The Newfoundland Rock rugby team welcomed the Kamloops Raiders Junior Boys at St. John’s Newfoundland airport on Saturday, May 18. It was like “old home week” with the two teams getting back together again following a visit to B.C. by the Newfoundland team in March.
The trip was part of the YMCA sports exchange program which enabled players to travel across the country to play the sport they love, form new friendships and experience a different part of Canada, some for the first time .
Players commented amongst themselves on the differences in the environment between the Kamloops region and the east coast of Newfoundland.
The first game took place Sunday, May 19, the day after the Kamloops team arrived on the east coast, between the Kamloops Rugby Club (KRC) Junior Raiders and the Newfoundland Rock resulted in a win for the KRC team with a 37-19 final score.
On Monday, May 20, the teams met in St. John for a walking tour of Signal Hill and into downtown taking a walk through the lieutenant governor’s residence, through Battery to Cabot Tower, down North Head Trail to the Terry Fox statue. With so many interesting historical sites to see as they viewed the row houses while working their way up to the Basilica and back to the Colonial Building - the starting point.
A bus tour was organized for May 21, where teams viewed a whale skeleton at Memorial Drive through the downtown to Cape Spear, the most easterly point in North America which was followed by a drive to Petty Harbour for an ice cream. The teams ended the day with the Haunted Hike Walking Tour from 7 - 9 p.m.
May 22, started with a drive to Quidi Vidi fishing village and a stop at Middle Cove Beach. The players enjoyed a walk on the East Coast Trail to Torbay Point and in the afternoon participated in a community clean-up event. That day’s game between the two teams started at 6 p.m.
Before the team’s departure on May 23, the junior boys toured St. Johns City Hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. departing their new east coast friends in rugby for the airport at 3 p.m.
Coaches, team members and supporters had a memorable trip both ways during the exchange that started in March and culminated for the teams in May from one end of the country to the other. The main thing uniting them all is their love of the sport of rugby and also their love for their home country, Canada. A memorable trip not soon to be forgotten for all involved.
