BC Rugby – Vancouver, BC – June 29, 2018: The Provincial Regional Championships (PRCs), sponsored by B2Gold, will be taking place in Burnaby over the Canada Day long weekend.  The tournament will run for three days, from Saturday, June 30, to Monday, July 2, and see over 900 athletes between the ages of 13 and 18 competing for a total of 47 Regional Teams across seven divisions.  The event is one of the largest gatherings of Age-Grade rugby players in the country.

Action will start at 9am on each day of competition, with teams competing in either pool games or round-robin structures, some progressing to knockout competitions as the weekend unfolds. The action will reach a peak on Monday when final standings are decided and medals awarded to the top teams.  Last year’s competition was hotly contested by the regions, each of which was successful in claiming at least one divisional title each.  Will any of those titles be defended this year?  Only time will tell.

Along with the army of players, coaching staff and spectators cheering on from the sidelines, there will be some famous faces present across the weekend.  Canada’s Men’s Rugby Sevens star Harry Jones will be present throughout the weekend, challenging players to test their skills and handing out prizes.  Joining him are a number of other Men’s National Team players including Jake Thiel, Phil Brera, Jared Douglas and more.  On top of this, Rugby Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team Head Coach Damian McGrath will be in attendance, keeping an eye out for any potential future stars.

The PRCs is a pivotal point in the rugby calendar for aspiring young players.  With the High School season wrapped up, this tournament acts as both a climax to the 2017/18 season, as well as a springboard into the summer Provincial Representative (Rep) program.  Many of the players competing this weekend will be hoping to catch the eye of coaches making their selections for the BC Rugby Rep XVs Squads.  The squads will then spend time in training and selection camps before a final Rep Team roster is announced for each gender and Age Grade.

BC’s Rep Teams will take part in a slew of competitions across the country this year including the U16 Western Canada National Championships in Kelowna and the U18 Western Canada National Championships in Winnipeg, along with facing a number of touring sides from the US and Europe in warm-up matches.  Playing for a Provincial Representative Team is a distinct honour and can often be a stepping stone towards participating in National Team programs.

The PRCs is free to attend and will be held at the Burnaby Lake RFC fields.  Matches will run between 9am and 4pm each day and refreshments will be available on site.  Summaries of each day’s action will be posted on the BC Rugby website 

Follow the action on the live stream
Social Media coverage available on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram 

For more information, visit the tournament webpage at bcrugby.com/prcs

More information about BC Rugby

The British Columbia Rugby Union, commonly known as BC Rugby, is the governing body for Rugby in British Columbia and is a Provincial Union of Rugby Canada, the national governing body. Representing over 7,500 individuals registered through around 60 Member Clubs and Associations across the Province, BC Rugby leads and manages the sport with the aim to grow participation and develop excellence in all games of Rugby and in all facets of the sport.

 

Web: bcrugby.com

Twitter: twitter.com/bcrugbyunion

Facebook: facebook.com/bcrugbyunion

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For further information, please contact:

BC Rugby Marketing & Communications Manager

Euan McGhee

emcghee@bcrugby.com

Tel: +1- 604-737-3070