The rugby season has been officially launched for the Ormstown mini Saracens. Practices began in early May for the rugby club’s fastest-growing age group, with hopes of inaugurating around 50 youngsters to the sport over the summer.
To recruit new players and showcase the sport, Benoît Curé, the director of minor rugby for the club, held a practice in Huntingdon during the CommuniT Night activity on May 9. He says the goal was to allow youngsters to get a feel for the game.
Parent volunteer Jessica Hebert was also on hand to help coordinate the activity while her two children took part in the practice. “Right after the first practice they participated in last year, they loved it,” she says of the sport. “They get to make friends, and these are kids they will be going to school with later,” she adds, noting she also likes the fact rugby offers something different.
“Even our youngest players understand that they are part of a community,” says Curé, who works to impart on his players that they are an important part of the club. “We are part of a big family,” he says, suggesting the kids quickly become ambassadors for the sport.
This past winter, at least 27 children took part in a winter season that ended with an indoor tournament in Chateauguay on April 16. Teams from Chateauguay, Montreal, and Trois-Rivières responded to the Saracens invitation and about 60 young players participated in the event, which was the first of its kind in Quebec. Curé says the winter season allowed kids to discover rugby and learn the basics before the start of the summer season.
Mini-rugby training sessions take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Games will be played from June through August at jamborees hosted by various clubs. More information about the Ormstown Saracens Rugby Club and the mini-rugby program is available online at saracens.ca.
