Our Story
Twenty years ago, the graduating members of the Humberview High School Sr. Boys & Girls Rugby teams had nowhere to play after they left the safety of the ‘View. So, in the Spring of 2001, they decided to start their own club. That’s the year the Caledon Cavaliers Rugby clubs were born. After initially being 2 separate entities comprising of a Men’s Club and a Women’s Club, the Caledon Cavaliers are back as a unified Club to bring post-secondary Rugby back to Caledon for men & women, boys & girls.
All those years ago, a small group of girls walked into the Annual General Meeting of the Toronto Rugby Union looking to become a Rugby Club. They were surrounded by men with years of experience running some of the most successful rugby clubs in the province, if not the country. Intimidation was high, but there was one gentleman, Todd Russell, who saw something in the dream of those girls and signed on to be their head coach for the next season. As the club grew so did the scoreboard points. In 2003 the Caledon Cavaliers Women’s Rugby Football Club won the Toronto Rugby Union ‘B’ League Championship (a championship now named in honour of Todd Russell). In 2004 a Jr. Team was fielded and in 2005 & 2006 the Jr. Team went undefeated in their Union for both seasons. By 2008 the club abruptly disbanded, and they haven’t fielded a team since. Which is a shame, Rugby in Caledon has nurtured talent that played rugby at provincial, national, and international levels and was also home for a time to one of the worlds top renowned female referees Sherry Trumbull. The Cavaliers have sat dormant, but still a vivid memory for all the men and women previously involved, but now they’re back.
Background History Credit to: (Elizabeth Coulter-Perry - Alumni, Registrar & Coach).
The fallout from the pandemic and the loss of sports throughout the various lockdowns has taken a toll on many juniors and adults that in some cases has been irreversible where some have stepped away from their favorite sports activities for good. We are hoping that introducing another sport to the community will give everyone another outlet to consider and hopefully encourage people to give Rugby a try.
From the Caledon Cavaliers perspective and our Board of directors, all of which share the same enthusiastic qualities and common goals of wanting to help develop and grow Rugby in Caledon from the grassroots levels up through to the senior ranks. The diversity of the board ranges from Alumni, ex-players to coaches and referee educators that span more than 45 years for some and across two continents. We have a Community Development Director that specializes in Sports Management and Psychology and a Health and welfare director who is a certified athletic therapist and Registered Kinesiologist.
After lots of discussions and preparing paperwork fast forward to where we are today, and as of October 24th, 2021 Rugby Ontario officially accepted the Caledon Cavaliers Rugby Football Club as a new member club. See link to Story here
We are now working on the preparation for an active 2022 season ahead!
If you are interested in playing or would like to be involved from the club’s inception and be able to help shape the path forward for the community and the club, please contact us at info@caledoncavaliersrugby.ca or you can visit the Caledon recreational Programming site to register for Rookie Rugby Now.
The sport of Rugby is built on inclusion for all, respect, and integrity and it all starts within our community.
Mike Iacovelli
President
Caledon Cavaliers Rugby Football Club
