Kelowna Summerfest Rugby 7’s tournament returns – Okanagan

After a two-year pandemic hiatus, rugby gamers and followers acquired their repair of fast-paced, hard-hitting motion this weekend on the Kelowna Summerfest Rugby 7’s event in Metropolis Park. The occasion featured males’s, ladies’s and youth elite divisions with every division winner incomes money and prizes.

As a substitute of the standard 15 gamers on every workforce taking part in 40-minute halves, rugby sevens is a a lot quicker variant of the game, because it’s performed with seven gamers per workforce and the halves are reduce all the way down to seven minutes every. The change in tempo is actually noticeable for some gamers.

“A number of the guys are off form a little bit bit, it’s {the summertime} so we’ve been attempting our greatest to cowl the place we’d like it. It’s sort of survival of the fittest in sevens,” stated Graham Haigh.

“Whoever can keep healthiest and keep most hydrated normally wins,”

Again in his hometown of Richmond, B.C., Haigh is the president of the Richmond Rugby Soccer Membership, and has been taking part in the game since he was simply 12 years outdated. He says what makes rugby so particular is the comradery not simply between teammates, but additionally with opposing groups.

“I’ve performed soccer, I’ve performed lacrosse, I’ve performed hockey and also you simply don’t see that as a lot within the different sports activities. Groups sort of simply stick with themselves however rugby actually is a festival-type environment the place groups come collectively and golf equipment sort of take care of one another and that’s simply drawn me to the game,” defined Haigh.

Usually, rugby is considered as a bodily sport, but it surely’s additionally inexpensive and inclusive which has helped generate numerous curiosity for the sport in Kelowna over the previous few years.

“There was a contact league that’s been working for the final couple of years, non-contact rugby, which is as much as 600 folks in order that’s been nice,” stated Kelowna Summerfest organizer, Edward Pye.

“The Crows native workforce — the senior males’s workforce was one workforce. Now it’s gone as much as two groups and the college program is rising and the youth program goes very well as properly so its positively a rising sport.”

Dozens of followers packed the sidelines to catch a glimpse of a few of the elite expertise on show, however for these watching the video games on the Summerfest on-line broadcast, you’ll have heard the voice of one of the well-known ex-Rugby gamers in Canada, Gareth Rees. The previous fly-half and fullback was doing play-by-play commentary, and he described Kelowna as the perfect host for the occasion.

“Effectively, I’ll let you know what, lengthy weekend in Kelowna in the course of summer time. There’s nowhere else you need to be, defined BC Sport Corridor of Fame inductee, Gareth Rees.

“My youngsters are up right here, my spouse is up right here, they usually get to see the lake in addition to a little bit of rugby and that’s why I’d advocate it to folks. Due to the help, due to the sphere and all of the amenities right here there’s simply nothing higher.”

Kelowna’s Summerfest Rugby 7’s event is about to happen at Metropolis Park for the subsequent three years over the British Columbia Day lengthy weekend.