Every year, teams from all over kick off their rugby season in Rothesay, as one local school has held an annual tournament for the last 28 years.
Rothesay Netherwood School opens their registration for Rugbyfest, a three-day tournament of the hard-hitting game, at the beginning of December — months ahead of its late-April start.
Still, teams don’t hesitate to stake their spots.
“It’s generally full within an hour,” said RNS Athletic Director Geoffrey McCullogh.
Although it’s never a surprise how many sign up, in recent years the tournament started out modestly enough, with just a dozen teams taking part.
Over time it’s grown a fair bit, and the addition of another division this time around has pushed those numbers even further.
This year’s event took place over the weekend, from April 21 to 23.
“We have 42 teams playing this year,” McCullogh explained. “We have 32 that are in the fifteens division and 10 that are in the sevens division.”
Rugby was brought back to the Olympics in 2016 after a nearly century-long hiatus.
Although originally played with fifteen players, the faster seven-a-side format was chosen for rugby’s Olympic return, introducing the sport to many who might not have been previously familiar with the game.
RNS Grade 10 students Izzy Weist and Jenna Dooley say now that they’ve hit the pitch for the first time, they’re hooked — and can’t wait for the season to kick into full swing.
“It’s definitely a great experience,” Dooley said after the tournament. “I think starting it off with over 40 teams here was pretty crazy, but I enjoyed the weekend.”
“It’s a lot of fun — it’s great to go out and play with your friends,” said Weist. “It’s a really good environment.”
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