Monday's Musings

THE NEXT STEP

Recently our roving reporter caught up with a number of CW young ladies who have just graduated from High School. The girls were asked a few generic questions as to their rugby involvement and their future. Most of the young ladies have followed the club pathway from U14 to U19 and this season’s B.C. Championship. We congratulate them all on their achievements.

1. When did you start playing rugby with CW?
2. What are some of your rugby achievements or contributions?
3. Have you had any “cool” community involvement around rugby or any other activities?
5. Can you summarise in a sentence or two your thoughts about playing for CW
6. What is a favourite memory about youth rugby?

Renee Cook

Renee is going to Camosun to work on her Medical Office Assistant degree. She is planning to play for the CW again, this coming September.

Achievements: Renee started with CW Minis at age 11; CW 2013 - 2015, 2018-2020; Westshore 2016-2017;Tide 2017-2019; BC 2017-2019; Spencer Middle School 2013-2015; Belmont Secondary 2016-2017; Hamilton Girls High in New Zealand 2018-2019; Canada U18 training camp 2019.

She has; been a Flag bearer and ball girl for ARCs and Women’s 7s; helped coach CW minis and U14 girls; refereed CW minis and U14 girls; sold 50/50 tickets at the 2016 women’s sevens and ARCs to promote Belmont Secondary rugby. Her community contributions also include; fund-raising; tree chipping for CW; Salvation Army kettle bell at Christmas for Ebbtide Rugby; worked with my mum as a team liaison officer with the NZ team for the Women’s Sevens; I completed my referee level 1 course in 2017. I was born in NZ where I was introduced to the game and I organized teams for the sevens season; coached and did refereeing, along with working for various fundraisers promoting Hamilton Girls High Rugby to help pay for trip to the Top 4 in NZ Tournament for XVs. (Ed. Here is a community-minded young lady!)

“Playing for CW helped me meet new people and build my courage with new friendships. I feel lucky to have the Canadian women come and run training sessions for our team. The CW coaches have been very good, pushing me to become the best version of myself.”

Her favourite memory was; “Playing semi-final for Top 4 in all of New Zealand High School rugby at FMG Stadium in New Zealand. My XVs team winning Top 4 in New Zealand in 2018 and also, playing at Thunderbird Stadium in the Club finals against Abbotsford this season.”

Jessica Nonay

Jessica is going to UBC to study Sociology.  She has been recruited to play on their varsity team.

Achievements; CW U19 2019; SMUS 2019-2020; Tide 2019; CW senior women 2020; Vancouver Island Team competing in the Elite 7s series set up by Darcy Patterson 2018/2019.

“I was very involved in my school rugby program and was constantly encouraging girls to try out the sport. I also ran lunchtime sessions for the newer players on the team.  These sessions allowed the girls to gain an understanding of the laws of rugby and how they can apply what they learn in practices to games.”

“I loved my time playing at CW. I got to meet some really awesome people who challenged me to do my best and made the game fun.  In addition to improving my skills, CW also helped me gain more confidence. I was encouraged to try new things and to take advantage of the opportunities I was given.  Also, as captain of the team for the 15’s season, I had a chance to improve my leadership skills. Although I didn’t play with CW for very long I feel that I will always be a part of the CW community.”

“My favorite CW memory is playing touch in practice.  We had a very successful season but I had the most fun with my teammates in practices.  Even though the scores didn’t matter in the long run, we would bring the competitive spirit to our touch games regardless of rain, wind or mud.  I loved that we could try new plays and just take the opportunity to have fun playing the game.”