July 10, 2023 – Vancouver, BC: BC Rugby’s 2023 Provincial Regional Championships (PRCs) concluded on Sunday following three days of action-packed youth Rugby at UBC’s Gerald McGavin Centre, with the Vancouver Island Junior Tide taking four gold medals back to the Island.
Taking place on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nation, the tournament made its return to the BC Rugby calendar and featured 42 teams and over 1000 players vying for glory across six divisions.
Teams from Vancouver Rugby Union (VRU), Vancouver Island Rugby Union (VIRU Tide), North Vancouver Island Rugby Union (NVIRU Tsunami), Fraser Valley Rugby Union (FVRU) and the Thompson-Okanagan Rugby Alliance (TORA) competed in front of over 2500 spectators and enjoyed the festival atmosphere throughout July 7-9.
The weather stayed perfect all weekend, allowing for excellent playing conditions – if a little hot – as the Tide claimed gold in the U16 Boys, U16 Girls, U18 Boys and U18 Girls Divisions. Fraser Valley East picked up two gold medals in the U14 Boys and U14 Girls Divisions.
All medals were presented by former BC Bears and current Rugby Canada Senior Men’s Sevens athletes Jake Thiel and Elias Ergas, as well as BC Rugby CEO David Newson and BC Rugby Directors of the Board Connie McGinley and Brennan Bastyovanszky.
A full breakdown of each Division can be found here.
For emerging Rugby players, the 2023 PRCs presented a perfect opportunity to impress the watching BC Rugby Age-Grade Team Coaches and make a late bid for selection to the BC Bears Provincial U16 and U18 Representative teams in action this summer at the 20
023 Western Canadian Championships in Calgary, Alberta.
BC Rugby will be releasing a full 2023 PRCs photo gallery this week, and live stream/video feeds from the weekend will be made available on our YouTube channel.
2023 PRCs – U18 Boys Champions: Vancouver Island Tide
2023 PRCs – U18 Girls Champions: Vancouver Island Tide
2023 PRCs – U16 Boys Champions: Vancouver Island Tide
2023 PRCs – U16 Girls Champions: Vancouver Island Tide
2023 PRCs – U14 Boys Champions: Fraser Valley East
2023 PRCs – U14 Girls Champions: Fraser Valley East
BC Rugby would like to thank all groups and individuals who made this event possible: to our Match Officials, Coaching Staff, Therapists and Medics, Players, parents, volunteers and vendors – thank you for your hard work and commitment in helping grow the game throughout the province.
To Rugby Canada Senior Men’s Sevens team players Jake Thiel and Elias Ergas for presenting medals to the teams.
To official event photographer Shelly Fey and PA announcer Ryan Chilton for their contributions over the weekend.
To our Official Merchandise Partners, The Rugby Shop, and our official sports nutrition partners, Blonyx, for providing their services throughout the weekend.
To our sponsors and partners for their commitment in helping grow our sport: Onni Group, The Rugby Shop, X-Treme Rugby Wear, Langara Fishing Adventures, belairdirect home Insurance, Gilbert Rugby Canada, and Blonyx.
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Province of British Columbia.
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 6,000 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: www.bcrugby.com
Social: @bcrugbyunion
For more information, please contact:
BC Rugby
Rob Bartlett, Director of Marketing and Partnerships
Tel: 604-737-3065 ext. 1003
rbartlett@bcrugby.com