About 65 students from Jasper Junior/Senior High School have already signed up to play rugby this year, more than double the number of students than last year.
With four teams—two girls teams and two boys teams—the Jasper Cougars held its first practice last week in the high school gym.
“It’s not four separate teams, it’s one club with four separate teams,” said Marshall Corbett, the club’s director and a high school teacher.
“It’s nice to see it growing. It’s something I’ve been working towards for a long time, trying to develop this and having a girl’s program has made it so much better,” said Corbett, who has played rugby for 22 years and coached with the club for the past six years.
This is the first year students in Grade 7 were able to join the club. In previous years the sport was limited to students from Grade 8 to 12.
“The turn out this year was unreal,” said Teslin Olinkin, a Grade 12 student returning for her second year.
“It’s one of those sports where you’re playing contact on the field, but after you’re friends with the other team and you go hang out with the other team you played with. It’s not like hockey or other sports. It’s a community and I love that,” said Olinkin.
Liam Mackinnon, a Grade 10 student, said he was also surprised by the turn out.
“This year there’s way more people than I expected,” said Mackinnon, who has played with the club for the past three years.
The club’s first tournament will be April 22 and 23 in Kamloops, followed by a Rugby Sevens tournament in Jasper on April 29. The tournament in Kamloops will be 15 players a side.
According to Corbett, 20 teams have already confirmed their attendance for the tournament in Jasper.
Anyone interested in volunteering for the upcoming tournament is urged to contact Corbett by calling the school at 780-852-3316.
Paul Clarke [email protected]
