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The Ebb Tide Rugby Football Club is the oldest continuously operating Over-40 rugby club in British Columbia, Canada. We have active players between the ages of 38 and 70's and active social members well into their 80's.  Social members and visitors are welcome to join us at our regular Thursday evening run-around.  Ebb Tide is a member of the Pacific Northwest Over 40's Rugby Union.

Players are eligible to play at 38 years.

 BC Rugby’s COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination Policy comes into effect on October 27, 2021 – here is the easiest and quickest way to upload your proof of vaccination status to Sportlomo.

All BC Rugby Members aged 12+ intending to participate in sanctioned Rugby activity will need to submit proof of vaccination. Any participant aged 19+ will have to submit Government-issued photo ID along with proof of vaccination. All participants must give consent for BC Rugby to record their vaccination verification. Once your documents have been uploaded to Sportlomo and approved, Members will receive confirmation and BC Rugby will delete the uploaded files. Click on the below links for a more detailed step-by-step guide on how to upload proof of vaccination status to Sportlomo and for examples of accepted documentation depending where you were vaccinated - within BC, another province or another country.

This coming Tuesday, the BC Rugby Board will meet and consider approving a COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination Policy to be in effect as of October 27, 2021. The draft policy proposes that all participants aged 12 and over must be fully vaccinated to participate in any in-person rugby activity. This will apply to players, coaches, officials, team staff and volunteers but excludes spectators. A process will be provided for people wishing to apply for an exemption to be fully vaccinated based on medical or religious belief or creed grounds.

This policy is being considered to ensure the safety of both the rugby community and the general public. It also supports the practical adherence to the variety of vaccination mandates for indoor and outdoor activities that are being introduced and modified at the provincial, regional and sub-regional level. Additionally, should the Board approve this policy, we will be able to review BC's Return to Rugby policy and reduce some of the processes and restrictions imposed with all 12yrs+ participants being fully vaccinated.

We have worked with Rugby Canada and Sportlomo to provide several options for Clubs and participants to comply with this policy. To learn more about how this policy will be implemented, BC Rugby will host two, 90-min Zoom townhalls on Wednesday, October 13 at 4pm, and again at 7pm. Club registrars/administrators and Clubs' COVID Safety Officers are strongly encouraged to attend. The meeting will be recorded and distributed.

Please register in advance to attend:

Ultimately, any 12yr+ participant who has not provided proof of being fully vaccinated by October 27 will have their registration status switched to 'approval pending' and will not be permitted to participate until they can comply with policy or receive an exemption.

Glen O - President Ebb Tide RFC

Phone: 250-813-2281

Now that the summer training sessions are over we return to Bullen Park for the Fall
5:30 pm at Bullen Park next Esquimalt Recreation Centre

To see if Bullen is open or closed, click here to check the field status.
Changeroom #4 in Arena
527 Fraser Street, Esquimalt BC

Beverages to follow at the Gorge Pointe Pub

Visit the Schedules Page for a listing of the games and dates.

Rugby Canada registration begins from the home site and the member login option at the top

https://reg.sportlomo.com/rugbycanada

Our COVID-19 playing rules remain in effect until such a time as Phase 4 comes into play.

As a reminder:

  • play is 6-aside
  • entrance to and exit from the field is from “gates” on the side line
  • hand sanitizer used before entering and exiting play, and attestation are still required
  • your Rugby Canada registration must be completed before playing, so please ensure your registration for 2020/2021 is still valid and if not, please register sooner than later – here’s the link https://rugbycanada.sportlomo.com/
  • play will continue as long as the NDP feel its safe to do so and the COVID curve continues to trend downward

How to Register with Sportlomo

BCRU Attestation Instructions on Computer for Ebb Tide Members

BCRU Attestation Instructions on Mobile Devices for Ebb Tide Members

Greetings all,

Hopefully you and your families are healthy and as happy as can be under the circumstances. There has not been a lot to report since the November suspension of adult sports but with vaccinations and other actions there is some reason for optimism about returning to the rugby pitch.

Return to Play

On Wednesday, April 21, the BCRU hosted a call to update clubs on possible scenarios for resuming with the Return to Play program:

  • Resume Phase 3 (touch) in June, adults may start later than youth
  • Phase 3 for all age groups during July & August
  • Phase 4 (modified contact, possibly inter-club play) may start in August and run through September
  • Modified contact rugby during a shortened fall season in October & November
  • Return to full contact rugby late January
  • Potential dates for PANORU clubs: September 4th – exhibition games
  • October 17 – renew league matches

Registration

Registration opens April 22 for two time periods:

June to August 1: in preparation for resumption of Phase 3
August 1, 2021 to August 31, 2022: in preparation for modified and full contact play
$10 for the 12 week period from June to August 1, 2021
$82 for the 13 month period from August 1, 2021 to August 31, 2022
BCRU is encouraging early player registration so that we will be ready for action whenever in June we get approval to return to the pitch. Darren is working with BCRU to ensure that the Ebb Tide package is good to go.

We have our COVID management plan for running at Windsor Park approved by BCRU so once we get the green light, practices should resume in short order.

Annual General Meeting

The AGM will hopefully be held in person in a safe manner outside on the field after a practice in June. Here are the executive positions up for election. While all the current office holders except Darren have indicated that they are prepared to stand for another term, more nominations are still welcomed for all positions. The club will need for certain a new Registrar.

  • President: Glen Okrainetz
  • Quartermaster: Dave McMordie
  • Registrar: Darren Kovacs is stepping down
  • Fields: Murk Toorenburgh
  • Director at Large: Dave Valentine
  • Captain: Paul Eby

Duties of the Registrar include:

  • assisting players with the annual registration process;
  • reporting regularly to executive on the status of club registration; and
  • developing a relationship with BCRU and Rugby Canada to ensure the smooth functioning of the annual registration process.

More recently, Darren was the club’s COVID Safety Manager but hopefully by the Fall this will no longer be needed. If you want further information about the Registrar position contact Darren.

Social

The club’s last formal social event was the Christmas Party in December 2019!!! Dave Valentine has been in touch with Cedar Hill Golf Club about a tournament in August or September but they do not have approval to offer a date yet. If allowable under future health directives, there may be opportunities for social gatherings over the summer months.

Stay tuned! Be safe and we’ll all get together soon!!

Yours in rugby,

Glen

February 5, 2021

Earlier today, Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the extension of the current Public Health Order with no definitive end date. This extension maintains the restrictions that are in place for sport as specified in the Gathering and Events Order updated on January 8, 2021. This extension is likely to last the month of February, although Dr. Bonnie Henry made clear the opened ended extension is intentional.

Happy New Year/Hogmanay Ebb Tiders!

For some, this email will be a reminder but for the rest us here’s an update on what’s happening with BCRU and getting back to running around again.

BCRU indicated back in December, in response to PHO restrictions, that Phase 3 resumption (touch rugby practices) will not occur until later in January or sometime in February. Keeping fingers on the pulse, the exec anticipates, realistically, a February restart (so there’s still at least three weeks for personal training to get fit ready for when we get back to it). Another update will be emailed out as soon as confirmation is received from BCRU to resume practice touch sessions… In the meantime, keep an ear to the Facebook page and the website for changes and more information as it becomes available.

Here's to looking at the try line in the coming weeks and cheers!

Chris - Vice President

Ongoing issues with the Rugby Canada and Sportlomo web platforms have delayed registration for the rugby restart. Therefore, the first run is scheduled for Friday September 18 @ 5:30 at Bullen Park. But before then here are the steps that need to be taken:

  • Darren will get the RC & Sportlomo sites functioning properly for our club
  • Darren will prepare an e-mail to members explaining the new process with links to get started
  • Members have to register BEFORE 5:30pm on Friday September 18
  • Members will also have to do the COVID attestation BEFORE 5:30pm on Friday September 18, you will get instructions on how to do this

Please have another look at the e-mail sent out on September 2 with details about how the runs will be conducted.

Thanks for your patience and cooperation.

Game on!

Glen

COVID-19 has had a major impact on all our lives, including on our rugby club, our members, and their families. It has been a rough sea to navigate during an everchanging situation. BC Rugby and by association the Ebb Tide Rugby Football Club has had to shut down all rugby related activities including practices and social events, considering the risk of infection transmission and potential severity of the COVID-19 virus.

Hopefully we can return to normalcy next year with a face to face AGM meeting, but the electronic approach did the job for this year.

In all, 16 members voted and they were unanimous on both items. So, the Treasurer’s report is adopted and the draft society bylaws were approved. Our application to register as a society under the Societies Act has been approved so we are now officially the Ebb Tide Rugby Football Club.

No new nominations were received for the executive positions that were up for election, so here is your 2020 executive:

  • President: Glen Okrainetz
  • Vice President: Chris Poulton
  • Secretary: David Knox
  • Treasurer: Aaron Cook
  • Quartermaster: Dave McMordie
  • Registrar: Darren Kovacs
  • Fields: Murk Toorenburgh
  • Social: Mike Joss
  • Director at Large (Fundraising): Dave Valentine
  • Captain: Paul Eby

We look forward to serving the interests of club members in the coming year.

On behalf of the club, I would like to thank Jim Capron, Dave Millard and Tim Walshaw for the service they provide in their executive roles.

Yours in rugby

Glen

President

While there has not been any rugby on the pitch, there are many things going on behind the scenes as we prepare to return to play in the fall in the midst of a pandemic.


Return to Play

Rugby Canada approved a Return To Play Strategy and handed over responsibility for implementing it to provincial rugby unions. You can find a copy of the Strategy and a whole lot more related information on the BCRU website: https://www.bcrugby.com/

Here is the short story:

  • There are 5 phases to the Strategy
  • We are gearing up for the third Phase: Rugby Restarted. This will allow us to play touch rugby with some adjustments. It is scheduled to run from September to December but the start date is subject to the state of the COVID pandemic.
  • Rugby Reinvented is the fourth phase and is scheduled to start in January and would allow for inter-club games of either touch or low-contact rugby.
  • Every club must do a risk assessment and prepare a COVID Safety Management Plan; ours is nearly final.
  • BCRU must approve the Plan and as a club we can only undertake the activities described in the Plan.

  1. Rugby Canada statement on Return to Play
  2. May 2020 - Ebb Tide Executive Update
  3. A message from the BCRU
  4. Practices return to Bullen Park
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