In the past week, the world has changed. While the health of all communities remain our number one priority, we wish to share with you the steps that the Rugby Community have taken.

1. Rugby Canada suspended all rugby activities from March 14 until at least April 10
While BC Rugby had already taken some preliminary steps to limit rugby activity over the March 15/16 weekend, Rugby Canada determined the need to nationally suspend all rugby activities – training, matches & educational courses – to ensure we were doing our part to limit the spread of the CVOID-19 epidemic. Rugby Canada’s announcement can be found here.

2. World Rugby postpones the HSBC Canada Women’s 7s Tournament, May 2 & 3
World Rugby and Rugby Canada announced today, March 20, that the Tournament will be postponed until later in the year. World Rugby also announced the postponement of a number of Tournaments. You can read their announcement here.

3. BC Rugby Cancels the Club Finals event planned for May 2
The BC Rugby Board has voted unanimously to cancel the event hosting of the 2020 BC Rugby Club Finals due to the COVID-19 emergency. These were planned to take place on May 2 at Westshore RFC, with logistical and financial tie-ins to the HSBC Canada Women’s 7s event. Given the Province’s current state of emergency and public health emergency, BC Rugby has determined that it is unreasonable to plan for an event 6 weeks away that would involve over 400 people in just the teams competing. BC Rugby’s official announcement can be found here.

4. BC School Sports Suspends Spring Season Indefinitely
On March 17, BC School Sports suspended the Spring Season of Play and all school sport related activities. This includes scheduled training, practices, scrimmages, jamborees, matches and similar school sport activities. You can read their announcement here.

Next Steps
This epidemic is impacting each Province slightly differently, so while Rugby Canada may lift the suspension of rugby activities, we will still abide by the Government of British Columbia’s directives to keep all BC communities safe.