Caledon Cavaliers RFC Spring Preview: Growth on the rugby pitch in 2023 and full speed ahead in 2024 with Cavaliers Cup

By Jim Stewart

Michele Iacovelli, President of the Caledon Cavaliers Rugby Football Club, has overseen much growth and many improvements to his fledgling local sports organization over the last year and sees 2024 as year to expect more of the same.

“We've managed to get more young people into key volunteer and communication positions to grow our program.” 

Iacovelli announced in our interview that the first-ever Cavaliers Cup will be played on Friday, May, at Humberview Secondary School.

“Our Junior Girls Co-Captain, Lara Morrison, has done a great job organizing our first high school tournament and managing our organization's social media. Our leadership is growing from within the organization. Lara and her Co-Captain Lexi Thompson are playing a key role in our five-year plan.  They've recruited like crazy and they've done great work on and off the pitch. Seeing our Junior player leaders thrive in positions of responsibility has been a big plus for the organization.”

The Bolton resident, who hails from Worcestershire, UK, also spoke proudly of his son Nicolas whose recent on-pitch accomplishments include being selected for a GTA All-Star Team that played in the Tropical 7's tournament in Tampa Bay, Florida on March 29 and 30th.

“It was a very good experience for Nic. He's been heavily-involved with rugby for the last eight years. Nic worked out with the Barbarians over the winter in the Sports Dome in Aurora and managed to secure a spot with the U16 Toronto Reds travel team. He had a fantastic time playing in great facilities against strong club teams. The Americans are pouring lots of money into rugby and I was impressed with the quality of their teams in Florida. The sheer size of the tournament was impressive and the US is building rugby academies for year-round outdoor training. He and Eli Giannopoulos of the Aurora Barbarians were the youngest players on the team.  Nic was really happy to be there.”

The Toronto Reds Tropical 7's squad that Iacovelli and Giannopoulos competed for was comprised of five players from the Peterborough Pagans, two players from Brock RFC, two players from Toronto City, and one player each from the Toronto Nomads, Aurora Barbarians, Barrie Rugby Club, and Caledon Cavaliers. Iacovelli noted that “The Reds have put out their call for roster spots for the Tropical 7's as the organization rebuilds the U16 team for travel in 2025.  This is a great opportunity for Nic and Eli to be core players after their experiences with the team in 2024.”

Seeing players in his organization thriving in these competitive settings is satisfying for the President of the Caledon Cavaliers and Iacovelli discussed other accomplishments during the 2023 season.

“Apart from being named the Minor Rugby Program of the Year by Rugby Ontario, our biggest achievement last year was to get together a Girls Program with Lara taking the lead. She was able to bring a whole number of girls from Brampton and from Hall. We qualified for an $8K ‘Girls in Sport' grant to get the program started. Developing the girls' program goes back to the organization's roots when it started over twenty years ago as a Girls Rugby Club. A number of our female players are putting back into the program already by assuming leadership roles in the organization and getting their referee certification so we can grow the sport in Caledon.” 

Iacovelli also pointed to so many of the players in the organization getting certified in “Emergency First Aid and Athletic Taping which is a good resume item to help our student-athletes get summer jobs in recreation.” 

In addition to the initiatives undertaken by so many individual Cavalier players, Iacovelli also spoke fondly of upcoming improvements to Palgrave Park that will be the home of the Cavaliers RFC.

“The Town of Caledon is retrofitting the facilities at Palgrave to create storage spaces for both baseball and rugby teams.  We're looking forward to changing the field's football uprights to rugby goalposts and for the additional fields to be built.  The Town has been so helpful in helping us secure municipal grants to improve Palgrave. We'll be running our Minis Festival at Palgrave again this season so that will showcase the improvements to the pitches and help us grow rugby in Caledon.”

The most significant addition to the Cavaliers for the 2024 season is Dr. Karen Chrobak who is taking the reins of the club's Junior Girls' U16 and U18 program.

In her introductory video to the community, “Coach Karen” discusses her 27 years of playing experience and notes proudly that she “plays every Saturday for the Guardian Angels Rugby Club and the Canadian Classics team.”

Chrobak—a Level 2 Coach and Level 1 referee—also notes in her video that she played for Team Ontario for ten years and her range of playing experience stretches from high school to national levels of competition.

In addition to serving as a Chief Medical Officer for Rugby Ontario, Dr. Karen brings a wealth of experience to the Cavaliers as their Junior Head Coach. She preaches the importance of “the sisterhood of rugby” and she loves serving as a “mentor to young women in rugby and facilitate them not only in their game of play, but in life.” She is focused on “growing grassroots rugby” in Caledon and her cross-country network will be deployed all season with visits by guest coaches to Cavalier practices as well as former and current players from across the country arriving in Caledon to work on “special skills” with the U16's and U18's.

With a top-notch Head Coach leading the burgeoning Girls Program, a growing number of players achieving within and outside the organization, the prospect of an improved facility in Palgrave, and accolades pouring in from Rugby Ontario, Michele Iacovelli and his young leaders are steering the Caledon Cavaliers toward achieving the immediate and long-term goals of their five-year plan.