The 2024 Lt. Colonel W.D.C. Holmes University Awards were presented last month at the U SPORTS Women’s Rugby National Championship in Charlottetown PEI, and the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship in Ottawa, Ontario.
The Lt. Colonel W.D.C. Holmes University Awards were established by Foundation Chair Mike Holmes to honour his late father W.D.C. “Desmond” Holmes who won the sword of honour at RMC in 1942 before embarking on a distinguished career in the British Army during and after World War II, during which time he was awarded the Military Cross.
At each of the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship and the U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Nationals, 8 rugby student-athletes are recognized for their off-field contributions to the game of rugby at their university and community in the past year, and awarded $500 towards their Athletic Financial Award (AFA) from the Canadian Rugby Foundation’s For the Love of the Game Fund. Examples of factors to be considered include organizing community events involving the team, mentoring younger players, volunteering with their home rugby club or at the community in which the university is located, volunteering as a club executive or an official at any level, and providing off-the-field leadership on the university team. The selections are based on the nomination by the head coach of each of the 16 participating teams and presented at the two tournaments at the awards banquet or whenever is deemed most practical by the host organizing committee.
MEN’S AWARDS
Cameron MacPhail, Memorial University Sea Hawks
Photo: Charles Fortin
This recipient is a senior member and leader on their team. He works directly with the young members of his team, among others, to promote their strength and conditioning program. Additionally, he has helped kickstart a grassroots campaign to start minis rugby in rural Newfoundland.
Sacha Laroche, l’École de technologie supérieure (ETS) Piranhas
Photo: Charles Fortin
Cet athlète incarne parfaitement l’esprit du Prix Holmes : un équilibre exceptionnel entre l’excellence athlétique, la réussite académique et l’engagement communautaire. Son leadership et son dévouement font de lui un modèle pour les futurs gestionnaires et administrateurs du rugby canadien. En tant qu’éducateur pour le programme Rookie Rugby, Sacha promote le rugby dans les écoles secondaires, soutenu par Rugby Québec et le RSEQ. Il organise également des activités sportives lors des visites scolaires à l’ÉTS.
Will Corry, Ottawa Gee Gees
Photo: Charles Fortin
This recipient exemplifies what it means to be a student-athlete. Balancing the commitments of High-Performance Rugby with his Nursing placement at the hospital while holding a spot on the Team’s Executive Board. This individual always takes care of his teammates on and off the pitch, as well as the lives of others in the community.
James Webb, Queen ‘s Gaels
Photo: Charles Fortin
This athlete has dedicated their time to organize and support their program’s Run for the Cure initiative, which has directly resulted in raising $25,000 for cancer research. Showcasing a passion for charitable giving while balancing priorities on the pitch.
Jakob Schulz, Guelph Gryphons
Photo: Charles Fortin
This individual has been a leader in organizing team fundraising campaigns for both program support and charitable efforts. This year, this athlete has been behind the team’s Movember campaign. Additionally, he has been a leader within our program, previously captaining our second team and now a member of our leadership group
Patrick Williams, UBC Okanagan Heat
Photo: Charles Fortin
This athlete has been selected for his leadership on and off the field as this year’s team captain. He has organized fundraisers for our self-funded program, workout sessions, team bonding activities, and led film sessions when coaches are unavailable. He is a volunteer coach with the Jr. Heat Rugby Development Academy. He also plays an important role on the Heat Athletic Council – a student run organization that represents student athlete needs on campus, while also running large portions of the team’s social media.
Jacob Bourne, UBC Thunderbirds
This next athlete consistently gives back to the community as a volunteer coach for youth rugby programs. He is also heavily involved in environmental stewardship work with Mossum Creek Hatchery in Port Moody and Haidagwaii Salmon Unlimited Society.
Merlin M’Cloud, Victoria Vikes
Photo: Charles Fortin
This recipient was a natural choice for this award. As a quiet leader who leads by example, he takes on the toughest tasks on the rugby field with grit and resilience, inspiring his teammates to give that little bit extra. Off the field, this athlete is the first to step up when help is needed, showing kindness, dedication, and loyalty. His teammates recognized these qualities by electing him as captain for his final year with the Vikes.
WOMEN’S AWARDS
8 Holmes Award winners with CRF Board member Colette McAuley
Corinne Fréchette, Laval Rouge et Or
Corinne est extrêmement impliquée dans le développement du rugby auprès des jeunes femmes de la région. Elle a coordonné les activités de l’Académie Rouge et Or pour les jeunes de 6 à 17 ans l’été dernier, en plus d’organiser les finales provinciales juniors. Elle était également impliquée comme entraîneure dans les académies civiles. Finalement, elle a travaillé avec Fillactive, un organisme visant à promouvoir l’activité physique chez les filles de 12 à 17 ans
Marley Magnusson, Ottawa Gee Gees
A graduate of Nepean High School (Ottawa) she continues to coach her high school every season creating one of the stronger programs in the City. Marley is a player with the Ottawa Irish, East Ontario U19 and Ontario East. Marley is the first to volunteer in supporting any community events and was instrumental in creating a U18 camp at uOttawa where Jack Hanratty was guest coach complete with Olympic Silver Medal. Marley is a true champion of rugby, and a wonderful young woman opening doors for the next generation !!
Lauryn Bons, Queen’s Gaels
Lauryn has been an active member of the rugby coaching community, devoting her time and energy to both her local club (Peterborough Pagans), the Toronto Rugby Union, as an Assistant Coach (Soports Psychology) with the Queen’s Men’s Rugby team, and has supported provincial and national boys and girls age-grade programs.
Mackayla Valley, Guelph Gryphons
“Mackayla Valley is deeply committed to rugby both as a player and as a coach. She began her rugby career in grade 10 and quickly fell in love with the sport. She first represented Ontario at the U16 level and was invited to the Canada U20 Top 40 camp in 2023. She is deeply committed to fostering the next generation of rugby players. For the past few years, she has volunteered with the Jr Gryphons Rugby Development Academy and the Guelph Rugby Club U16 girls’ team. Working with these athletes was a fulfilling experience as she helped them develop both their skills and their confidence on the field.”
Jordan McLeod, UBC Thunderbirds
Jordan has been an exceptional student athlete throughout her time at UBC earning Academic All-Canadian awards as well as All Star nominations. Jordan is generous with her time volunteering with the UBC Youth Academy spending her weekends teaching the benefits of strength and conditioning for athletic development. As a female S&C coach it is great to have her as a role model in this space. Beyond this she volunteers her time to build programs, engage with youth in a variety of other sports as well as lead our warm up and recovery space for our 7s program. Her off field leadership and mentorship of younger athletes on the team who are in Kinesiology is remarkable. You will be hard pressed to find a more hardworking and motivated individual.
Soleil Brooks, Victoria Vikes
Soleil is heavily involved in the rugby community with a focus on empowering Black and Indigenous youth through rugby. Soleil is involved with Thunder Rugby: an organization that connects indigenous youth with their culture through rugby and BC grassroots rugby: an organization providing rugby across BC to diverse communities promoting the sport. Soleil was recently chosen to attend the Grassroots to Global Forum ran by ChildFund rugby and Gallagher to promote women in coaching. This year Soleil has also taken on the Direct of Mini Rugby role at her club Westshore RFC. Soleil’s work extends outside of rugby and to the wider sport community and university as well. Soleil started the UVic Collective for BIPOC Student Athletes at UVic to create a space where athletes of colour can come together to impact the greater Victoria community in a positive way and find community. Soleil has also been integral to advising the varsity department on supporting student athletes of color by working with the athletec director and speaking at the coaching advance to all of the varsity coaches and staff on how to improve the experiences of racialized athletes at Uvic. Finally Soleil is working as a research assistant to create a framework to improve varsity experiences not only at Uvic but across Victoria from youth sport to performance sport.
Emma MacLean, UPEI Panthers
Emma has been an integral member of the Panthers since her rookie season in 2020. She’s maintained a strong academic GPA and has been a starter at the flanker position each year, earning back to back AUS all stars and has captained the team the past two seasons. Emma is one of the most competitive and committed players on the team, always striving for her and the team to improve technically and tactically. She is our most physical player on both sides of the ball, as a tackler, as a ball carrier and we wouldn’t be the same team without her on the pitch. I am extremely pleased and proud to nominate Emma Maclean for the 2024 Lt. Colonel W.D.C. Holmes award.
Brooke Reid, Acadia Axewomen
Brooke is an exceptional student-athlete. She is a co-captain of the Acadia University varsity rugby team. She has been nominated several times for conference all-star and major award recognition in the AUS. She is a leader in community rugby development having helped develop a brand-new rugby program and competitive team at a local rural high school in Nova Scotia. Without the generous sharing of her time and energy, this school team could not have happened; Brooke has helped open the door to rugby opportunities for many youth in Nova Scotia.
