Excalibur Rugby

Last updated March 31, 2019

Excalibur Rugby is the name of the men's rugby union team at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. The team's motto is Commitment, Intensity, Desire which is expressed in Latin on the team's crest.

Rugby union, commonly known in most of the world simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts at each end.

Trent University is a public university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Trent is known for its Oxbridge college system and small class sizes.

Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in Central Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres (78 mi) northeast of Toronto and about 270 kilometers (167 mi) southwest of Ottawa. According to the 2016 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 81,032. The population of the Peterborough Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), which includes the surrounding Townships of Selwyn, Cavan Monaghan, Otonabee-South Monaghan, and Douro-Dummer, was 121,721 in 2016. In 2016, Peterborough ranked No. 32 among the country’s 35 census metropolitan areas according to the CMA in Canada. Significant growth is expected starting in late 2019 when the Ontario Highway 407 extension is completed, connecting it to Highway 115/35 south of Peterborough. The current mayor of Peterborough is Diane Therrien.

History

Formed in 1966, Excalibur Rugby has been able to maintain a strong tradition of competition and camaraderie. Founded by a small number of rugby enthusiasts, Excalibur Rugby expanded over the years to include both a first and second side, while competing as a varsity rugby team in the OUA and as a social club known as Trent Rugby Football Club (TRFC). Despite its strong history of development and maintenance of a second team composed of up and coming rookies, developing players and rugby fans, Excalibur Rugby made the move to carry only one team for the 2005 season.

Varsity is an alteration and shortening of the term university. The meaning differs depending on the region, but is usually related to sporting activity.

Charitable involvement

Over the years the members of Excalibur Rugby have been involved with a number of charitable organizations in and around Peterborough. Players from Excalibur Rugby have worked to support the Peterborough Regional Health Center, the United Way, Kawartha Food Share and other various charities such as the Terry Fox Foundation.

United Way Centraide Canada is the national organization for the over 90 autonomous, volunteer-based United Ways and Centraides across Canada.

Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated due to cancer, he embarked on an east to west cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi), and ultimately cost him his life, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy. The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over C$750 million has been raised in his name, as of January 2018.

Tournaments and tours

Each November Excalibur Rugby hosts an annual rugby union tournament known as the Bronze Touque tournament. Originally open to any team interested in competing which saw in its inaugural year teams from Ottawa University, Queens Law School and the Cobourg Saxons club team compete with Excalibur Rugby for the coveted trophy. By 2005 the Bronze Touque tournament has developed into a sanctioned OUA off season event with participation by various varsity teams.

Bi-annually members of Excalibur Rugby spend their spring reading break travelling to various schools across North America in a week-long tour. In February 2005 Excalibur Rugby toured the Eastern United States playing Penn State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), also known as UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, or simply Carolina is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It is the flagship of the 17 campuses of the University of North Carolina system. After being chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795, which also allows it to be one of three schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States. Among the claimants, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the only one to have held classes and graduated students as a public university in the eighteenth century.

External links

Trent University

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