Club Anniversary Spotlight: Balmy Beach Rugby Club
July 21st, 2020
(WHITBY, ON) - The Club Anniversary Spotlight Series is a initiative which will recognize all Rugby Ontario Member Clubs that are celebrating a major anniversary during 2020. Next up is the Balmy Beach Rugby Club, who are celebrating their 65th Anniversary!
History
Over six decades ago, in 1955, twenty teenagers banded together with the help of Dennis Fletcher, O.R.U. Director of Canadian Development, bringing a mix of competitive spirit, talent, a desire to learn a new sport, and a never-back-down attitude to form Balmy Beach’s inaugural rugby side ("Balmy Beach Rugby"). The rest, as they say, is history.
“We were just a bunch of kids fresh out of high school, and we knew very little about the sport,” recounts Beach original Ken Bingham. “We went into that first season not expecting to win a single game, but by the end of the 1955 season, we shocked the league by not losing once. We were a band of brothers, falling in love with a sport and a club that would become so important to all of us, for all our lives.”
Since 1955, Balmy Beach Rugby has continued to grow and foster in the Toronto-based Beach area at its home field of Tubs & Gee Gage, dedicated to long-time supporters and advocates of Beach Rugby, Lesley and Gladys Gage. Balmy Beach Rugby's introduction to the game has opened many doorways and helped pave the way for future Beach players.
Balmy Beach Rugby has been one of Ontario's most successful rugby clubs throughout its 65-year history, both in terms of the number of championship titles won, and the volume of players it has produced for national teams. Today, Balmy Beach Rugby has grown to a 300+ active membership from U12's to 4 Senior Men and 1 Senior Women's Team, generating significant successes across all ages. Balmy Beach Rugby has earned 14 provincial cups (Carling/McCormick Cup), most recently back-to-back McCormick Cup champions in 2014 and 2015, numerous Women's TRU Championships and eight flight league titles over its 65-year span. Their successes on Ontario’s pitches have led to numerous international accolades for a host of individual players and more than twenty Beach athletes have represented Canada internationally.
Accolades:
Carling Cups/McCormick Cups:
McCormick Cup Champions 2015
McCormick Cup Champions 2014
McCormick Cup Champions 2011
McCormick Cup Champions 2005
McCormick Cup Champions 2004
McCormick Cup Champions 1997
McCormick Cup Champions 1989
McCormick Cup Champions 1985
Carling Cup Champions 1981
Carling Cup Champions 1980
Carling Cup Champions 1975
Carling Cup Champions 1968
Gee Gage Cup Champions 2019
Gee Gage Cup Champions 2015
Gee Gage Cup Champions 2014
Toronto Rugby Union:
Academy TRU Premiership Champions 2018
Academy TRU Premiership Champions 2015
1975 InterProvincial Champions
Women's McKenna Cup Champions 2018
Women's McKenna Cup Champions 2016
Women’s Consolation Playoff Champions 2015
Notable Alumni
Tyler Allen
Paul Ambrose
Scott Bryan
Kyle Buckley
Scott Dunham
Fred Forster
Bruce Gage (Rugby Ontario Hall of Fame Inductee 2016)
Scott Hendry
Matt King
Red Lipsett (Rugby Ontario Hall of Fame Inductee 2015)
David Lougheed (Rugby Ontario Hall of Fame Inductee 2015)
Mark MacSween
Adam Marshall
Conor McCann
Tony McGann (Rugby Ontario Hall of Fame Inductee 2015)
Glenn Miller
Dan Moor
Kyle Nichols
Simon Rodgers
Peter Ross
Jacob Rumball
Lucas Rumball
Courtney Smith
Brian Spanton
Boris Stoikos
Glenn Tarver
Jeff Tomlinson
Liam Underwood
Heather Vesh
Colin Wilson
Gord Young
Future Club Goals
Balmy Beach Rugby is committed to continue to grow the great game of Rugby in the Toronto region with a talented group of players, executive committee members, and alumni and sponsors. With a focus on continuing to support and encourage growth from the Junior level and among the Women's program, Balmy Beach Rugby plans to continue its vested interest in supporting young talent, community presence, and its ever-growing club spirit!
ABOUT THE ONTARIO BLUES
The Ontario Blues program is the high performance representative program for male and female rugby players in Ontario. Rugby Ontario is represented at the provincial level by the Ontario Blues. The program includes representative teams from Under-15 to Senior in both Women’s and Men’s Fifteens and Under-18 Men's and Women's Sevens. Specifically, the program is designed to develop and showcase rugby players for Canadian representative national teams.
ABOUT RUGBY ONTARIO
Rugby Ontario is the provincial sports governing body responsible for the organization of rugby in Ontario. Our mission is to establish a stronger identity for rugby in Ontario by promoting the sport’s core values and by fostering a culture of inclusiveness and excellence on and off the field of play.
To learn more, visit https://www.rugbyontario.com/
WANT MORE INFORMATION?
Dalton Finkbeiner
Communications and Marketing Coordinator - Rugby Ontario
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