Rugby Canada – LANGFORD, BC – Rugby Canada and its Board of Directors are pleased to announce its new Chairman and Board composition for 2016/2017.
 
At the conclusion of Rugby Canada’s Annual General Meeting in Langford, British Columbia, the Board appointed Mr. Tim Powers as its new Chairman. Powers has been a member of the Board since 2012, as a General Director, and was re-appointed to the Board to serve a second four (4) year term.
 
Powers is Vice-Chairman of Summa Strategies, a leading Canadian public affairs consulting firm, and the Managing Director of Abacus Data, an opinion research company, both headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario.
 
Powers is also a media commentator, appearing frequently on CBC’s “Power and Politics”. He regularly reports for the “Voice of the Common Man” radio station and serves as a guest host. Additionally, he writes for the Hill Times newspaper in the nation’s capital.
 
“I am humbled and honoured to have been appointed Chairman of Rugby Canada’s Board of Directors. It is an exciting time for the sport and our leadership team wants to do all it can to advance rugby in Canada and help our athletes fulfill their dreams,” said Powers.
 
Having played for Canada Under-21 and various junior and senior provincial sides for Newfoundland, he praises the collegial culture of rugby and has been integral in creating awareness at the political level.
 
“I also want to thank outgoing Chairman, Pat Aldous, for all that he has done for Canadian Rugby and all the help he has given me in preparing for this role.”
 
The Board fulfilled its mandate in appointing the remainder of the Executive Committee, naming Gordon Sneddon as Vice Chairman, Kathy Henderson as Secretary and Jay Johnston, who will continue as Treasurer.
 
Jamie Lockwood and Doug Campbell were also re-appointed to the Board at the AGM, and will each serve their second terms.  New to the Board of Directors are John Drake and Andrew Bibby as Provincial Director and General Director respectively. Joining Bibby as a General Director is Bill Webb, who will also act as the Co-Chair of the Rugby Canada High Performance Centre Capital Campaign alongside Rick Powers.
 
The Board appointments for the external sport body affiliations included Dr. Patrick Parfrey, who took over for Chris Le Fevre as World Rugby Council Representative last November.  Rick Powers will remain as the Canadian Olympic Committee Representative through the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Summer Games, where Pat Aldous will assume the position shortly after. Rick Bourne continues as the Rugby Americas North (formerly NACRA) Representative.
 
“I would like to congratulate Tim Powers, Bill Webb, John Drake and Andrew Bibby for their well-deserved appointments within Rugby Canada’s Board of Directors and I look forward to working with them all moving forward to grow the sport of rugby in Canada,” said Rugby Canada CEO Allen Vansen.
 
Rugby Canada and the Board of Directors would like to recognize the following individuals for their dedicated service and contribution to the growth of rugby in Canada as members of the Board of Directors:
 
*Pat Aldous, Chairman/General Director
Keith Gillam, Vice Chairman/General Director
Pearse Higgins, Provincial Director
Chris Le Fevre, World Rugby Council Representative
 
*Will continue on as Past Chairman (Board Observer) for a period of one (1) year.
 
“On behalf of Rugby Canada, I would like to thank out-going Chairman and Board Members Pat Aldous, Keith Gillam, Pearse Higgins and Chris Le Fevre. Rugby will forever be grateful for their dedication and tireless efforts to furthering our sport across Canada,” added Vansen.  
 
2016 / 2017 Rugby Canada Board of Directors:
 
Name                           Title
Tim Powers                    Chairman    
Gordon Sneddon           Vice Chairman
Kathy Henderson           Secretary
Jay Johnston                   Treasurer
Jamie Lockwood            General Director
Brian Burke                     General Director
Bill Webb                         General Director
Andrew Bibby                 General Director
Troy Myers                      Provincial Director
Larry Jones                      Provincial Director
John Seaman                  Provincial Director
Doug Campbell               Provincial Director
John Drake                      Provincial Director
Pat Aldous                       Past Chairman
Rick Bourne                     Rugby Americas North Representative
Dr. Patrick Parfrey           World Rugby Council Representative
Dawn Dauphinee            Female Athlete Representative
Mark Lawson                   Male Athlete Representative
Rick Powers                      Canadian Olympic Committee Representative

About Rugby Canada

 

Rugby Canada is the national governing  body  of  the  sport  of  rugby  union  in Canada.  Rugby Football has a  long  history  in  Canada  dating  back  to  its  initial appearance in the 1860s. Since 1974, Rugby Canada has been a permanent fixture on  the  global  rugby  scene,  including  trips  to  each  of  the eight Men’s Rugby  World Cups and seven Women’s Rugby World Cups. As a regular on the Men’s and Women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, Canada continues to climb the world rankings and challenge the dominant rugby nations in both versions of the game.

 

To support the growth of rugby at the grass-roots level and to ensure there are elite programs for prospering young rugby players to become involved with, Rugby Canada has put an emphasis on developing its junior programs.  Our goal is to develop and train competitive teams for the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Tokyo, Japan respectively, the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland and 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup in Japan. 

 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/RugbyCanada

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YouTube: www.youtube.com/RugbyCanada

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Website: www.rugbycanada.ca 

 

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For more information, please contact:

 

Bryan Kelly, Rugby Canada

Manager, Communications and Media Relations

Phone: 250-216-5272

Email: bkelly@rugbycanada.ca