Bytown Blues Update October 29th 2020
Posted on:Blues Selected for Representative Academies
The recent EORU/Arrows Academy combine was a great success, with large numbers of Blues at all ages putting their best foot forward at Twin Elm. Representatives from the Toronto Arrows and Womens 7s program were there to see the best from the area perform fitness testing and small sided games.
Two girls were selected for the Rugby Canada Development Academy and three boys were selected for the Junior Arrows Academy.
Rugby Canada Development Academy
Rachel Cullum
Sarah “Jiggy” Schonfeld
Junior Arrows Academy
Santiago Gomez
Ethan Nesbit
Gregory Thomas
Congratulations to all Blues Members!!
Blues 2020 AGM
Due to the covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions which prevented a 2020 season from occurring, the board has decided to delay the AGM from Nov/Dec time frame until early-mid January 2021. This will allow the board to have a clearer, hopefully, picture of the 2021 season ahead. If you have any questions regarding this decision feel free to contact the President by email, or our VP Finance, Kerry Labine, if you have any questions or issues regarding the financial status of the club, or if you have any issues regarding the delay of the AGM.
Message from the President
Blues Donation Call:
I would like to thank all those who donated funds to help support the club through these difficult and challenging times. The funds will help the club weather the covid-19 pandemic and begin 2021 in a strong financial position, should we be able to return to full play. For those still wishing to contribute, you can contact our treasurer, Cecilia Nicol to arrange a donation by cheque or e-transfer.
While the future of the 2021 season is still up in the air, we do hope that either a vaccine is found or the restrictions are lifted to permit a return to actual contact games in 2021. We are buoyed by the return of games in Newfoundland and some areas of the East coast. It would be a great start to our 50th anniversary in 2021 with the hopeful return of the great game we know.
Blues Fall training:
A big thank you to all the coaches and volunteers who ran the sessions, cleaned the flags, belts and balls as well as ran the entrance and exits, all while maintaining the COVID-19 safety of all involved. We had approximately 18+ coaches and volunteers and around 65+ players in attendance throughout the 6 weeks of sessions. And the biggest thank you to Joel Gibson, our Covid-19 Health and Safety Administrator for the club. With Sportlomo’s online attestation issues, I think he overworked his scanner pushing all of the manual forms to Rugby Ontario.
And finally a big thank you to our minors and juniors who signed up and trained with their fellow teammates, proving the Bytown Blues have the best club spirit in all of Eastern Ontario. All while respecting the masking and social distancing restrictions placed upon our sport. Thank YOU!
Blues Winter training:
Our plan is to run a winter program in Jan-Apr 2021, but will be dependent upon a couple of factors outside of our control: covid-19 restrictions on indoor activity(limited to 50 people max, including coaches) and the availability of the Ottawa University Dome for rental. We should assume that the sessions will be similar to what we ran in the fall (no hit bags, unless we are able to move to Phase 4 of Rugby Ontario RTP protocols).
As it stands at the moment, Ottawa University is planning on having the Dome open, to the public, in January 2021. However, they will be meeting in the first week of December to evaluate the situation at that time. With the limitations of a maximum of 50 participants (coaches included), at the current moment we would expect the cost of a winter session to be around $150-$200 (plus online fees). The rate is $655 + HST for a 1 hour rental session. If we are able to run it would be in the 6-7pm Saturday evening, possibly for 10-12 sessions depending upon when they open.
Please stay tuned, we will update once we have more information
If you have any questions or anything to add to our mail-out that goes to 900 club members and alumni please reach out at info@bytownbluesrugby.ca
