Brennan Phillips
Western News Staff
Three local athletes are in Regina this weekend to represent their province in the Western Championship for rugby.
The selection was made after five days of drills, skill challenges, and matches. Two camps, one held at Shawnigan Lake School for the boys and the other at UBC’s Gerald McGavin Rugby Centre for the girls, helped the coaching staff make the selection from a field of over 250 athletes.
“With many B.C.-based players away with national programs, it gave us a chance to have a look at more players in the pool and they have certainly stepped up to the task of being top provincial players,” said Aaron O’Flaherty, the head coach for the U18 boys’ team. “Every player played with pride, resilience and improved very well in such a short space of time. Overall, we are in a very good place and miles ahead of where we thought we would be leading into the Westerns in Regina.”
Penticton and Summerland will be represented in both the women and men’s teams this year. For the women, Madison Kulak of Penticton will be playing on the U17 team. Koen Buckingham and Carlin Bordin-Slavens will be playing on the U17 boys’ team.
The Western Championship takes place Aug. 1 to 4 in Regina. This is the second year of the tournament, with the B.C. teams winning nine of 11 games in the 2018 championship. The U18 boys went undefeated, and the U17 boys lost a single match to the B.C. U18 team. The U18 girls were on tour in England and did not make the tournament, while the U17 girls went 2-1-1.
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