Beating drums and chanting “Let us play!,” high school students took to the streets in downtown Halifax to protest the Nova Scotia’s governing body for high school athletics’ decision to cancel rugby for the rest of the season.
Clad in team jerseys, hundreds of teenaged boys and girls gathered at the Halifax Convention Centre Friday morning to demand a reversal to yesterday’s abrupt announcement.
On Cape Breton Island, students protested in the halls of Glace Bay High School as they wore jerseys and eye black on their cheeks.
“We were devastated. There were a lot of tears today, through the whole school. There were girls and guys crying,” Grade 12 student John Robinson told CTV News Atlantic on Friday.
“It’s definitely a dangerous sport. I’m not going to say it’s not a hard sport, but we have a lot of safety regulations for that,” another Grade 12 student Megan Walsh said.
On Thursday, the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation sent a memo to the province’s high school principals telling them that all rugby play “shall cease” at noon that day.
“After a thorough review of incident report data provided by the School Insurance Program, the Board has decided to this action,” the memo read. “Student safety remains the top priority of the Federation.”
The Chair of the NSSAF, Stephen McNeil, says that the school’s insurance program recommended offering a “gold plan” for rugby, but says that the severity of the injuries tied to rugby are troubling, regardless of what insurance coverage schools might have .
“If we’re in a position where we have to go find better insurance coverage to look after the serious scope of injuries to our students…that doesn’t ease my concerns at all,” McNeil said.
The notice prompted an immediate reaction from high school students who organized an earlier protest at the Halifax shopping mall that day.
The province’s governing body for rugby was also quick to react with a statement they issued Thursday expressing their “disappointment” with the school federation’s decision.
“This will affect thousands of students, parents, coaches, match officials and supporters,” the statement said. “Both Rugby Nova Scotia and Rugby Canada are committed to providing a safe and enjoyable experience for all participants and we will work together to find an appropriate solution to the current situation.”
The organization said it has requested a meeting with the NSSAF to “better understand” why they chose to cancel rugby in high schools.
Provincial coach Jack Hanratty of Rugby Nova Scotia said the news came as a “big shock” to his organization because they weren’t told about the plans before the announcement.
“We weren’t brought in to the table. We weren’t part of this conversation, which for me is disappointing,” he told CTV News Channel.
Hanratty said every year Rugby Nova Scotia has tried to make the game safer for everyone, including a new rule they introduced about the height of a tackle that was eventually adopted by World Rugby. He said they want to be included in the conversation so they can work together to find a solution.
“We want to say ‘OK, if you’re not happy with it, let’s make this a sport that all stakeholders are happy to be a part of, not just taking away this opportunity,’” he said.
The coach said there’s “devastation” among the province’s rugby community right now.
“One of our core values in rugby is passion. I think we’ve seen that over the last number of days. We’re a tight-knit community in Nova Scotia. I’m really proud to be a part of it,” he said.
Rugby Canada echoed Rugby Nova Scotia’s reaction with a statement of their own, in which they said they were committed to finding a solution.
“We hope that we can work in partnership to keep rugby in the high schools of Nova Scotia and will continue to work to be leaders in player safety and welfare across Canada,” Paul Hunter, the director of rugby development for the organization, said.
Provincial Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston also objected to the federation’s decision in a statement he released on Friday.
“Rugby has been such a good thing for so many students who made the decision to play,” he said. “Like many sports, it’s an activity that instills positive self-esteem and team work.”
Houston called the announcement “shortsighted” and said that while he appreciates that the organization has its reason for the cancellation, he took issue with the notice’s timing.
“They waited until one month into a season to axe this program and it’s just wrong,” he said. “This has been ripped away from them abruptly and without warning.”
The leader called on the NSSAF to reverse its decision and reinstate the program.
“The answer is just not to kinda just try to lock the kids up and take things away from them,” he said. “The answer is more training – more training for students, more training for coaches, more safety training.”
Shortly after the sports federation announced its decision, a high school rugby player named Charlotte Thomas created an online petition to convince them to reverse it.
“My team and many others just like it around the province are appalled and distraught over this action. We all pour time, effort, and money into rugby, and we play the game with passion and heart,” she wrote. “This game is the greatest teacher all of us have ever known. We learn to work together, trust each other, and we make friendships that last miles and years.”
Thomas acknowledged the sport can be rough at times, but she said there are fewer injuries in it than in hockey or football.
“The student-athlete body pours sweat, tears, and yes, sometimes blood into the sports we play. And we believe it is in our own interest to decide if we should play or not,” she said. “We love every second of it.”
As of Friday morning, the petition has already garnered nearly 17,000 signatures of its goal of 25,000.
On Wednesday, an international student at Sydney Academy was injured during a rugby match, according to the Cape Breton Victoria Regional Centre for Education confirmed. There has been no indication the injury is related to the NSSAF’s cancellation.
