Three Williams Lake rugby players begin play tomorrow at the University of British Columbia after being selected to compete for the B.C. under-14 provincial boys program.
Coaches Mike Stiles and Martin Jones ran a series of three trials in Victoria, Kamloops and Delta throughout the month of June seeking to identify players from across the province to make up two teams of 20 to compete in a 13-a-side tournament.
Columneetza secondary’s Charlie Mutschele, Justin Bond and Kurtis Albrechtsen were selected for the team after attending the second trial session in Kamloops on June 18.
“The tryouts were hard work,” Mutschele said. “We had to do a speed test, an endurance test and then we did scrimmages after that.”
The three were chosen from a group of around 200 players who tried out for the team from the three tryout sessions.
Prior to the tournament, which will see B.C. compete against Alberta’s and Ontario’s provincial clubs for a series of matches, the trio are taking part in a games and team building camp, which wraps up today at UBC.
The games are scheduled for Aug. 3-5.
“Hopefully we do well,” Mutschele said.
“They [the coaches] have been doing this for five years and they said they’ve only lost one game,” Bond added.
All three said they’re looking forward to the opportunity to compete on the provincial stage, and noted the tournament should be lots of fun.