Rugby Canada announces 11 new recipients for the 2023 HSBC Bank Community Rugby Fund

August 21, 2023 (Langford, BC) – Rugby Canada is pleased to announce the successful applicants of the 2023 HSBC Bank Community Rugby Fund.

2023 marks the third year of the HSBC Bank Community Rugby Fund, offering financial grants to support the sustainability and growth of rugby at the community level across the country. The fund, presented in partnership by Rugby Canada and HSBC Bank Canada, allows all registered rugby clubs, as well as schools and community organizations in Canada, to submit an application for funding.

This year, Rugby Canada received more than 40 applications from 10 different provinces across Canada.  

Each of the 11 successful applications for 2023 clearly displayed their approach and passion for growing rugby across Canada.  These 11 now join the 16 prior applicants who have benefited from the fund in the program’s first two years in 2021 and 2022.

Priority was given to those rugby clubs, schools or community organizations who applied for grant funding that focused on cultivating the community game with special consideration given to projects that:

• Create or develop a school to club pathway to increase the number of registered rugby players participating in club rugby.
• Create new programs or develop existing programs that introduce women and/or girls to rugby.
• Build program delivery capacity through the development of Coaches and/or Match Officials within the rugby community.

“We are thrilled to be able to provide support and funding to 11 more rugby clubs and organizations across the country in 2023 as part of the HSBC Community Rugby Fund,” said Ryan Jones, Rugby Development Manager for Rugby Canada. “The 11 recipients this year all clearly showed their own unique and specific strategies on how they will push community and grassroots rugby forward in Canada.”

2023 HSBC Bank Community Rugby Fund Recipient List

South Shore Bright and Lion RFC
Location: Nova Scotia
Focus: New Youth Programming and Programming for Women & Girls

St. Anne de Bellevue RFC
Location: Quebec
Focus Area: Programming for Women & Girls and IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility)

Brantford Harlequins RFC
Location: Ontario
Focus: Coach and Match Official Development and IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility)

Burlington RFC
Location: Ontario
Focus: New Youth Programming and IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility) 
 
Hijabi Ballers
Location: Ontario 
Focus: Programming for Women & Girls and IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility)
 
Peterborough Pagans RFC
Location: Ontario
Focus: Programming for Women & Girls and Programming for Volunteers 

Scarborough RFC
Location: Ontario
Focus: Coach and Match Official Development

Saskatoon Badgers RFC
Location: Saskatchewan
Focus: New Youth Programming  

Bow Valley RFC
Location: Alberta
Focus: Programming for Women & Girls

Rocky Mountain Rogues RFC
Location: British Columbia 
Focus: New Youth Programming 

Thunder Rugby RFC
Location: British Columbia
Focus Area: Indigenous programming

For more information, please click here https://rugby.ca/en/register/en/hsbc-community-rugby-fund or email communityfund@rugby.ca

ABOUT RUGBY CANADA

Rugby Canada is the national governing body of the sport of Rugby Union in Canada. They administer and operate Men’s and Women’s Senior and Junior National programs in both rugby 15s and 7s, as well as govern the Club and community game for more than 30,000 registered participants from coast to coast in conjunction with ten Provincial Union members.

Rugby Canada is headquartered at the Al Charron National Training Centre in Langford, BC, residing on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Lekwungen/Songhees peoples, with staff also working from Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa. Rugby Canada business operations, programs and events are delivered nationwide, including the internationally recognized HSBC Canada Sevens annual tournaments.