Time is flying by and we are already through our first month of winter training. Preparations are under way for scheduling in March and April as the entire club begins their season. I know, as parents, it is hard to plan when you don’t have a schedule, but we are really at the mercy of the city as to when they inform us of which fields we have been granted for the summer. As soon as we have confirmation, we will let you know through TeamSnap.
The Executive are working hard on preparations for the AGM on February 21, please look out for emails over the coming weeks which will detail times, the agenda of the meeting and the required documents to be reviewed prior to the meeting.
We have also had a change at the Executive level. Dean Hamel has stepped down as secretary and we thank him for his diligence in the role and wish him all the best in the future. Megan Cumming, who has been doing an incredible job as Director of Communications, has graciously agreed to take over the role of secretary and we thank her for stepping up to the role. Lauren Ruff (SW) will take over the social media portion of Megan’s portfolio and we thank Lauren for taking on this role.
Congratulations go to Josh Seguin (SM) who was awarded MVP Forwards for the Ottawa Gee Gees and ShonDreya Smardon has been selected for the Canada Women U21 squad to play Ireland and England in March of this year. We are incredibly proud of both of these athletes and wish both the very best. You can read ShonDreya’s rugby story below and I hope it inspires you to take on every opportunity and lean on the fabulous Scottish community.
Have a great week,
Anne
ShonDreya Smardon
“I started playing rugby for the Barrhaven Scottish the summer before 9th grade (about 5 years ago now). Annika Junek came up to me at CANAM and asked if I wanted to try rugby. I followed her to Scottish practice that night and never turned back haha.
I joined EORU the next year and played my first rep tournament at the Ontario summer games in 2022, we came third and it was one of the coolest experiences I’d ever been apart of. This is kind of when I realized how much I loved rugby and that I wanted to continue competing at the highest level I could.
My first time playing for Ontario was at Western Nationals in 2023 which were in Calgary, Alberta. We came first and I think this helped me see how far I’d come in two years and how much farther I could go with rugby!
Next, the summer of 2024, I made the U18 East Canada camp which was beyond exciting, that was my first time realizing I had the potential to play at the highest level. I learned so much for that camp, a lot of stuff I still carry with me now. In 2025, I committed to the University of Victoria to help pursue my national level dreams. I learned so much during our season but more than anything, I realized how drastic of a change it is from junior to senior. I was playing beside some incredible athletes, in fact our entire backline (9-15) had competed for Canada to some extent, but one thing I learned from playing with the Scottish (being completely new to the sport) is that playing with people better than you will undoubtedly make you a better player.
After our season, I had the opportunity to compete with the BC bears in New Zealand at the Global Youth 7s tournament (with a fellow Scottish – Grace Dingwall). I got to play against nations for the first time (China and Australia) which gave me an idea of what it was like to compete at that National level, to play against the best of the best from entire countries.
Now, in 2026 I’ve just received the invitation to compete for Canada at the U21 level in England and Ireland. I am beyond excited to represent Canada but I am entirely grateful to the programs I’ve come through that have got me here. I’ll be pulling on each and every tour, team, and coach for the next few months so I can play my heart out at the National level. I am so fired up for this tour, it’s all I can focus on right now, I’m so excited to rip around with all the other incredible athletes that make up our squad!”