Prince Rupert Seamen cleared to hit the pitch this fall ... with COVID measures in place

Rugby Action will soon return to the pitch at the PRMS field, as
the Prince Rupert Seamen Rugby Club restarts the sport with
some COVID related measures in place

The Provincial organization that watches over Rugby in British Columbia liked what they read from the Prince Rupert Seamen Rugby Club towards their action plan for a return for the sport and as a result of the local club's response to provide a restart plan, BC Rugby has given the team the green light to hit the pitch, with some restrictions in place.

The provincial body which governs the sport in BC announced some of the successful clubs for the 2020 season noting that the Prince Rupert Seamen Rugby Club makes for the first club sanctioned to play from the Northern Region.

For the relaunch, Rugby will be a little different for the participants, with BC Rugby outlining some of the measures in place 

These clubs can now open registration to members wishing to participate in in-person rugby. Clubs participating in the Rugby Re-Engage phase will not hold any inter-club or contact activities, and are limited to activities that maintain physical distancing at all times, with rugby balls as the only permitted shared equipment. Sessions are limited to 50 people divided into small groups of 5-10, and daily attestation is required to ensure players are not participating if they have been exposed to a potential case of COVID-19.

The success of the Prince Rupert program also made for part of the restart announcement, with BC Rugby making note of the passion for the sport that is found on the North Coast.

Prince Rupert is a true success story of grassroots rugby, building up an excellent youth program over the past few years. Despite the long travel distances to the nearest opposing club of over 140 km for boys’ rugby and nearly 350km for girls’ rugby, Prince Rupert has built a thriving youth rugby community. in 2019, Prince Rupert participated in the Kamloops Sevens tournament and fielded a team for a 15s competition in Abbotsford.

On the local front, Executive Member Jon Phalen observed as to the anticipation from the local side to return to some form of rugby activity this fall.

“We’re very lucky in Prince Rupert that we’ve not had any outbreak of COVID-19 cases, which no doubt has had an impact on our being one of the first clubs in BC to be sanctioned to return to practice. However, the nature of the virus means that we can’t let our guard down or become complacent in the protocols that we have set up. Nevertheless, we’re looking forward to getting back outside to run around, freshen up on our skills, and find new ways to enjoy rugby within the current guidelines. The situation can change quickly so we’ll be staying on top of the local situation and continuing to work with BC Rugby to keep our practice guidelines current.”

Joining the Seamen in the return to the pitch so far across the province are: 

Vancouver Rowing Club

Bayside Rugby

Scribes Rugby

Kamloops Rugby Club

Some notes on the relaunch can be reviewed here.

The Prince Rupert Squad celebrated their approval through their Facebook Page, which is where Prince Rupert followers can learn more about their plan moving forward into the fall.

For more notes on Rugby in the Northwest see our archive page here.