TAIKA Rugby welcomed young athletes to their home turf this past Saturday for a rugby Jamboree.
Coach Isi Masi shares that youth teams from across Manitoba came out for the event.
“I think it was about over 100 kids that showed up. We had a couple of teams from Winnipeg, Portage, and Dauphin, and then we had our own kids in Steinbach, which we started two weeks ago.”
The Jamboree is a weekly event, rotating through different host communities to bring young rugby players together.
“The next one will be in Selkirk and then one in Dauphin, and then in Winnipeg. And we were fortunate to host it last Saturday.”
TAIKA Rugby offers two variations of the sport for young athletes.
“There's flag rugby and then there's also intro to contact. So, there's 14U and 12U where kids can actually try out contact and we teach them how to tackle properly, and it was a lot of fun.”
For the youngest players, ages 5 to 7, there’s also mini rugby.
“Those are always cute to look over. And they have their own version where they're rolling around and it's always fun to watch them, but important to see grassroots grow especially for a sport like this, for rugby, which is still new in the Eastman region.”
Saturday’s jamboree saw success for the Steinbach teams.
“They came away with a few wins, and they enjoyed it. We try and do a lot of mini games so they keep interested in rugby and hopefully that will turn into them wanting to play rugby, whether in school or as they grow older in one of our teams.”
Masi says the ultimate goal of TAIKA Rugby is to help kids fall in love with the sport early, and maybe even one day play for the Eastman Warriors.
“That would be amazing.”
He adds that one of the greatest strengths of rugby is its inclusivity as everyone is welcome to take part.
“It's one of those sports where you really don't need any prior knowledge. You can come and participate, and you'll love the game, and we can see that camaraderie in the senior level and we're doing successfully in the men's rugby winning the Premiership two years in a row and defending it for the third time this year, and looking to start women's rugby.”
While some parents may feel hesitant about rugby, Masi encourages families to simply come out and give it a try.
“Every Tuesday, we run it at A.D. Penner. So come and try it out, see if you like it. You don't have to register right away. If your kid loves it, I think we've had a few of those, they just come and try it out, and they see it. Because rugby sounds scary for a lot of parents. It's like, ‘Oh, it's contact, there’s no equipment’, but once they see it, they see that it's very safe and very fun for the kids.”
TAIKA Rugby practices are held every Tuesday at 6 p.m. at A.D. Penner Park.
With files from Carly Koop