Women’s rugby has grown exponentially around the world in recent years.
Now it’s catching up in Victoria, says David Crossley.
The enthusiastic dad helped create the high school girls seven-a-side rugby league in Victoria this season.
“There’s been girls rugby teams at high schools before but it was informal and now we’ve established an official league,” he said.
Crossley’s daughter Caroline is a Grade 9 player with Oak Bay and has been playing since Grade. She also plays in the Castaway Wanderers youth girls program, of which players are sprinkled amongst the eight schools participating in this year’s school league.
To make it work, the league is seven-a-side rugby, meaning the teams only need 12, or even 10 players, to field a team. It removes the challenge needed to get 25 players for rugby’s traditional 15-a-side game.
“We made it simple by splitting the venue into two places every Friday for a sevens jamboree. It’s competitive but we never kept track of the wins and losses,” Crossley said.
The season winds up with a final tournament on Monday (May 13) at Oak Bay High. And this one’s for keeps.
The tourney format is based on the IRB World Sevens tour, with teams flowing into Cup (1st and 2nd), Plate (3-4), Bowl (5-6) and Shield (7-8) finals.
It will run from 2 to about 5:30 p.m. with national team player Barbara Mervin presenting the winners trophies.
A veteran of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, Mervin is still involved with national sevens program and is also a pioneering entrepreneur in the budding industry that is women’s rugby.
Through her company, Aptoella, Mervin designs and produces rugby gear specific to women. She had the idea first, disappointed in the heavy, cotton jerseys and uncomfortable rugby shorts she and her fellow athletes wore on the field.
Many of the girls in the Castaway Wanderers program wear her gear and the shoulder pads have sold outside of rugby too.
“Actually some of my products I’ve sold to soccer goalies and flag football players as well,” Mervin said. “It’s added protection designed for a women, it doesn’t have to be rugby.”
Mervin attended the Pacific Design Academy in 2009 specifically to learn how to manufacture a new brand of rugby shorts for women. But so far the big seller has been the Attack-her shoulder pads.
“I’ve sold about 200 to places as far as the U.K., Sweden and New Zealand, but most sales are here in Canada,” she said.
Mervin’s finally launching the line of Attack-her shorts after years crafting a fabric that would work. All her products are manufactured in Canada.
“It’s more along the lines of a yoga short and can be used for lots of activities. They fit much nicer, are very durable and have a pocket inside for your mouth guard.”
Mervin’s products will be on sale at Monday’s high school sevens tournament.
It happens to be a major weekend for women’s rugby in Victoria.
In addition to Monday’s high school girls sevens tournament is the B.C. finals at UVic’s Wallace Field, next door to Velox field on Saturday. The Velox Valhallians, Mervin’s former team, host Burnaby Lake in the B.C. premier women’s championship final at noon. The day also includes the UVic Norsemen in the men’s Div. 1 final against Burnaby Lake at 2 p.m. and the James Bay Athletic Association vs. Burnaby Lake in the premier men’s final at 4.
“It keeps my busy. There’s lots of projects I’m looking into. I plan on making a career out of it.”
Outside of her business Mervin is still hoping to play a role in helping young girls play rugby.
“Rugby’s done a lot for my life and taken me places I never would have gone to. I’ve done things I never would have done if not for rugby.”
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