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Happy New Year Evergreens!
It has been a great first half of the 2024/25 Old Boy season. As our player numbers grow our results on the field improve and the camaraderie both on and off the field exemplifies what Old Boy Rugby is all about...drinking & BS! A couple of highlights from the end of the year included our hosting of the annual Prostate Cancer fundraiser. In true Barbarian style a very friendly 10 a side over 60 game was followed by a little less friendly (there were hits & tackles) over 40's game. Thanks to both small & large auction items, cash donations & a spirited silent and live auction we managed to raise $3600 for a good cause. The Christmas party was truly a group effort with several chefs involved in putting together a magnificent turkey dinner with all the fixings. Over 50 members attended the very successful event and we look forward to seeing them and others at games in the second half. Tour News Due to the lack of numbers, it has been decided to cancel the Japan Tour scheduled for later on this year. Anyone wanting to tour Japan can enlist on the Snowcaps tour which has been organized for October. Please let us know if you require any information on this tour. Anyone with deposits are welcome to receive a refund or apply those funds to the next tour. Moving forward we intend to elicit feedback from club members on where and when they want to tour. As an alternative to Japan we are currently looking at a 5 day trip to Toronto & Montreal (1 game in Toronto, OB tournament in Montreal) from Oct 22-27th. Approx cost $1200/person. More information to follow as we gauge interest. Finances/Registration The club is doing well financially with all budgeted costs for the current year accounted for. We do need to make an effort to build a war chest to cover lean times. Any suggestions on fundraising or offers to donate to the club will be welcomed. Please contact the executive if you have ideas. Memberships If you haven't already done so, Evergreen memberships are now online through Sportlomo. To register please proceed to their website https://www.sportlomo.com/login-new/ and sign on to your account. We have several membership options including half year options: $400.00 Playing membership $200.00 Playing (half season) $125.00 Social membership $ 60.00 Visitor Two weekend (8 days) membership $ 40.00 Visitor One weekend (72 hour) membership Pioneer rates are still set at $75 and can be paid at the club in cash or check. We do recognize that some pay memberships through other clubs or only play touch. If this is the case we would ask that you consider paying at the least our social membership to help defray field and clubhouse costs. Please see the executive if you are unsure on what applies to you! Club meals Thanks to Eugene for providing food on Wednesdays & non-game Sundays. It's important we support this for club spirit and to help damper alcohol levels! What we do need to ensure is that the club is not carrying the whole cost of this. Cash or credit is accepted to help cover the costs. Merchandise Sales An order of jackets, jerseys, shorts & Hawaiian shirts has been placed with X-treme with a delivery date of the end of February. We do have a stock of jerseys, toques, ties and t-shirts on hand at the club. Please see Francis if you would like to purchase anything. Important dates Friday February 21 - Evergreens will be hosting the Calgary Cobras prior to the start of the Vancouver Sevens. Kick-off will be 12.30 followed by food & drinks before heading to the stadium. March 2 - first official home game of the second half with Ebb Tide visiting. March 9 - vs the Northwest Old Boys at Brockton. March 23 - we travel to Abbotsford to play the Originals. April 6 - Twilighters travel to Brockton for the second leg of our competition. April 27 - final game of the season and we host the SOB's. Friday May 2 - potentially hosting the Osaka Gentlemen. Dinner (BBQ) and drinks prior to them leaving Vancouver. Thank you for your attention and we look forward to seeing you on the sidelines and in the clubhouse. Evergreen RFC Executive
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Hello Evergreens!
There are some very important dates coming up so we need your attention! Despite the weather getting dark and gloomy the opposite can be said with regards to the atmosphere around the club recently. We continue to be a beacon of hope for recently retired Vancouver rugby players looking to run around in the rain & mud and annoy their partners with tales of glory when they arrive home bruised/battered and smelling of beer. Our numbers are growing and the level of rugby is also improving as the season progresses. Since our game against the Twilighters at the end of September we unfortunately have had games against the Abbotsford Originals (lack of numbers on their part) and the Kelowna Vicars (atmospheric river) postponed. Therefore our game last weekend versus the Ebbtide in Victoria was eagerly anticipated and a full squad of 19 braved the BC Ferry system to take on the large and talented Island squad. As both the Cowichan Nookie Wood & Nanaimo Yoos to Bees are currently inactive, Ebbtide are the only masters team on the island so boast close to 40 players! Our squad played exceptionally well - especially our new recruit Chris "Strangler" Humphries who along with fellow VRC alumni Jamie Overgaard, Greydon Douglas & Ian Jamieson took it to the islanders, resulting in a scoreless tie at the end of the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately we couldn't quite get over the line and a couple of last minute tries from their super subs sealed the victory for the home team. As promised here are the upcoming dates that we would love to see our current members & alumni support with their presence. November 24 - this will be our first home game and will be against the Snowcaps from across the bridge! Kick-off will be 1pm and there will be food & drinks to celebrate the competition between our friends & neighbors. Please come out to support the team and renew old friendships. December 8 - Evergreens will be hosting the annual Fundraiser in Support of Prostate Cancer. We will be having 2 barbarian games with the Over 60's kicking off at 12.30pm and the over 40's at 1.30pm. Along with your presence we are actively looking for Merchandise or Product Vouchers which we can use to raise money through both our silent and live auction. If you have something you would like to donate please contact us at [email protected]. We have a custom wine cabinet being donated by Dean Cook which we would love to fill. So if you want to contribute please bring a wrapped bottle of wine with you to add to the auction items. It could be a good bottle or a not so good bottle - they all go down and come out the same way! December 11 - the biggest event of the year bringing alumni and new members together. More information will be forthcoming along with RSVP's and requests for help so keep tuned but please keep that date free. Finally we are restocking our Evergreen merchandise that will be available both on line and in stock at the clubhouse. We already have Evergreen ties ($30) available and there will soon be T-shirts & toques on hand for your Christmas shopping needs. Also soon there will be an opportunity to purchase club jerseys, casual Hawaiian shirts & club jackets through our X-Treme Rugby on-line store. The club jackets design (picture below) provides the opportunity for us to offer corporate sponsorship opportunities. We already have Rain City on board and would love to add more companies. The deadline for this opportunity is November 10th - please contact us at [email protected] if you are interested. Thank-you for you attention. We look forward to seeing you soon at Brockton. Evergreen RFC Executive Final Note: Friday November 1 @ 2.00pm there will be a Celebration of Life for Steve "The Baron of Rugby" Baron at Burnaby Lake Rugby Club. Steve has left a legacy of volunteerism which will be sorely missed. Many of us will be attending to celebrate what he gave to rugby. Hello Evergreens,
The season has officially started with the Ice-Breaker Tournament recently having been hosted by the Priest Valley Vicars in Kelowna on September 7, 2024. The Evergreens were well represented with a full team and spares making the trek to the sunny Okanagan. After a Friday afternoon of golfing and wine tasting to start things off, we played in three games (back-to-back in 30 degree weather) with the result being 3 draws. Admittedly, some of the draws were a little lopsided but that's Old Boys rugby for you!! Alumni Eric & Shane Cable were in attendance although both refused the offer to don green jerseys! Our schedule has us playing the Ebbtide in Victoria on October 27th with a possibility of making it an overnight trip. So for those that missed out on Kelowna this is your chance to redeem yourselves! Our Wednesday (5.00pm) and Sunday (1.00pm) runs continue to be well attended even with the addition of a team running session after touch. We have several new members on our squad this year. Welcome - John R, Deano, Martin, Herb & Tony to the Evergreens (and anyone I might have missed) but please remember we are always looking for new recruits so please continue to spread the word. A reminder if you are a new member to the club and want to stay up to date with game times, practice information and questionable humour please let us know and we will add you to the Whatsapp group. Our iconic clubhouse has been fortunate to recently host several prominent visitors:
If you haven't already done so, Evergreen memberships are now online through Sportlomo. To register please proceed to their website https://www.sportlomo.com/login-new/and sign on to your account. We have several membership options:
Schedule The schedule has been revised with our first game vs the Twilighters on Sunday, Sept 29 kicking off at 11am. It's an earlier game due to the WXV games at BC Place that day. Here are the games for the first half. (Home games) September 29 @ Twilighters (11am ko) October 6 vs Originals (this game may change due to WXV games in Langley) October 20 vs Priest Valley Vicars October 27 @ Ebbtide November 24 vs Snowcaps December 8 - Christmas Fundraiser Our Christmas Dinner is scheduled for Wednesday December 11th. More information will be provided in the next newsletter. Before we end we were recently contacted by alumni Allan Cobbin who quite rightly declined paying Pioneer dues this year! In the mists of time I remember receiving a Lifetime Membership from the Club. Vern Loffstrom and Murray Anderson also remember this. While I continue receiving the regular notices about the Club I feel that I need not send in any Annual dues. I recently celebrated my 95th Birthday and Am probably about the oldest remaining member. I joined the Evergreens in the Spring of 1973 and toured with the Club to Japan in 1974, and in 1978 and also in 1982. Thanks for reaching out! At 95 you are definitely the oldest Evergreen. To celebrate we invite you down to our next home game to don some purple shorts and have a run around...we will definitely waive your membership fees if you do!! Any stories you would like to share? I can note that Denny Veitch (many years ago on a trip to Victoria ) told Bill Buckingham (who had his arm in a sling ) just how he could carve up a roast !! I meet with Vern Loffstrom on a regular basis to play poker or cribbage and will pass along the good news about a free lifetime membership. Murray Anderson is at Evergreen House in North Van and isn't doing too well. I'll keep you posted on his status . I am not able to travel to Vancouver so unfortunately will miss being able to don some purple shorts ! Many thanks for your regular messages.. All my best from the Sunshine Coast So if you are under 95 and not a lifetime member we look forward to seeing you and your Pioneer dues at an upcoming home game or the Christmas dinner! Cheers Evergreen RFC Here a few things happening:
Memberships Evergreen memberships are now online through Sportlomo. To register please proceed to their website https://www.sportlomo.com/login-new/ and sign on to your account. As outlined in our previous newsletter you have several membership options: $400.00 Playing membership $385.00 Over 77 playing membership $125.00 Social membership $ 60.00 Visitor Two weekend (8 days) membership $ 40.00 Visitor One weekend (72 hour) membership Pioneer rates are still set at $75 and can be paid at the club in cash or check. If you have any issues with registering please let us know through Whatsapp and we will guide you through the process. Please ensure you are registered by the end of August. Schedule The first edition of the schedule is attached and will be posted at the club. Due to events in the park we do not have access to Brockton in September so the scheduled home game on Sept 22 will likely be moved to the Twits. Throughout the season we will continue our partnership with the Snowcaps and Abby to mutually support each other as needed. Ice Breaker Tournament We have 20 players signed up for the Ice Breaker Tournament in Kelowna, September 6,7 & 8 but are still looking for more! There are over 160 old boys registered for the tournament so it promises to be an amazing event. Please reach out if you are interested in attending, even as a spectator. Plans for our own sideline party are well underway. New Appointments The exec is pleased to announce two additions to our leadership team. Marcus Treacy will be our 2024/25 Club Captain. He will be responsible for ensuring that members are aware of events around the club, particularly upcoming matches, coordinating match day events and ensuring our opposition, officials and fans have an enjoyable experience. Francis Szabo has taken on the role of Club Quartermaster. Freaky has many "interesting" ideas on what designs the new Evergreen kit could include so be prepared. We will soon be posting an inventory of what merchandise will be on hand for purchase. Canada vs Japan at BC Place, Sunday, August 25th. As the game will be kicking off at 2pm we will not be running on that day. Our social guru Tommy O' will be organizing a get together for brunch at a nearby restaurant on the day of the game. We will send out a message to our members very soon with details. Tickets to the game can be purchased through your local club or at https://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/110060D8AD453438. Our national team needs our support and it will be a great venue for promoting the Evergreens to potential new members. Let's make this coming season the resurgence of the Evergreen RFC! See you soon at Brockton,  David Sandles presented the Canada Cap to the Evergreens Rugby Club on October 15, 2023 This Cap, awarded to GEOFF ROBINSON for his inclusion, as hooker, in the Canadian National Rugby team that played the British and Irish Lions in 1966, has been donated by the family of his late wife Helen Bacho and his good friend Wayne Hoskins, of Evergreens touring fame. Geoff (or Jeff) died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s in 2019. He wore the cap many times during his hospitalization, as the game was one of his proudest achievements. Coming from a top-class rugby background, the Gloucester Cherries and teams in Rhodesia, he ended up in Montreal where his hard-nosed play was noticed by Canada. The Lions were returning from NZ and Aus. after playing 33 games down under in four and a half months, for a final two games, in Canada, on their way home. Beaten by BC in Vancouver, they beat the Canadian team 4 tries to 2 in Toronto. Famous (or infamous) names such as Jim Telfer, Mike Gibson and the captain Willie John McBride were included on the Lions team that day. Notable Evergreens on that Canadian team were Barry Burnham and Dave Milne. Geoff soon moved to Vancouver where he was more involved in coaching and refereeing (yes with the one eye) High School in East van. This was despite living in the West End and having to cycle everywhere due to not being allowed to drive. He did ref some 3rd div and I remember it being useful knowing which eye it was. The usual “are you blind ref” was met with “only in one eye and that one saw what you did”. He had 2 sons who played for Scribes. His own playing career finished with some old boys teams. Not sure if he ever paid dues but he did play for Snowcaps, tour down under with the Legends and proudly wore an Evergreens jacket which he purloined from his friend Alain Peronetti. He was also a founding member of the East Side Gentlemen.  |
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