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Monthly Edition: April 2011
2011 President's Letter
Dear Vikings Members,
I would like to officially welcome all of our members to the start of the 2011 Oshawa Vikings Rugby Season! 2011 promises to be a great year as our club is now over 300 members and growing with plans to operate almost 20 teams in various categories this season.
2010 was a successful season for the Vikings with many great team and individual accomplishments. Our Under 20 Men's and Under 15 Boys capture the Provincial Championships and our Under 18 Girls competed in the Toronto Rugby Finals and our Under 18 Boys competed in the Toronto Rugby Semi Finals.
In 2011 our Junior Rugby will be the biggest playing category for the Vikings. The Flag Rugby Program will almost double from last year, the Under 12 Team plan to run two teams, the Junior Boys Program will run six teams and the Junior Girls Program will run two teams. The Vikings Senior teams look to rebuild and be extremely competitive this season. The Men's Program running two teams and competing with the top teams in the province as part of the newly formed Ontario Marshall Provincial League and the Women's Program is planning to run two teams and competing in the Toronto Rugby Premiere League.
Our Executive Committee and Board of Directors are a committed group of volunteers that have worked very hard in the off-season to get thing prepared for a great year and I thank them for their efforts. These groups have planned many events for the upcoming season to help foster the growth of our club and provide an optimal foundation for our members and their families. Some of the events include:
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Hosting the LOSSA Boys and Girls Championships and organizing several High School tournaments to continue our support for Junior Rugby in Durham Region
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Various Junior touring sides visiting from overseas throughout the summer
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Vikings annual membership events to help build the Vikings family include:
- Men’s & Women’s Chris Krause Tournaments, April 30/May 7
- Alumni Day, June 18
- Vikings Junior Festival, June 25
- Hypnotist Show and Silent Auction Event, July 23
- Prom Dress Sevens in August
- Social Members Luncheons throughout the season
Please note, a complete list of events can be found on our website www.oshawavikings.ca/2011-events
2011 has the potential to be one of the best seasons yet for the Vikings as we continue to build on last year’s accomplishments to ensure every team is successful and captures the spirit of the game. We welcome all Old Boys, Social Members, Parents, Coaching staff, Junior and Senior Players to support your club and show your Viking Pride this season!
Yours in Rugby,
Johnny Watkins
President
Playing Rugby in England
As momentum was beginning to build last summer for the twinning of the Oshawa Vikings with Hinckley RFC in England, an opportunity presented itself for one of our players to go to Hinckley and experience a season of rugby English-style.
That player was James Needham, a regular in the Senior Men’s Team for the last couple of years. Following a meeting with Paul Walsh, Director of Rugby, Hinckley RFC, who was spending the summer of 2010 in Ontario, James decided to go over to England and try his luck. His British citizenship served him well, and without too much fuss, he was able to transfer from the Vikings to Hinckley RFC at the end of August 2010.
The initial few weeks were a period of adjustment – to life in England (again!), but also to the pace and physicality of the English game compared to the Marshall Division (as was) in Canada. James readily admits that some of those early Hinckley training sessions were more intense than some of the games he had played in Canada, but after knuckling down and training hard, James became a regular for the Hinckley RFC First XV, playing at fullback in the English National Division 2. The highlights of the season included scoring tries away at Canterbury and Jersey and in James’ words “learning a heck of a lot!”
Unfortunately a hip injury meant that James was unable to complete the full season in England, and he returned in February to begin recuperation and training, to make sure that he would be fit for the new season with the Vikings. Overall it was a great experience, and we hope that this is the first of many player exchanges between the newly-twinned clubs. We are already expecting a couple of Hinckley’s brightest prospects to grace our field this season...watch this space for news of their progress!
To learn more about Hinckley RFC visit, hinckleyrugby.co.uk.
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Clubhouse
Clean-up Day
Date: Sun, Apr 3
Time: 10am-3pm
Location: Thompson Park, (Vikings Clubhouse)
110 Raglan Rd. W, Raglan
click to see map
Details: As a Vikings member, at some point you have helped make a mess (big or small) at the club and we would like your help! Please come out to do your part and help kick start the rugby season with a big clean-up before we host the high school tournaments. We encourage you to take pride in your clubhouse and help make it the best it can be. There is more than the executive can handle on their own so please come out if only for an hour and give them a hand!
Hope to see all players, parents and social members. |
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Chris Krause Tournaments
Location: Thompson Park (Vikings Clubhouse)
110 Raglan Road W, Raglan
click to see a map
Men's Details:
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Saturday, March 30th
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Games start at 9am sharp and there are 12 games throughout the day. Final should be around 4pm.
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8 teams will be in attendance including: Peterborough, Barrie, St Catharines, Hamilton, Toronto Nomads, Sudbury, Belleville and the Vikings.
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Barrie RFC was the 2010 Champs so the Vikings are going to pour it on strong to recapture the four year winning streak from '05-'08.
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After the tournament the team is going to Shoeless Joes to watch the UFC fights on pay-per-view from Toronto (reserved seating is required).
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Contact Johnny Watkins for more information
johnnybwatkins@hotmail.com
Women's Details:
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Saturday, May 7th
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Times and teams to follow
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The Vikings Women are two time defending champs so come out and cheer them on for a three-peat!
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Contact Chris McKee for more information
kaisermckee99@hotmail.com
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Captain's Dinner
Date: Sat, May 14
Time: 8:00pm
Location: Shoeless Joe's
33 Taunton Rd W, Oshawa
click to see map
Cost: Dependant on individuals orders
Details: The Captain's Dinner is a night to recognize our 2011 Senior Team Captains and Men's and Women's representatives. This is week one of the season and both men's and women's teams are playing at home so it's a great opportunity to get everyone together!
Menus options will follow and all attendees are responsible for paying their individual bills directly with the restaurant. Seating is reserved for 60 people so get there early. Contact Johnny Watkins for more information
johnnybwatkins@hotmail.com
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Indoor Training!
Indoor training has been scheduled for 7:30-9pm on Thursday, April 7th & 14th at Trafalgar Castle School in Whitby, 401 Reynolds Street. Click here for map. Cost is $5 per person. Training is open to all men's, women's and junior players over 15. Players may also register for the 2011 season at the training sessions.
Please contact Chris McKee for more information kaisermckee99@hotmail.com or (905) 240-5804. |
Vikings at U20
Canada Trials
U-20 Canada Trials were held last weekend at Shawnigan Lake School in Victoria, BC. The trial was an East/West game to help select the Canada U-20 team for this summer's World Rugby Trophy Championship. Vikings participants were: Scott MacDonald (played for Canada in 2010, Port Perry HS); Brandon Marsden and Dylan Munday (Brock University, Uxbridge SS); Ryan Scarborough (Dalhousie University, Uxbridge SS). All four players played for the Vikings U-20 Provincial Championship team last summer and were members of the Ontario Gold Medal Team at the 2009 Canada Games.
Our fingers are crossed for you guys!
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High School Tournaments
Every spring the Vikings host several High School tournaments to further support Junior Rugby. This year all the tournaments will take place at Henry Street High School and are quite large with 16 teams competing on each day from around the province.
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Junior Boys, April 15
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Midget Boys, April 19
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Junior/Senior Girls, April 21
We welcome all Vikings members and supporters to come out and cheer on these kids. Volunteers are also needed. Contact Chris McKee if you are able to volunteer kaisermckee99@hotmail.com.
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2011 Sponsors
Without the kind generosity of our 2011 sponsors our club and the incredible plans we have for this season would not be possible! We are very pleased to tell you that all of our new sponsors from 2010 are back with The Vikings for 2011.
The 2011 sponsors are:
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Shoeless Joe’s, Oshawa
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Lowes, Whitby
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Paddy’s Market, Hampton
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Stephenson Steering, Oshawa
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Weed Man
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OPG
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Daryl Radovich of Century 21
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Gus Brown’s GM Dealership
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Pizza Pizza
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Cedar Park, Hampton
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Meriden Bank, Whitby
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Durham Medical
We have added a great new Club Sponsor with Shoeless Joe’s in Oshawa at Taunton and Simcoe. We have had several functions hosted at Shoeless Joe’s and the service for the Vikings has been nothing short of fantastic. Please make sure to visit Shoeless Joe’s in Oshawa and tell your server that you are with the Vikings. Todd is the owner and Chris is the manager!
We are also happy to have added
Daryl Radovich of Century 21! Daryl has created a great Oshawa Vikings Membership Rewards program. If you or anyone you know has questions or needs any real estate help, please call Daryl at 905-435-3998.
Please make a point of visiting all our sponsors as many times as you can. These companies have many choices on how to spend their sponsorship dollars and we need to make sure they see their return on the investment they made in the Oshawa Vikings!
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