Thunder Indigenous Rugby takes boys and girls 7s team on California tour

September 30, 2022 (Langford, BC) – Thunder Indigenous Rugby, a program that focuses on introducing Indigenous youth to the sport of rugby, just completed their first international tour since the organizations inception in 2014.

The tour to Los Angeles, California consisted of 39 players in total, organized into two U18 boys 7s teams, one U16 girls 7s team and one U18 girls 7s team. Accompanied by 11 support staff including coaches, managers and parent chaperones, the tour spanned 14 days and saw the teams compete in more than 36 matches at two tournaments including the LA 7s Invitational tournament on August 27-28. The group travelled more than 5000 kilometers starting on Vancouver Island in two small buses and six cars as they made the long journey down to the southern United States.

“It was incredibly rewarding to be able to see this tour take place,” said Program Director for Thunder Rugby, John Lyall. “Some of these kids have made friends on this trip that they will have for the rest of their lives.”

The players on the four teams hailed from across Western Canada including several Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland communities, Kamloops, Fort St. John, Calgary and Winnipeg.

Indigenous representation on tour included Gitga’at First Nation, Kwakwaka’wakw, Haida, Nuu-Chah-Nulth, Gitxsan First Nation, Rolling River First Nation, Cree Metis, Sto Lo First Nation, Squamish First Nation, Sumas First Nation, Saanich First Nation, Inuvialuit, Cowichan First Nation, Lilwat First Nation, and Tl’etinqox First Nation.

“The reason we started Thunder Rugby was to offer sport to Indigenous youth through rugby,” stated Lyall. “This program started on Vancouver Island and now we are gathering interest from all over Canada. Hopefully, these kids go back to their communities and spread the word so we can get even more kids playing the game.”

Coaches and leaders of the Thunder Rugby program wanted to ensure the trip was culturally relevant. An emphasis was placed on this and all future tours to strengthen Indigenous identity amongst the players, cultural pride and the value of teamwork and respect through sport. Raymond Jones Peter Jr. a member of the Cowichan Tribes, who is known as Brother Rick, was the tour leader in this role. He taught the teams songs like Hy’chka Siem, which translated from the Coast Salish language Hul’q’umi’num’, means “Thank you.”

“One of our goals at Thunder Rugby is to increase Indigenous culture and identity in rugby by learning from our elders. Brother Rick helps us discover these things through education and song. He has really taken to the sport of rugby and has been great for the youth involved in our program.”

Prior to the tournament which was run in conjunction with the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series event also in Los Angeles, all four squads gathered for a two-day camp at Shawnigan Lake School on August 18. Following the camp, the teams participated in the Westshore 7s tournament in Colwood, BC before making the trip across the border. Each of the four teams were competitive in their respective divisions while competing in California, highlighted by the U18 boys team winning the Plate in their competition.

For more information on Thunder Indigenous Rugby, contact John Lyall at jlyall@thunderrugby.ca

How Can You Help?

Thunder Indigenous Rugby will kindly accept any donation (or in kind) made payable to Vancouver Island Thunder, email jlyall@thunderrugby.ca for more information.

We can issue tax receipts on donations made through the Canadian Rugby Foundation Thunder Rugby Fund http://www.canadianrugbyfoundation.ca/