Ottawa’s rugby community is in shock after the clubhouse at Twin Elm Rugby Park went up in flames on Friday morning. According to a statement on social media from Ottawa Fire Services, firefighters responded to the fire in Richmond at shortly before 9:40 a.m. Firefighters arrived to find heavy black smoke coming from the main structure of the park. Flames were seen coming from inside the mechanical room. The park and its clubhouse have deep ties in the rugby community in Ottawa, explains board member Ian McDonell. This year, the park marked a major milestone – celebrating 50 years in the community. The clubhouse is where professional games are played, kids from across the city learn to find a love of the game, while older teenagers and students push their skills. “It’s a tough day,” McDonell in an interview with CTV News Ottawa. “There’s a lot of work I know with the board members. We all put in hundreds of hours. It’s all volunteer run. “It’s a bit of a gut kick.” While there is relief because no one was hurt, it has forced the clubhouse to shut its doors indefinitely. Sherri Sparling, former captain of the Canadian Women’s Rugby team, says she has spent decades playing there, adding that it’s an important space for the sport. “Every international that’s been here, this is this is where the teams have run out,” she says of the doors of the clubhouse. “It was about 30 years ago that I first did that.” In 2001, Sparling ran onto the pitch for Canada’s first ever win against the U.S. on Canadian soil. “I think it’s symbolic,” she says of the building. “The change rooms themselves have history, and the bar afterwards lets everybody get together and celebrate. Rugby’s one of those few sports, I’d say, where you actually get together with the other team. So, it’s a big deal.” 50 years of rugby in Ottawa McDonell says the grounds are the only privately run rugby facilities within Ottawa and “plays a significant role in the history of Rugby Canada.” The rugby field officially opened in 1976 by rugby teams and volunteer players coming together to build it themselves. Photos provided by McDonell and the Twin Elm Rugby Park show people pulling up rocks and digging up the grounds. “A lot of the original members actually mortgaged their houses and stuff like that to kind of finance what we see today and build it,” he explained. He says volunteers still run the park, and it is jointly owned by four different rugby clubs from across the city – the Bytown Blues, The Ottawa Beavers/Banshees, the Ottawa Osprey and the Ottawa Irish Rugby club. The park has hosted everything from provincial and national championships to international competitions. “Dozens of international games have happened on these fields over the last 50 years,” explains McDonell. “I think from the grassroots level, when you’re out here on a Saturday or Sunday and you’re watching a miner’s tournament for kids 12 and under, there’s hundreds of little people scampering all over the fields. And that’s the future of Canadian rugby. So, it means a lot.” McDonell says the cause of the fire is still under investigation, and the extent of the damage remains unknown. “It’s going to be a challenge to recover from that. We know that for sure,” he said. With several fall games and tournaments in the coming weeks, he says it’s still unknown how the fire will affect them. “We’ve always relied on the support of our community and at this time, obviously, that’s going to be crucial to move forward from here,” McDonell said.
