North Shore Flag 7's Rugby is ready to go!
As reported below, North Star Rugby is supporting the launch of the first Flag 7's rugby program on the North Shore! For boys and girls in grades 5, 6, 7 and grade 8, this will be a fun and dynamic way to get out and learn this great sport! Half the time is spent learning great skills from qualified coaches and the second half is all fun and games!
The Details
Time - 4 pm to 5:30 pm
Dates: every Sunday* from April 9th to June 11th, 2017 (*except Easter Sunday and Victoria Day long weekend)
Place - Fen Burdett Turf Field at 1648 Jones Ave. North Vancouver. (a part of Mahon Park - click here for map)
Register now by going to our store link (at the top of this page) or click here
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Vancouver Rugby Union partners with North Star Rugby to start
2017 Touch/Flag Rugby pilot project
North Star Rugby (NSR) is in partnership with the Vancouver Rugby Union (VRU) to do a Flag Rugby pilot program in North Vancouver starting in April of 2017. Brock Turner, Vice-President at NSR is co-leading the project with Mimi Appelbe, VRU Rep coach and Head Coach of the Handsworth Royals Girls 15's program.
"It is key to start touch and flag rugby projects if we want more boys and girls to play the sport," says Appelbe. "It is a fantastic sport for boys and girls of all shapes and sizes because it is an inclusive sport by its very nature. This pilot project is to show how easy it is for all kids to play rugby."
The program combines skill acquisition sessions with games. Turner says, "One of the ways to create skilled players is to have fun, low-pressure skills sessions coupled with fun, easygoing games. The kids can experiment with what works and what doesn't but also they get a chance to be creative and innovative. That creates great enjoyment and keeps them coming back for more!"
Stay tuned for more information about the VRU Touch/Flag Rugby Project powered by North Star Rugby!
NORTH STAR PARTNERS WITH BARBARA MERVIN'S APTOELLA ON WOMEN'S KIT FOR NORTH SHORE 7's FESTIVAL
September 6th 2015
North Star Rugby has partnered with Canadian national athlete Barbara Mervin and her APTOELLA brand on a range of clothing to be debuted by the Aptoella North Stars at the North Shore 7s festival being held at Capilano RFC's home ground of Klahanie Park from the 11th - 13th of September. Barbara Mervin will be coaching the Aptoella North Stars team (U16-U18) and she kicks off the festival on Friday the 11th of September with fellow national athlete, Adam Zaruba, coaching a sevens skills clinic from 4pm at the same venue.
North Star Rugby's Vice-President, Emma Tucker, is the project manager alongside APTOELLA and is excited about the range: "We've been wanting to work with Barbara for some time - she's a smart and dynamic advocate for women's rugby and APTOELLA is way out in front in terms of identifying the points of difference that women look for in their apparel. We've had a very strong response this year from women's teams wanting to take part - the APTOELLA North Stars are drawn primarily from new rugby athletes living on the Sunshine Coast and who got involved with rugby at North Star development camps at Chatelech School earlier this year"
North Star Rugby will be launching its online store very soon!
SOLD OUT!! SKILLS CLINIC WITH ZARUBA AND MERVIN KICKS OFF NORTH STAR'S NORTH SHORE 7'S FESTIVAL ON SEPTEMBER 11TH AT KLAHANIE PARK.
September 6th 2015
The North Shore 7's festival looks set to kick off in style in Friday 11th of September with a SOLD OUT skills clinic featuring guest coaches - national team athletes Adam Zaruba and Barbara Mervin. 80 young athletes will work with the coaching team for over two hours.
North Star Rugby's Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Weidner, said: "We're delighted that this showcase skills clinic has sold out so quickly - it shows the enthusiasm and demand for this sort of innovative, development based event. When we met late last year with Graham Brown at Rugby Canada we shared his view that there should be increased opportunities for national level athletes such as a Adam and Barbara to work closely with youth players in this way and we're following through on North Star's commitment to that idea."
August 24th 2015
September 3rd 2015
SPORT BC DIRECTOR TAKES DEVELOPMENT ROLE AT NORTH STAR RUGBY
The founders of North Star Rugby revealed today that after a number of weeks of discussions they had concluded a deal with highly experienced sports development professional, Brock Turner. He joins North Star at a crucial time in its growth and has been given a free hand to drive the company’s success in BC, across the Country and into the United States.
In over twenty years he’s held key positions in a wide range of sports organisations and is currently Vice –Chair of Sport BC and a director of the Vancouver Sport Network. A former Olympic-style, championship wrestler and lacrosse player he’s also an accomplished coach in swimming, wrestling, hockey and lacrosse.
Following his appointment, Mr Turner said: “North Star is a very exciting business founded by a highly committed team looking to create opportunities for athletes and coaches and to help rugby grow and compete with other sports. I’m thrilled to be asked to come into the company and I’m looking forward to working with the rest of the team on projects in BC and throughout North America.”
North Star Director of Rugby, Curry Hitchborn was equally delighted: "Brock has sport running through his veins. I’ve seen Brock’s involvement in rugby as a committed and supportive parent and volunteer for some time. Gaining his passion for the growth of the game and being able to leverage his background in sport development are great strides forward in North Star’s development. Brock brings a realistic approach coupled with a focus that will push rugby to not only grow from within but also attract new interest from athletes in other sports along with new investment"
Mr Turner, originally from Saskatchewan is a longstanding Vancouver resident and lives with his wife and two children on the West side of the City. As you’d expect, both his children are active athletes. His son, Sam, plays rugby for St Georges School, The Vancouver Rowing Club and BC.
North Star Rugby’s CEO, Karl Harrison, has known Mr Turner for a number of years: “We’re fortunate to be able to have Brock join our young company. His experience and skill set compliment the commercial and on-field talent that we already have within the business and which is opening up new opportunities for young men and women to get more from this fantastic sport. We’re looking forward to working with him.”
August 18th 2015
CANADA STARS LEAD SKILLS CLINIC FOR YOUTH PLAYERS AT NORTH SHORE 7s
ADAM ZARUBA AND BARBARA MERVIN TO LEAD NORTH STAR RUGBY’S FESTIVAL OPENER
Special guest coaches to kick off the opening day of the North Shore 7s festival have been confirmed by North Star Rugby.
Canadian national sevens players, Adam Zaruba and Barbara Mervin, will lead North Star’s skills clinic at Klahanie Park between 4pm and 6pm on Friday the 11th of September. Zaruba’s try against England in Las Vegas earlier this year took Canada to victory in that game and Mervin was a member of the Canadian cup winning team at the same tournament in 2012. Mervin is also the founder of women’s clothing brand APTOELLA which will be at North Shore 7s throughout the weekend of September 12th and 13th showing their latest range of apparel.
North Star’s Director of Rugby, Curry Hitchborn said “We’re thrilled to have Adam and Barbara leading the skills clinic to open our festival. It’s a great opportunity for young players to work with national athletes of this calibre. We’re working on adding more guests for the weekend and we’ll announce those as soon as we can”
North Star Rugby invites you to the North Shore 7s Skills and Development camp for Men and Women U14 to U18 from 4 pm to 6 pm on Friday September 11th at Klahanie Park. The cost of the camp is $20 per player or coach, or $150 per team of 12 players and will include a T-shirt for each player. The camp will focus on technical and tactical game play and core skills specific to Rugby 7s.
More information about North Shore 7s 2015 can be found at www.northshore7s.com or by emailing info@northshore7s.com and registration for the event is now open.
Enquiries:
Daniel Weidner daniel@northstarrugby.com +1 778 838 3927
Karl Harrison karl@northstarrugby.com +1 604 805 2600
August 15th 2015
NORTH SHORE 7s - ONLY ONE WEEK LEFT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EARLY BIRD DEAL
There's only one week remaining for your team to get the early bird entrance fee of $200 for this year’s North Shore 7s.
…. And in just four weeks we'll kick off our second North Shore 7’s tournament on the weekend of September 12th and 13th. It will be even bigger and better than last year! Spots are filling up fast, especially for our travel and accommodation packages, so sign up now!
We start our festivities on the evening of Friday Sept 11th with a training camp featuring top-level guest coaches to help with your final preparation for the tournament.
Please contact us for further travel and accommodation inquiries as well as camp and tournament registration.
Danny Weidner daniel@northstarrugby.com
Curry Hitchborn curry@northstarrugby.com
Emma Tucker emma@northstarrugby.com
See you in September!
August 2nd 2015
NORTH STAR FOUNDERS LEAD BC U16 TO GOLD IN KELOWNA
BC NORTH STAR SELECTS AT THE END OF challenging WEEK LONG CAMP AHEAD OF WESTERN CHAMPIONSHIPS
The innovative selection process used by North Star founder and BC U16 Head Coach Danny Weidner and his team was proved effective at the Western Championships in Kelowna winning both games against the Prairie Wolfpack made up of athletes from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The first match was hard fought with Weidner's team coming out on top, 27-14. After a day off to recover the scoreline in the second match widened to 44-0. The preparation for this success took place at a week long selection camp at Klahanie Park where Weidner pitched his squad against the toughest opponents he could find in the form of Salty Thompson's Eagle Impact Rugby Academy from the USA and St Peter's School from the UK.
Weidner said of the Kelowna results "We have to give full credit for the results here in Kelowna to our rigorous selection process which saw us invite close to 100 athletes to a week long camp. In previous years there were two BC teams competing at the National Championships. We felt it was imperative to be inclusive and to give as many athletes as possible not only an opportunity to make the BC team but to also learn and improve from a high level of competition and training. As the results show, playing the best possible opponents ahead of the Western Championship gave our players a different perspective and determination"
North Star Director of Rugby, Curry Hitchborn, also assisted with the BC U16 team in Kelowna fresh from winning the Canadian Rugby Championships with the BC U19 men's team in Regina. Hitchborn said that "Playing against the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy certainly helped prepare the team moving into the Western Championships. Through the PRC's regional coaches did an outstanding job prepping their teams and individual players to the highest level available to them as well."
July 19th 2015
NORTH STAR BRINGS U.S.A. ACADEMY TEAM TO VANCOUVER
BC North Star selects battle with dynamic eagle impact rugby academy team (7 - Harrison Hooke, 12 - Conor SinclaIr, 13 - Jake Scott and 11 - Chris SMall)
Working with High School All Americans Head Coach, Salty Thompson, North Star Rugby staged two thrilling matches between the Eagle Impact Rugby Academy and the BC U16 North Star Selects during BC Rugby's U16 provincial selection at Klahanie Park. With over 70 BC athletes attending the week long camp North Star founder and BC Head Coach, Danny Weidner, found immense success with these challenging games helping to select 24 athletes to travel to the Western Championships in Kelowna.
Weidner said “It’s a fresh approach – we had over 70 athletes attending this residential camp. This broader pathway allows us to evaluate more athletes in detail. The games we chose to play - against such high quality international opponents – gave us a chance to look closely at players in a very competitive environment that tested their ability and fitness at every level. The structure of the camp led to enhanced engagement not just from athletes but from their parents and the wider rugby community in BC. We’ve had great feedback from participants and we feel we’re in good shape for the Prairie matches in Kelowna.”
Weidner's coaching team will have some tough decisions to make and will announce their team in the next few days.
EIRA’s head coach, Salty Thompson is keen to strengthen the relationship with Canada:
“From my perspective, with Eagle Impact Rugby Academy, cross border competition is so critical for our boys. Rugby in Canada has a rich culture we envy. It’s our goal to close the gap between us and developed rugby nations. Increased competition with Canada simply makes a lot of sense.”
North Star Rugby will now look to set up a home and away series of games with EIRA.
BC north star selects and USA's Eagle Impact Rugby Academy come together after a hard fought match
July 19th 2015
NORTH STAR RECRUITS AUSSIES FOR U16 SKILLS DEVELOPMENT CAMP
Working alongside BC Bulldog's Head Coach, Luke Gray, and Canada Wolverines U19 Head Coach, Andy Blackburn over 70 U16 players benefited from training with the New South Wales Tertiary Students Rugby League team.
The event was organised by North Star Rugby whose Chief Operating Officer, Danny Weidner said "The skill sets learned from these high level rugby league players greatly improve and compliment the handling and running lines used in both codes. This great opportunity was invaluable to the athletes that attended the session. As part of the regional development programs being launched by North Star Rugby in the coming months rugby league coaches will play a substantial role in helping young athletes to improve their skill sets."
July 19th 2015
NORTH STAR DIRECTOR OF RUGBY WINS GOLD WITH BC U19
North star director of rugby, curry hitchborn (far left) with the crc u19 champions in saskatchewan
North Star's Director of Rugby, Curry Hitchborn, added another success to his impressive track record with another gold, this time with the BC U19 men's team at the Canadian Rugby Championships in Regina, Saskatchewan. Hitchborn's team beat Ontario 11 - 8 on a windy day in the Prairies.
July 11th 2015
NORTH STAR RUGBY WINS PLATE AT VICTORIA INTERNATIONAL SEVENS
nORTH sTAR RUGBY u18'S CELEBRATE AFTER WINNING THE PLATE AT THE VICTORIA INTERNATIONAL SEVENS.
nORTH sTAR RUGBY CAPTAIN JACKSON CLARIDGE FEELS THE EFFECTS OF A LONG DAY OF SEVENS
May 9th 2015
NORTH STAR DIRECTOR OF RUGBY IN ROUNSFELL CUP VICTORY
CUP WINNING ubc cOACHES FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: raMESES LANGSTON, CURRY HITCHBORN, LUKE GRAY AND FORD CHAMBERLAIN
Curry Hitchborn - North Star's Director of Rugby - took centre stage again this time coaching UBC Thunderbirds to victory against UVIC VIkes. Working alongside his longstanding UBC coaching partner, Rameses Langston, Hitchborn saw the Thunderbirds team triumph 52-22 in the CDI Premier League playoffs to take the Rounsfell Cup for the first time in 68 years. Langston and Hitchborn (along their skills coach, Luke Gray) have fast become a force to be reckoned with in the Premiership with their team looking strong from the start in this game played at Klahanie Park, home of Capilano RFC where Hitchborn has been a successful youth coach for many years and where he was part of the Rounsfell winning coaching team when Caps claimed victory in 2012
June 28th 2015
AGE GRADE VANCOUVER NORTH STARS SHINE AT PROVINCIAL REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Vancouver North stars teams battle it out at the Provincial Regional championships in burnaby
North Star Rugby was well represented at the first weekend of the PRC tournament in Vancouver. We sponsored 11 teams and had many North Star coaches working closely with Vancouver Rugby Union men's and women's teams from all Vancouver regions and age grades U14, U15 and U16.
Winning medals and placing highly across all the divisions, our teams came away with 2 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze.
This coming weekend will be the U17 and U18 men's and women's turn at the PRC's. North star will again be well represented by 6 competing teams across 3 divisions.
April 9th 2015
NORTH STAR RUGBY BOOSTS GIRLS AND BOYS PROGRAMS ON SUNSHINE COAST
mADDIE cLUCAS IN THE 8TH GRADE WORKING ON HER TACKLING TECHNIQUE WITH NORTH STAR DIRECTOR OF RUGBY, CURRY HITCHBORN
FROM THE COAST REPORTER
The present and future of rugby look to be bright at Chatelech Secondary School.
On Wednesday, April 1, an inaugural girls’ camp was held with 14 players on hand, most of whom had never picked up a rugby ball before. In the afternoon, a boys’ camp was held, the second such camp in recent weeks.
Both camps were hugely successful and will continue to help bolster Chatelech’s program, according to coach Drew Murphy.
“There has been a long history of rugby on the Coast. We seem to always go to town and have had lots of success with the boys. Now we want to start having that same success with a girls’ program,” Murphy said. “We had a couple of girls come out to the last boys’ camp, and after that, it really didn’t take much to get other girls out. The word spread like wildfire.”
On hand for the April 1 camps were Curry Hitchborn, director of rugby for Northstar Rugby. He is also a forwards’ coach for UBC, a U19 provincial coach and a guest national coach for age-grade rugby. Also helping out were Luke Gray, a professional rugby player with the ACT Brumbies, and Daniel Weidner, a former national age-grade player and U16 provincial coach.
Hitchborn was more than a little impressed by the level of commitment, passion and desire shown by the female players in the morning camp when Coast Reporter paid a visit just an hour into the session.
“We run a rugby development company and our goal is to bring rugby to communities that don’t have a lot of rugby. This is our second time up here, but our first time running an all women’s camp, and we are completely blown away by the commitment out here,” he said. “Their ability to not only listen, but also their desire to get better in something that they have never done — I have never seen this before.”
Hitchborn had the opportunity to play against the Gibsons Pigs years ago, so he knows the Sunshine Coast has a passion for the sport.
“We know there is a huge rugby community up here and it’s only two guys, Brian Scarr and Drew Murphy, here at Chatelech. We are very happy to come up here and pass on our knowledge and help grow this great sport,” Hitchborn said. “We only have one female player who has played rugby before, but they all come from various athletic backgrounds, which certainly helps. But it takes a lot for someone to come out here and learn a new sport. We’re thrilled. They are all doing an outstanding job.”
Throughout the morning, the coaches led the players through a series of basic skills including catching, passing, rucking (which is maintaining your own ball) and tackling.
“We are not doing a lot of tactics; we are just doing basic technical skills and then end the day with a sevens tournament,” Hitchborn said.
In the afternoon, the men’s camp touched on some of the basic skills, but since a lot of that was covered at the previous camp, the coaches put the players through more game play.
“Rugby is a unique sport like that because the best way to learn is to play,” he added.
Murphy said plans are to continue to grow the girls program and get connected with national-level female coaches for more coaching sessions.
“This is just the first stages of building a girls’ program at Chatelech,” he said. “Girls’ rugby is one of the fastest growing sports in schools, so there is lots of competition in the Lower Mainland. The boys’ program is successful and we think we have a great program in place. We want to create an atmosphere of success for the girls’ program too.”
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