University of Toronto

Women's Rugby Newsletter

August 1997

On-line edition

 The University of Toronto Women's Rugby Team saw an exciting season last fall of 1996. We had many new, young players join us, as well as some veteran players from last year's squad.

Last season, the league worked as an official OWIAA sport with regulation time games. There were no official tournaments - every game counted towards playoffs. Two points were awarded to a win, one for a tie and zero for a loss. Only the top four teams made it to the playoff, where the first place team played the second place team for the gold and the third and fourth placed teams played for the bronze.

It was a year of too many close games being lost with time running out on us, and we ended up in fifth place, one spot out of playoff contention. Nonetheless, we had a great time together and are looking to Fall 1997 for a season of fierce competition. The format of this upcoming season will be similar to that of last year. However, the top four teams will play in semi-finals to determine the matchups for the gold and bronze medal games.

Women's Rugby is a rapidly growing sport. It's fast and exciting (just look at the photos), offering a challenge to your fitness and teamwork. In Rugby, there is a position for any body type.

The University of Toronto Women's team consists of a Varsity side and a Club side. To be eligible for the Varsity team you must be taking a least 3 full courses at the U of T. We invite any women who wish to play rugby this fall to join us for practice.

Please feel free to contact Stacie Dalrymple or Jing-Ling Kao (co-directors for 1997) for more information.

To the players ...

Please check the practice and game schedule. And remember to recruit !

To the Alumni ...

Please keep in touch. We are interested in your progress and what you are doing. If any of your addresses change, please let us know. Send any changes to Stacie Dalrymple or Jing-Ling Kao.

Newsletter mailed out July 1997

 Hi Everyone! We hope that everyone is having a safe and enjoyable summer. Once again our new school year is fast approaching and that means a new rugby season. Some changes have taken place for next year’s executives. Tina Kotsiomitis has graduated and Jing Kao will be taking over as a new co-director, helping Stacie Dalrymple who will be staying on in the position for another year. We would like to thank Tina for bending over backwards for our team all season and during the off season. We couldn’t have accomplished nearly as much without her. Kana Motoki will also be joining our executive as the treasurer, helping out Joan Elliot who will still be with us for the upcoming season. We would like to wish everyone the best of luck with everything they do.

Our 1997 rugby season is fast approaching, we hope that everyone is looking forward to a great new year! Practices will still be held on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 5-7 p.m. on Back Campus.

Our first meeting will be at the mandatory training camp on Monday August 25, Tuesday August 26 and Wednesday August 27 from 2-7 p.m.. If you want to be considered for the Varsity squad you must attend these three days! So remember to make the appropriate arrangements with work, in order to be at the camp. It is also strongly recommended that you bring at least one other person with you, i.e. RECRUIT, RECRUIT, RECRUIT! We must continue to build the Women’s Rugby program at U of T in order to get the respect and attention we deserve.

For now we hope that everyone is preparing themselves both physically and mentally for the upcoming season. This is especially important because our first games is during the first week of school! The season lasts 2 months and in order to benefit to the fullest we need to be prepared. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to call Stacie.

Note From Tina

I would like to thank Joan for her work as treasurer this year. A special thanks goes out to my co-director Stacie for all the hard work she put in this year, and for doing anything I asked her to do at a moment’s notice. Thank you also to everyone who helped this year at various fundraising events. I wish to acknowledge all the help Jing provided for Stacie and myself throughout the year, it was greatly appreciated. I will definitely miss everyone after I leave, and best of luck to Stacie and Jing, next year’s executive. I know you’ll do a great job!

Note From Kana

Hello ladies! I hope you are having a fantastic summer, playing rugby, swimming, sunbathing or even working. My name is Kana and I will be the Treasurer for this coming school year.

This year the Women’s Rugby team, as well as other financially struggling clubs, will be receiving a lot more money from the Department of Athletics and Recreation. This means that we will be getting buses for more of our away games and possibly be touring in the spring.

Fundraising was great last year, with the biggest money maker being the bake sales headed by Maureen and Amanda. Just because we are getting a grant from DAR doesn’t mean we stop fundraising. Let’s keep the momentum going, and with everyone helping out we’ll have another great year!

Enjoy the rest of your glorious summer, and I’ll be seeing you at the training camp the 25, 26 and 27 of August.

Final Note

No U of T Rugby newsletter would be complete without acknowledging the efforts of our wonderful coach, Gina Minutillo. We are lucky enough to have her around to coach us again in ‘97. In order to help us prepare for the training camp and the season Gina has set up a training program for us. She strongly suggests that we all follow it to the best of our abilities. As Gina always says...DON’T PLAY RUGBY TO GET FIT -- GET FIT TO PLAY RUGBY! If there are any questions about the program or the upcoming season, do not hesitate to contact Gina.

Also enclosed is a schedule of our games and practices. These are almost definite dates so plan for big commitments now. We expect big things, but that can only happen if we are all ready to give it everything we’ve got.

The early planning stages have also begun for a possible tour for this season. It will either be over the December holidays or the February break. Hopefully by the time the season starts prices, dates and locations will have been set so a tour can be a reality.

Last, but not least, hello to all of our alumni! We hope that all is going well for you in everything that you are doing. We wish you the best of luck and much happiness. Keep in touch. ... Post Script

Look for the Women’s Rugby Web page on the Internet. The site is partly authored by me, Jing, but maintained by the Department of Athletics and Recreation. Don’t be surprised if the site is still under construction. www.utoronto.ca/dar/blues/ womens/womens.htm

For those of you with Internet access, feel free to contact us by e-mail. Jing can be reached at kmjkao@netcom.ca or jing.kao@utoronto.ca. Kana is kana.motoki@utoronto.ca Stacie is 103432.2752@compuserve.com

After

After the home game against Guelph University. October 19, 1996

Return to 1997 Archives

This page was last updated by Jing-Ling Kao on January 11, 1998.