By Kayla Haggett [1] and Jake Watson [2]
Loyalist Lancers women’s rugby team plays against Humber on Oct. 2, 2010. Photo by QNet.
BELLEVILLE – The Loyalist Lancers [3] women’s rugby team is withdrawing from the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association. [4]
That means the team will play no more this season.
Jim Buck, athletic director for Loyalist College, said he made the decision and informed the team Tuesday night. According to Buck, it stems from concerns over players’ health and safety after multiple injuries and dwindling numbers.
He said numbers were low at the beginning of the season, and then “whatever could go wrong went wrong,” with multiple players suffering season-ending injuries.
At the game against St. Lawrence in Kingston on Saturday, there were only 15 or 16 players in jerseys, according to Buck. He said the game was cut 15 minutes short by the referee, who felt like the situation on the field was unsafe.
“My suspicion would have been that we would have suffered more injuries in that game, and then we wouldn’t have had enough to field a team,” said Buck.
Coach Ken Fitzgerald said that the mood amongst the team was “very somber, very emotional,” on Tuesday.
The team fought to the very end, according to Fitzgerald, but when it comes to safety they can’t take the risk.
“I think as any coach would be that’s put in the amount of time that I have you’d be upset, but (I) totally respect the decision.”
Victoria Pedro, a second-year protection, security and investigation student and member of the team, said that she was sad and that it wasn’t just about the sport.
“It’s like our family got split up too.”
Buck said that the situation was already complicated, as this is likely to be the last year of women’s 15 rugby in the OCAA, with the league shifting towards rugby sevens. The numbers refer to the number of players and the time of the game. Withdrawing from the OCAA results in a two-year suspension, but he said they will have to wait and see if that includes the sevens. According to Buck, this will be discussed over the coming months.
Fitzgerald said he isn’t done at the school and that if a two-year sanction is imposed, he will spend the time preparing to “make sure that when we hit the ground, we hit the ground running.”
The team has played three games this season, and is 0-3, with a total of 220 points scored against and 24 points scored.