm's length, the refusal to judge, the instinct to make everyone feel seen — never left him. Quinn was, by all accounts, the most non-judgmental person you would ever meet. He welcomed everyone who crossed his path with gentle acceptance, and he saw people for the beauty they possessed — especially the ones society judged most harshly.
He was intelligent, musical, hardworking, and fiercely loyal. He was proud of his trade work at Holdfast Metalworks and his career with the Canadian Coast Guard, where he thrived on the camaraderie and the sense of purpose. He celebrated his Danish, Irish, and Scottish heritage with quiet pride, and treasured summers at his grandparents' farm in Kelowna and afternoons at Pease Lake with family.
He leaves behind his sister Hannah — his person — his brother Kieran, and his parents Craig and Maria.
The Quinn Lauridsen Memorial Award Fund was established through the Foundation in his memory. It is the kind of tribute that would have meant everything to him — not a monument to himself, but an open hand extended to the next generation of rugby players finding their way.
Nick Mathers
Gerald McGavin
The Gerald McGavin Coaching Award exists because Gerald McGavin never forgot the coaches who shaped him — and because he wanted to make sure the next generation of coaches received the same recognition.
A former BC athlete who represented his province against some of the finest sides in the world — the Barbarians, Australia, the British & Irish Lions, and New Zealand Universities — McGavin earned his place among British Columbia's rugby elite while studying Commerce at UBC. He was also selected to represent Canada on a tour of Britain, though he was ultimately unable to accept due to the time commitment required.
After rugby, Gerald went on to become one of BC's most distinguished citizens. He was awarded an FCA in 1990 in recognition of his service to the accounting profession, appointed to the Order of Canada in 1999, and appointed to the Order of BC in 2006 — the highest honour the Province can bestow. He chaired the BC Sports Hall of Fame, served on the UBC Alumni Association Board, and was instrumental in creating the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre, which opened in 2013 and gave UBC Rugby a permanent home on campus.
He created the coaching award bearing his name out of love for the sport and to acknowledge the role rugby played in shaping his own life — recognizing coaches who reach players not just as athletes, but as positive influences on their lives beyond the game. Recipients are sent to train with the Crusaders in Christchurch, New Zealand — a fitting prize for coaches who give so much.
Gerald McGavin is a model of what rugby produces at its best: a competitor, a leader, and a builder who never stopped giving back.
Jack Patrick
David Robinson
Wherever David Robinson travelled, he took his boots. Over a 30-year career that took him to more than 20 countries, that simple habit said everything about the man — rugby wasn't something he did, it was something he lived.
David was an active referee for 30 years in Alberta and British Columbia, but was often found refereeing around the world. On the field, David was willing to help whenever and wherever he was needed — from his annual run at the Stampede Rugby 7s, to shadowing new match officials, refereeing age-grade matches, or officiating at the highest level of provincial tournaments and finals.
His contribution to the structural foundations of rugby officiating in Alberta was lasting. David was a founding member of the Rugby Alberta Match Officials' Association (RAMOA), sitting on its first board and serving as both Treasurer and President. His connections during his travels played a key role in helping RAMOA establish ongoing match official exchanges with Northern California. In later years he became a Citing Commissioner for World Rugby and Major League Rugby, involved in tournaments across Canada, the USA, and beyond.
Off the field, his hospitality was legendary. David never missed an opportunity to host a visiting match official — opening his home, sharing his family and community, and ensuring everyone got the most out of their visit and the game he loved.
David Robinson passed away on October 15, 2022. The David Robinson Memorial Award Fund, established through the Foundation in his honour, supports student-athletes who share his commitment to officiating — ensuring the next generation of referees has someone in their corner, just as David always was for those coming up behind him.
Judy Seddon
Judy Seddon didn't hold a national title or appear in match programmes. Her contribution was something harder to quantify and, in many ways, more essential — she was the person who made sure everything worked, everyone felt welcome, and the club kept going.
For over 35 years, Judy gave herself to Alberta rugby as a volunteer, organizer, fundraiser, and mentor. She was the kind of presence every rugby community depends on but rarely stops to honour — coordinating teams, supporting families, sustaining the culture that holds a club together long after the final whistle. Players came and went; Judy stayed, and in doing so became a fixture in the lives of multiple generations of Alberta rugby families.
She was a rugby mom in the truest sense of the phrase — not just to her own, but to the young players and families who found in her a warm, steady, and encouraging presence. She advocated for players, looked out for the people around her, and showed up with the kind of consistency that only comes from genuine love for the game and its community.
Judy Seddon passed away in 2019 after more than three and a half decades of service. The Judy Seddon Memorial Scholarship, established through the Foundation in her honour, recognizes players who carry forward the same values she embodied — not just athletic excellence, but care for community, loyalty to the club, and a willingness to give back.
Judy Seddon is a reminder that the heart of Canadian rugby beats loudest at the club level, and that the people who tend it deserve to be remembered.
