Getting girls in the game: Langley Rugby Club hosts free tryouts

Leah Corvec would like to see more women and girls playing Rugby.

Corvec herself didn’t take up the sport until she was 40, when she joined the Langley Rugby Club (LRC).

“I was a soccer player my whole life,” Corvec recalled.

But her dad and her brothers were rugby players, and when her daughter started playing, Corvec was encouraged to do the same.

“The women’s rugby team had been harassing me,” she laughed.

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Corvec is now the LRC mini rugby coordinator, and would like to see more girls getting in the game, at the very least getting their numbers up to where there is more girls-only play, as opposed to co-ed practices.

“We’re pushing really hard,” Corvec said.

“Girls are not represented as well as boys in rugby, and I see that in our own programs,” Corvec told the Langley Advance Times.

On Sunday, March 6, the Langley club will host a new initiative called Girls Can Rugby, aimed at attracting and keeping girls 5-14 to the sport throughout B.C. throughout BC.

Coinciding with International Women’s Day on March 8th, participating B.C. Rugby member clubs from Campbell River to Fort St John will be holding free tryouts.

“The whole day is free,” Corvec enthused.

No previous experience is required.

Corvec said girls in the age group targeted by the initiative are easily drawn away from sport at a time when they are most vulnerable and would benefit from the camaraderie and support of a team

“It is very empowering for girls” Corvec remarked.

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“I’m delighted that the LRC has been successful in our application for a capital project grant,” said LRC president Brian Anderson.

“This grant comes at a pivotal time for our Club, sport and community. As our membership continues to grow, particularly in our youth programs, we knew that we needed to expand facilities to meet the needs of young athletes in Langley.

Langley Rugby Club has over 200 female and male players, ranging from children aged 5 to senior players aged 40 and over.

Girls Can has been made possible with the financial support of the province through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport.

For more information on Girls Can Rugby and the Clubs running a Girls Can Rugby Day, visit the Girls Can Rugby page on the B.C. Rugby website here.

B.C. Rugby, which represents more than 4,000 members of 60 clubs and associations, is the governing body for the sport in B.C. and is a provincial union of Rugby Canada, the national governing body.