The 2024 Saratoga Cup line-up has been confirmed following the conclusion of the BC Rugby’s Central Interior, Okanagan and Kootenay Cup Divisions!
It has been an incredible summer of action across BC’s Northern and Interior regions. We are thrilled to see the growth of several new programs, particularly among the Women’s and Age-Grade games, this season, which is reflective of the incredible hard work and dedication happening at these Clubs.
BC Rugby is delighted to confirm the four Men’s and four Women’s teams that will compete for the 2024 Saratoga Cup and 2024 Women’s Saratoga Cup hosted at Coast Mountain College in Terrace, BC, on August 17-18 – including some event debutants!
BC Rugby gratefully acknowledges the financial support of Jumpstart in hosting the 2024 Saratoga Cup.
In the Men’s competition, defending champions Rocky Mountain Rogues will be aiming for a fourth successive Saratoga Cup win after topping the Kootenays Division, while qualified hosts Terrace Northmen RFC topped the Central Interior Division with five wins from six matches. Prince Rupert Seamen will contest a Saratoga Cup for the first time following their second-placed finish in the Central Interior League, and the Penticton Harlequins will be hoping to continue their unbeaten season as Okanagan League winners.
In the Women’s competition, we welcome the Rocky Mountain Rogues, Prince Rupert Sirens, Terrace RFC and the Penticton Harlequins as they battle it out in a Round Robin Rugby 7s tournament for the 2024 Women’s Saratoga Cup championship! The Women’s game continues to go from strength to strength in our Northern and Interior regions and we can’t wait to welcome some new faces this year in Terrace!
A huge shoutout to all Clubs that made 2024 a special season:
- Elk Valley RFC
- Rocky Mountain Rogues
- Vernon Jackals RFC
- Yeti Rugby Club
- Penticton Harlequins RFC
- Prince George Gnats
- Prince Rupert Seamen
- Terrace Northmen RFC
- Williams Lake Rustlers RFC
2024 SARATOGA CUP INFORMATION
The 2024 Saratoga Cup will be hosted by Terrace Northmen RFC in Terrace, BC. The purpose of the Saratoga Cup is to foster the growth of competitive Rugby throughout the Interior and Northern regions of British Columbia and provide a final event for BC Rugby’s Summer League Competition.
The 2024 Saratoga Cup will feature both Men’s XVs and Women’s 7s competition throughout the weekend. Men’s teams will compete two semi-finals on the Saturday, with the winners advancing to Sunday’s final. Semi-final losers will contest a third-place playoff on Sunday.
Women’s teams will contest Round Robin matches on Saturday with teams then seeded for Sunday’s Play-Off action.
BC Rugby will be recording all matches at the 2024 Saratoga Cup, and will endeavor to live-stream the full weekend.
2024 KOOTENAY CUP
Following a successful Rucking in the Rockies event in May, the Men’s Kootenay Cup was contested over two fixtures between the Rocky Mountain Rogues and Elk Valley RFC.
Following a tight opening contest in Fernie, resulting in a draw, the Rogues went onto secure their spot at the 2024 Saratoga Cup with a 54-7 win over Elk Valley in Cranbrook!
The Rocky Mountain Rogues Women’s Team has also been busy, securing two victories over their Elk Valley rivals as Women’s Rugby continues to grow in the region. The Rogues Women also finished second at Rucking in the Rockies, with the Bulls finishing in third place.
Elk Valley RFC continue to make great strides with its Rookie Rugby and Mini Rugby programming, introducing the sport to many new faces!
This season also marked the first time that the Kootenays Rugby Union competed at BC Rugby’s Provincial Regional Championships! The Kootenays U18 Boys team made history by scoring their first try at the event: a product of the excellent work going on in the Kootenays. Local Rocky Mountain Rogues athletes Evan Stahl and Cliff Jarvis were both selected to the BC Bears U16 Boys team that scored two impressive wins over the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy!
2024 CENTRAL INTERIOR LEAGUE
Terrace Northmen RFC and Prince Rupert Seamen were the teams to beat in 2024, with Terrace winning five of their six fixtures and the Seamen finishing with four regular season victories from six matches.
Terrace will go into the 2024 Saratoga Cup with plenty of confidence. They opened the season with a 27-10 win over Prince George Gnats and a 17-5 win over the Williams Lake Rustlers in May. They followed with a 43-7 win over the Gnats and 22-5 win over the Rustlers, before falling to their only defeat against Prince Rupert (10-7). The Northmen closed out their season with a hard fought 17-5 win over Prince Rupert and will be heading to the Saratoga Cup looking to regain the Championship!
Prince Rupert, meanwhile, defeated the Williams Lake Rustlers 10-0 to open their season before falling 5-0 to the Gnats. However, the Seamen then scored three straight victories against the Rustlers (15-0), the Gnats (39-7) and Terrace (10-7) before falling to the Northmen in their final regular season game.
The Gnats finished with two wins across their season having defeated Williams Lake Rustlers 33-19 in the season opener, and then beating the Seamen 5-0.
The Terrace RFC Women’s team have been in good form this season, largely competing alongside the Men’s team fixtures, and kicked off the season with two cracking games against the Prince Rupert Sirens. Both teams took one victory each, with the Northmen winning 17-5 and the Sirens winning the second match 15-10 in June. Sirens finished up their season with four wins from six games!
The Williams Lake Rustlers Stampede Rugby Festival proved once again to be a big hit, with many of BC’s Clubs turning out for an awesome weekend of action (and off the field antics – but we’ll leave that there..)
This has also been a landmark year for junior Rugby in the Northern regions, with many local Club athletes representing Aurora Wolves Rugby Union at the 2024 Vancouver Sevens Invitational and the region’s debut at the 2024 PRCs, as well as the Cariboo-North East region at the 2024 BC Summer Games!
2024 OKANAGAN LEAGUE
The world-famous Penticton Harlequins took the Okanagan Championship with five victories from their five matches, including a barnstorming 31-24 Okanagan League Final win over Vernon Jackals.
The Harlequins kicked off the season with a 35-15 win over the Jackals on May 4, before following with a 26-17 win over Yeti Rugby Club on May 11. Vernon got its first win with a 19-12 victory over the Yeti before falling to the Harlequins 33-28 in a close encounter on June 8. Quins inched past Yeti 17-12 to set up a Championship tie against Vernon, who fought hard throughout before the Harlequins eventually took a close win to advance to the Saratoga Cup!
It’s been a busy season for women’s Rugby in the Okanagan, too, with the Harlequins and Yeti Rugby Club Women’s Programs beginning to thrive, as well as new Age-Grade programs for both teams! The Harlequins Women’s Team heads to the Saratoga Cup having enjoyed matches against Yeti Rugby Club and Kamloops Rugby Club this season. This was also the first season that Yeti fielded a Women’s Rugby team, attracting over 20 registered platers and playing three games! The final game against Kamloops saw Coaches play alongside their graduate athletes; a very proud moment for the Club.
Yeti Rugby Club has enjoyed a busy season with big increases in registration. On a junior level, 60 athletes (U18 Boys and U18 Girls) toured the Caymen Islands, with Louisa Imolele picked to represent the BC Bears at the Tropical 7s in March. Yeti kicked off its Spring Mini Rugby program in April, which saw 60 kids aged 3-13 participate! 18 junior Yeti athletes represented TORA at the 2024 PRCs, while six athletes represented Thompson-Okanagan region at the BC Summer Games in Maple Ridge. Yeti athlete Ailia Norlin was also selected to the U19 BC Bears Women’s team heading to Nova Scotia for the 2024 Canadian U19 Rugby Championships!
The Yeti Men’s team saw a big increase in registration, with players travelling from Kamloops, Revelstoke and Vernon to play for the Club.
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