BC Grassroots Rugby Summer Blog - week 2
BC Grassroots Rugby has finished their second week of Summer 2021!
As many of our supporters and readers know, BC Grassroots Rugby hosts annual summer camps. However, for those of you who are new to the BC Grassroots Rugby family, BC GRF is a community development non-profit organization working to provide opportunities for youth of all backgrounds to participate in safe, organized sport during the summer. The summer camp program transpires from July 5th to August 29th, with a range of days for each camp. The camps are set up in different areas all over Vancouver island. Therefore, the children of each region are met in an area that is both accessible and familiar to them.
WEEK 2 EVENTS
As orientation week came to a conclusion and week 2 commenced, the focus of BCGR was centrally set upon the kids across Vancouver island and Kelowna! The week consisted of various pop-up and plays, give back Friday activities, and weekly summer camp programs.
Brock Staller - Nanaimo/Ladysmith
Our biggest event in week 2 was on Tuesday from 9:30 am to 11:30 am, when Louise and Matt coached 55 kids through camps at VIU. At the same time, zephyr and Logan had their first day working with students from the Stz’uminus First Nation. Our CEO, Clay Panga was amazed by their facilities and the opportunity to grow rugby in their area. What stood out the most to me this week was the quality of our employees. Everyone is willing to support one another in the Nanaimo/Ladysmith region and reach out to build connections for Grassroots in the community
Christian Hill - Kelowna
In week 2 we ran two very successful pop - up camps at Glenmore Rec. Park where 15 kids were running, playing games and learning the game on Tuesday and Thursday. The Kelowna team also helped out at Aberdeen Hall’s Summer camp on Wednesday, as well as pacific sports summer camp. The boys also lent a hand throughout the week at the BC high performance camp. Looking back on the week, I am amazed with the dedication and work ethic of my youth coach team. I am so happy to see the kids we are coaching, generally just having a blast. The team also has some big community stuff they have been working on, and I’m really stoked to see the good work rugby will do for this community this summer!
Gavin Purewal - Port Alberni
Week 2 consisted of a very successful 6 to 8 year old camp that ran every morning from 9am to 11am. We had 15 different campers throughout the week that all had fun and learned a little about rugby. We also had a great first session for our 14 to 18 year olds Wednesday night where the high school players that were finally able to get back on the pitch after a two year hiatus which was the most promising thing for me.
Gabriel Casey - Esquimalt/ Sooke
Some standout events that happened in week 2 were our UVIC and Parliament sessions. On Monday evening from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, 40 Vancouver Island girls took part in our Rugby Academy. The group was able to combine on-filed rugby skills as well as functional movement skills to build back into returning to the game. The other standout session at Parliament on Friday’s from 1 pm to 3 pm was a huge success! If I had to pick one standout moment from the week (tough to choose as there were so many), I would have to pick our Pop up and Play session at Bullen Park. There were so many keen kids coming throughout our Wednesday session from 12 pm to 2 pm that the coaching staff could hardly keep up.
Randall Barton - Cowichan/ Malahat
We had multiple events last week, our headliners were in the first part of the week. These were Malahat First Nations and Queen Margaret's School camps. The Malahat First nations camp was on Wednesday from 10 to 12pm. The QMS camp is on Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 8am to 3pm. We had a busy week operating out of 8 different locations keeping all of our team staff very busy. We impacted a total of 50 kids and were able to create a good foundation for the coming weeks!
Chanelle Challenger - Victoria
An event that stood out in week 2 was our event at Bullen park from 12pm to 2pm on Monday. We had a huge turnout of 38 kids, which was great! Our UVIC/BC grassroots academy on Tuesdays from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm was unreal we have great energy and lots of really talented girls!
Give back Friday events - week 2
The Nanaimo/Ladysmith team had a beach clean-up at Piper’s lagoon in Nanaimo and Transfer beach in Ladysmith.
- It felt great to be out and cleaning up our local beaches in the wind and sun. At transfer beach we saw the local boys and girls club, as well as, Ladysmith recreations’ kids camps going on. It really highlighted the opportunity to partner with these groups/societies moving forward. We are fortunate to be having kids from the Boys and Girls Club of Beban Park coming to our pop and play this upcoming Thursday from 1 pm to 3:30 pm.
The Kelowna team picked up garbage and tidied up Bertram creek park, Mission Dog Beach, Sarsons Park and Parkinson Rec centre.
The Port Alberni team helped out at their local rugby club, completing some chores for them. They also had a beach clean at canal beach.
The Esquimalt/ Sooke team split into two groups:
The first group headed to both Mount Douglas Beach and Cadboro-Gyro Park for a cleanup.
- They put in a bit of hard work to make sure some of the sandy stretches in our backyard was super rewarding. Picking up plastic bottles, food wrappers, and empty cans helped the surrounding environment and continues to help us run safe and fun sessions.
The second group headed over the Canadian Blood Services to go donate blood. These altruistic efforts allowed us as individuals to give to someone in need.
What is coming up?
Nanaimo/Ladysmith - Our big event coming up in week 3 is on Gabriela Island on Friday from 10 am to 12 pm! Everyone is looking forward to it!
Kelowna - Tuesday and Thursday we are back at Glenmore Rec Park with the U10 and U13s. Wednesday we are running pop-ups for the u16 and u19s at Quarry Park. We will also be back at Aberdeen Halls sports camp on Wednesday and Pacific Sport on Friday. Also on Friday, the Kelowna team is collecting gently used rugby balls to collect and distribute to underprivileged communities and organizations that might not have access to them.
Port Alberni - This week we are happy to be running two sessions: 6 to 8 yr olds from 9 am to 11 am and 9 to 13 year olds from 12 pm to 3 pm, Monday to Friday. Our Wednesday night senior ages session will stay the same. Everything is held at the Port Alberni Blacksheep Rugby Club.
Esquimalt/ Sooke - Some big events that we’re looking forward to this week both come up on Thursday from 1 pm to 3 pm. We’ll be at Cook Street and the Gorge Park, looking forward to seeing both familiar and new faces this week!
Cowichan/ Malahat - Upcoming events this week are QMS camp Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 8 am to 3 pm, ages 10 to 12!
Victoria - Cook street village Thursday 1-3 is always a fun pop up, we get a lot of kids from just walking to 15 years old! There are lots of games going on to support all ages!
