46 teams from across Ontario grace Palgrave Park’s pitches at Caledon Cavaliers’ 3rd Annual Rugby Festival

By Jim Stewart

The Caledon Cavaliers' third annual Rugby Festival charged Palgrave Park with much excitement on Saturday. 

46 teams, ranging from U6 to U12, took to the rain-softened pitches at Palgrave.

Caledon Cavaliers Rugby Football Club President Michele Iacovelli was thrilled that “We have nine clubs from across Ontario with us. The Markham Canadian Irish, Burlington Centaurs, Georgian Bay Titans, Toronto City Rugby Club, Toronto Nomads, Toronto Dragons, Fergus Highlanders, Barrie Rugby Clubs, and Caledon Cavaliers have sent teams to compete here today.”

Colorful team tents dotted the sidelines of the pitches and Iacovelli expressed satisfaction at the growth of the Cavaliers' program in one year.

“Each age group in our program now has 3-4 coaches. Young community volunteers have augmented the coaching ranks and are helping out. They've shown lots of support to the program in terms of organizing events, playing for the Cavaliers, and refereeing matches. We're using newly-minted youth referees today on the U12 pitches.”

The pitches were awash with the aroma of hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill and the spun candy floss gave a carnival vibe to the green space. Great tunes filled the airwaves of the Pavilion as club volunteers grilled breakfast and lunch for the participants and visitors that numbered over 500. The Pavilion also served as home base for four Caledon Councillors who showed their support for the event.

Ward 3 Councillor Doug Maskell, Ward 5 Councillor Tony Rosa, Ward 6 Councillor Cosimo Napoli, and Wards 4, 5, and 6 Councillor Mario Russo cheered on the hundreds of participants at Palgrave.

Councillor Russo said he was pleased to see the growth of the event.

“Welcoming so many clubs to Caledon and seeing the level of engagement by the players is great to see here today. It's great to see this facility being used so widely.”

Councillor Maskell concurred with his colleague and noted that the best part of the event “are the hamburgers and, more importantly, to see the growth of the 3rd annual Festival.”

Councillor Rosa added that the Festival is “rejuvenating the high school level of participation in rugby including Humberview which was a powerhouse in rugby not so long ago.”

The sports enthusiast complimented the style of rugby being presented to the younger participants.

“I like the flags being worn by the younger players. It gets them ready for full contact later on – much like hockey doesn't introduce full contact until later in a player's development.”

The Councillors cheered on the showcase match of Saturday's event—an early afternoon tilt featuring the U16 Cavaliers and the Georgian Bay Titans. Unfortunately, the spirited Caledon squad was on the short end of a 33-0 loss to the mighty visitors from Collingwood. However, the U14 Cavaliers fared better on the weekend with a 21-14 win over the Burlington Centaurs and a 28-7 victory against the Ajax Wanderers.

The U14 Cavaliers dropped their third match of the weekend 28-0 to the Fergus Highlanders to finish 2-1 on an otherwise triumphant summer weekend for the Caledon Rugby Football Club at Palgrave Park.