Dust off your boots and dig out your Club colours – register now for the new 2023/24 BC Rugby Senior Club Season!
BC Rugby is delighted to announce finalized 2023/24 Senior Club schedules for all divisions, including the Men’s Premier League presented by ONNI and the Women’s Premier League. Schedules have been sent to Clubs and will be uploaded into Sportlomo ahead of the new season. All information will be housed on our 2023/24 Senior Club Leagues Page here.
The 2023/24 Senior Club Season promises to be an exhilarating journey filled with camaraderie, competition, and unforgettable moments on the field, with all roads leading to the 2024 BC Rugby Senior Club Finals on May 4, 2024.
The heart of our Rugby community lies with our dedicated Members – the backbone of BC Rugby. Whether you’re a seasoned player, a former Member looking to reconnect, or a passionate supporter eager to witness the action, this season holds something special for everyone.
Here’s What’s in Store:
Action-Packed Matches: Brace yourselves for intense matchups that will keep you on the edge of your seat. From hard-fought scrums to breathtaking tries, every game will be a showcase of skill and determination.
Reconnect and Rekindle: Calling all former Members! This season is the perfect opportunity to rekindle your love for the game and reunite with old friends. Join us in celebrating the rich history of BC Rugby and the lifelong connections it has fostered.
New Players Welcome: If you’ve ever contemplated stepping onto the pitch, this is your chance. Our Clubs are always excited to welcome new faces and share the Rugby experience. No matter your skill level, you’ll find a supportive community ready to help you grow.
Vibrant Community: Beyond the matches, join a vibrant and inclusive community! Come together with fellow rugby enthusiasts, and soak in the vibrant rugby culture that makes BC Rugby unique.
Now, it’s time to secure your spot in the action. Dig out your Club colours and register for the 2023/24 BC Rugby Senior Club Rugby Season. Whether you’re a player, supporter, or someone curious to learn more, your presence makes our community stronger.
Let’s make this season one for the books – we can’t wait to see you on the field!
LEAGUE STRUCTURE & KEY DATES
LEAGUE STRUCTURES
Find your league! Click below to view the structures of the various Divisions for the 2023/24 BC Rugby Senior Club competitions, including Regional play and the purpose of each division. After consulting Member Clubs, these structures and formats have been developed based on feedback to align with the BC Rugby Strategic Plan and to ensure everyone enjoys the sport at their level!
All games and game times will be published on Sportlomo and can be found in the BC Rugby App. Please refer to the Sportlomo or the BC Rugby app for the most up to date information.
2023/24 Regional Play (Pre-Season)
Following feedback from the 2022/23 Season and consultation with Clubs, BC Rugby introduced Regional play for all teams. This play includes division crossover designed to help Clubs build their programs. These games do not impact standings for the regular season.
The Regional Schedules also includes fixtures for the 2023 Dunbar Keg and the Coastal Cup. All games are published on Sportlomo and can be found in the BC Rugby App.
Senior Men’s Leagues
Men’s Premier League presented by ONNI
The Men’s Premier League presented by ONNI features 10 Teams and is the Elite Men’s league competing under Premier League rules. These teams will play each team in the Division once. They will play those teams in their region (Lower Mainland or Vancouver Island) both at Home and Away. All games will count towards final standings for Play-Offs.
Men’s Premier Reserve League presented by ONNI
The Men’s Premier Reserve Division features 9 Teams and is one of the Elite Men’s league competing under Premier League rules. These teams will play each team in the Division once. They will play those teams in their region (Lower Mainland or Vancouver Island) both at Home and Away. All games will count towards final standings for Play-Offs.
Men’s Division 1
The Men’s Division 1 features 8 Teams and is a competitive league aimed at growing and developing established 15s teams. These teams will play each team in the Division both at Home and Away. These teams will compete under the Club Competition Rules. All games will count towards final standings for Play-Offs.
Men’s Division 2
The Men’s Division 2 features 7 Teams and is aimed at programs that consistently field more than 15 players supporting Clubs to develop their more established programs. These teams will play each team in the Division both at Home and Away. These teams will compete under the Club Competition Rules. All games will count towards final standings for Play-Offs.
Men’s Division 3
The Men’s Division 3 features 19 Teams aimed at supporting developing teams with new or growing programs with a lens on participation and developing programs throughout the province. Where possible teams have been paired with other teams at their Club to be able to reduce travel costs. These teams will compete under the Club Competition Rules. All games will count towards final standings for Play-Offs.
Senior Women’s Leagues
Women’s Premier & Women’s Division 1 Combined Season
The Women’s Premier League and Women’s Division 1 will feature a combined 8-week season of 11 Teams during the Fall and start of Spring. With the intention of growing the Women’s Premier and Division 1 Leagues this structure has been established to provide variety in match play and opportunity to compete against other teams to grow their programs. Following the end of this crossover teams will be reseeded based on their final positions into Women’s Premier and Women’s Division 1. These teams will compete under the Club Competition Rules during this Combined Season.
Women’s Premier League
The top 5 teams from the combined Women’s Premier & Women’s Division 1 crossover will move into the Women’s Premier Division and compete alongside the 2022/23 Champions UBC Thunderbirds Number 1 Team. Teams will play each team once in this division. A new schedule will be confirmed following the last round of crossover games. This division will compete under the Premier League Rules. All games will count towards final standings for Play-Offs and all Teams will progress through to the Play-Offs.
Women’s Division 1
The bottom 6 teams from the combined Women’s Premier & Women’s Division 1 crossover will move into the Women’s Division 1. Teams will play each team once in this division. A new schedule will be confirmed following the last round of crossover games. These teams will compete under the Club Competition Rules. All games will count towards final standings for Play-Offsand all Teams will progress through to the Play-Offs.
Women’s Division 2
The Women’s Division 2 features 15 Teams with the aim to support developing teams with new or growing programs, primarily focused on smaller format games with a lens on participation and developing programs throughout the province. Teams have been pooled based on location i.e. Lower Mainland/Interior or Vancouver Island, to reduce travel. Each Pool will play everyone in their Pool at least once, with crossover games between the pools. These teams will compete under the Club Competition Rules. All games will count towards final standings for Play-Offs.
KEY DATES
Mark your calendars! Following consultation with Clubs, all teams will play four weeks of regional pre-season matches before League fixtures officially kick off on October 14, 2023. Clubs will break for winter after the weekend of November 27, 2023, before beginning Spring portion of the season on January 27, 2024.
No league fixtures are scheduled for the weekends of National Truth and Reconciliation Day (September 30), Thanksgiving Weekend (October 7), Remembrance Day (November 11), Family Day (February 17), HSBC Canada Sevens (February 24), and Easter (March 30)
Make-up weekends are available on December 2 and December 9 should Clubs require them.
Senior Club Playoff Quarter-Finals will take place on April 20, 2024, with Semi-Finals taking place a week later on April 27.
The Senior Club Season will conclude at the 2023/24 Senior Club Finals on May 4, 2024.
KEY DATES:
- Sept 30, 2023: National Truth & Reconciliation Day – No Games Scheduled
- Oct 7: Thanksgiving Weekend – No Games Scheduled
- Oct 14: 2023/24 Season Begins
- Nov 11: Remembrance Day – No Games Scheduled
- Nov 25: Final Scheduled Weekend of Fall 2023 Play
- Dec 2 & 9: Makeup Weekend for Teams if Required
- Jan 27, 2024: First Scheduled Weekend of Spring 2024 Play
- Feb 17: Family Day – No Games Scheduled
- Feb 24: Canada 7s – No Games Scheduled
- Mar 30: Easter – No Games Scheduled
- Apr 20: Senior Club Play-Off Quarter-Finals
- Apr 27: Senior Club Play-Off Semi-Finals
- May 4: Senior Club Finals
Play-Off Formats
Get prepared for the business end of the season! Considering all feedback from last season, we are delighted to confirm the structure of all 2023/24 Senior Club Playoff Formats detailed in the below documents:
This document can also be found on the 2023/24 Senior Club Leagues Page here.
There will be no crossover Playoffs between Men’s Premier Reserves and Men’s Division 1 this season.
Men‘s Premier League Presented by ONNI & Women’s Premier League
The Men’s Premier League presented by ONNI will see 10 Clubs battle it out for the Rounsefell Cup. Starting October 14, teams will play six rounds to kick off the new season. Following the winter break, teams will play a further seven fixtures to determine who reaches the BC Rugby Senior Club Playoffs.
The following Clubs will contest the 2023/24 BC Rugby Men’s Premier League presented by ONNI:
- Burnaby Lake RFC (Burnaby)
- Capilano RFC (West Vancouver)
- Castaway Wanderers RFC (Oak Bay)
- James Bay AA (Victoria)
- Meraloma Rugby Club (Vancouver)
- Pacific Pride (Langford) – exempt from Playoffs
- University of British Columbia (Vancouver – defending champions)
- UBCOB Ravens (Vancouver)
- University of Victoria (Victoria)
- Westshore RFC (Langford)
WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE/DIVISION 1 CROSSOVER
The 2023/24 season kicks off with a combined 8-week season for 11 Women’s Premier League and Women’s Division 1 teams during the Fall and start of Spring. Teams will then be reseeded based on their final positions into the Women’s Premier League and Women’s Division 1, with a new schedule confirmed following the final round of crossover matches. The Vancouver Thunderbirds first team will join the Women’s Premier League in Spring.
The following Clubs will compete the 2023/24 Women’s Premier League/Division 1 Crossover:
- Abbotsford RFC (Abbotsford)
- Bayside Sharks RFC (South Surrey)
- Burnaby Lake RFC (Burnaby)
- Capilano RFC (North Vancouver)
- Castaway Wanderers RFC (Victoria)
- Kamloops Rugby Club (Kamloops)
- Meraloma RFC (Vancouver)
- Seattle RFC (Seattle)
- Simon Fraser University RFC (Burnaby)
- Vancouver Thunderbirds 2 (UBC – Vancouver)
- Westshore RFC (Langford)
DUNBAR KEG & COASTAL CUP
As previously announced, BC Rugby is excited to confirm the return of the Dunbar Keg U20 Men’s Regional Cup with support from ONNI, which will be taking place alongside the Coastal Cup competition for Men’s University programs this September-October.
Beginning on September 13, the Dunbar Keg competition will feature teams from South Vancouver Island Tide, North Vancouver Island Tsunami, Fraser Valley Rugby Union and the Vancouver Wave (Vancouver Rugby Union).
BC Rugby will endeavour to livestream Dunbar Keg matches when possible, and record matches to be published on our YouTube channel.
The 2023 Dunbar Keg and Coastal Cup schedules can be found here.
There will be no McKechnie Cup or Ruth Hellerud-Brown Regional Cup competitions for 2023/24.
2023/24 SENIOR CLUB LEAGUES PAGE
Considering feedback from the community over communication last season, BC Rugby has published a 2023/24 Senior Club Leagues page on the BC Rugby website here.
This page will be used to house all relevant information to our Senior Club Leagues this season, including Play-Off formats, as well as the Dunbar Keg.
This page will be updated throughout the season.
DOWNLOAD THE BC RUGBY APP NOW
Access your Club’s fixtures and League Schedules – download the BC Rugby app on your phone!
The BC Rugby app is the perfect way to view Club fixtures and results for the upcoming season. You can favourite your Club/League to personalise your feed. The BC Rugby app also features important Safe Sport information, such as Concussion protocol and Mental Health Resources in BC.
League fixtures will be uploaded ahead of the season start!
Click below to download the BC Rugby App.
CONCUSSION MODULES – PREPARE FOR THE NEW SEASON
When it comes to Rugby, safety and player welfare is the most important thing. Whether you are playing Senior Rugby for your Club or signing your child up for Rookie Rugby, we want you to have a safe and positive experience. There are lots of resources to help protect both your physical and mental wellbeing in Rugby.
Visit our Resources section for more information on player welfare.
Learn more about Safety in Rugby by visiting our Safe Sport section or downloading the BC Rugby App now!
BC Rugby adheres to World Rugby’s policy of “Recognize and Remove” when dealing with concussions or suspected concussions. Anyone on or around the Rugby pitch has a responsibility to be aware of the symptoms of concussion and are encouraged to complete World Rugby’s online Concussion Management module. We strongly encourage parents, guardians, partners or housemates of Rugby players to complete the online module to be informed.
BC Rugby
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T: 604.737.3065
E: info@bcrugby.com
BC Rugby gratefully acknowledges that its offices reside on the traditional and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
