The president of the union that represents rugby players in New Brunswick has joined the chorus of voices calling for the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation (NSSAF) to reverse its decision to cancel high school rugby.
New Brunswick Rugby Union president Yves Pellerin says the decision is going to have a ripple effect that goes further than the federation has considered.
“We rely heavily on the high school programs for recruiting and bolstering our numbers for summer leagues and fall leagues,” Pellerin said the day after the NSSAF released a memo announcing the cancellation.
“For the union, it means we’re going to miss out on a lot of recruiting, and for the kids, they’re missing out on a lot of experiences and good things that come out of the sport.”
READ MORE: Backlash grows over athletic federation’s decision to cancel high school rugby in Nova Scotia
Rugby players, fans and parents have been voicing their displeasure with the cancellation ever since it was announced Thursday afternoon. The NSSAF says the decision was made after a “thorough review of incident report data provided by the School Insurance Program” and that it had determined rugby was “not a safe introductory sport at the high school level.”
But the medical community, politicians and those who play the sport have a different opinion. Dr. John Gillis, a physician who sits on Rugby Nova Scotia’s board, called the decision “mind-boggling,” while opposition parties have united in calling for the cancellation to be reversed.
WATCH: Rugby community responds to cancellation of high school season
For Pellerin, a main concern is the effect the cancellation will have on girls who play the sport.
“The boys have hockey and lacrosse and football. For the women, it’s a big step up to play that contact sport and have that pride and have that intensity,” he said. “We want the young women to come out and feel that joy of being in an intense sport and having the contact, having the presence to physically participate in the sport that’s designed for them to play against each other.
“These women are going to have to pay for this, just because there’s no opportunity for them to play any other contact sport but rugby right now.”
READ MORE: ‘Let us play’ — N.S. students push back as athletic federation cancels high school rugby
Pellerin added that safety is always a top priority.
“It hurts the image a little bit,” said Pellerin. “The sport is a safe sport. We put safety first on the reffing, on the coaching, on the organization. When we talk to kids, we train coaches, we want to make sure that everybody understands that safety comes first.”
A petition calling for the decision to be reversed has reached over 21,500 signatures.
—With files from Alexa MacLean