Elite Rugby Identification Sessions Scheduled in Chatham-Kent

Chatham-Kent will welcome two athlete identification sessions as a part of the “Tackle the Podium” campaign, which is looking to find Ontario’s top young rugby players to potentially participate in Rugby 7s at the 2016 Olympics.

Recently the government has granted Rugby Ontario funding to run a program to identify over 500 athletes who are eligable to participate in a very elite program to develop athletes that could potentially compete at the 2016 olympics where Rugby Sevens will make its Olympic debut.

The first step in the “Highway to High Performance” Program is for all 4 regions of Ontario to compete in the 7s style game at the Ontario Summer Games in August 2012. These athletes will be involved in a very professional program giving them access to nutrition, strength and conditioning, top sports psychologists, and excellent rugby skills training; all aspects involved in competing at an elite level.

Rugby sevens is a very dynamic sport that requires speed, and strength and technical skills that extend to many other sport disciplines.

The first part of the program is the “Talent Identification” portion and there will be various Talent ID camps in various regions of the South Western Region of Ontario. After the top 28 athletes are identified for both the U17 mens and womens sides, the athletes will be taken through a program which will prepare them both physically, mentally, technically and tactically for the competition that will resemble a world cup rugby competition at the 2012 Ontario Summer Games, an event that will be put on by the Highway to High Performance facilitators at Rugby Ontario.

Chatham-Kent’s identification sessions will take place Sunday, February 5, and Sunday, March 25. At each session, coaches will be testing a variety of physical indicators including standing long jump, agility, cardiovascular performance, and 40m sprints.

Chatham-Kent has a growing high school rugby program, as well as a strong developmental program available through the Kent Havoc. Last year, three Havoc girls rugby players competed for Team Ontario.

For more information or to register, please visit http://www.swr7.com/.