Rugby Canada & Rugby Ontario Release
Whitby, ON – Rugby Ontario, in partnership with Rugby Canada, are pleased to announce the expansion of the Rugby Canada Development Academy (RCDA) for the 2020-2021 program. Starting this year, the RCDA will operate in three regional centres to provided targeted athletes with access to strength and conditioning and technical/tactical training. These three regional centres will operate out of the University of Guelph (West), the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario – Scarborough (Central), CAN AM Strength & Conditioning (East) and provide athletes weekly touch points with provincial and national team coaches.
The Rugby Canada Development Academy is a joint partnership between Rugby Canada, Rugby Ontario, and the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario. The goal of the academy is to provide Ontario based players with a clear pathway and support to play for the national age grade/ women’s teams. Expansion into this regional model will provide support for more athletes than ever before. “The RDCA continues to build momentum by increasing our player pool into three regional centres across the provinces through the addition of the Ontario East training group” said Sandro Fiorino, Program Lead and Rugby Canada Sr. Women’s Head Coach 15s. “Going into our fourth year of the academy, we continue to build a system that develops and prepares players to advance through our pathway.”
Since its inception in 2017, the RCDA has graduated notable alumni such as Asia Rochester – Hogan (National Sr. Women’s 7s Team & PAN AM Medalist), Taylor Black(National Sr. Women’s 15s Team), Lizzie Gibson (Maple Leafs) and Chloe Daniels (Maple Leafs). “As a provincial sport organization, it’s very exciting to see true alignment in development pathways between School, Club, Province and Country” said Paul Connelly, Rugby Ontario High Performance Manager. “The utilization of Ontario High Performance Sport Initiative funding to drive programming not only at CSIO, but also at satellite programs across the province, has created a larger talent pool of athletes who possess the skills necessary for Canada to be successful on the international stage.”
Overall, the 52 athletes selected for this year’s program represent 21 different clubs across Ontario. These players will engage in weekly training sessions at their respective centres where core skill development and strength and conditioning will be the primary focus. In addition to in person services, players will also utilize online learning to supplement development in all key areas including technical/tactical development, S&C, mental performance, and diet/nutrition.
Rugby Ontario and Rugby Canada would like to thank the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario, Own the Podium, and the Ontario government for their continued investment and support of the RCDA program.
2020-2021 Rugby Ontario Junior Arrows Academy Athletes
East
Paige Bean | Ottawa Ospreys
Rachel Cullum | Bytown Blues
Emilie Ethier | Ottawa Ospreys
Marthe Laplante Brady | Kingston Panthers
Olivia Mudde| Kingston Panthers
Sarah Schonfeld| Bytown Blues
Ayden Thompson | Barrhaven Scottish
Central
Emma Arseneau | Stouffville HS
Maya Austin | Oshawa Vikings
Kalah Brereton | Oshawa Vikings
Emily Butterworth | Aurora Barbarians
Olivia Davis | Ajax Wanderers
Paige DeNeve | Oshawa Vikings
Maddy Donnelly | Lindsay RFC
Ryan Fitzgerald | Belleville Bulldogs
Sarah Harington | Crusaders RFC
Moriah Hutchings | Aurora Barbarians
Kiki Idowu | Toronto Nomads
Lara Jorgenson | Aurora Barbarians
Kennedy Johnstone | Toronto City Youth
Eden Kilgour | Barrie RFC
Katlyn Lott | Belleville Bulldogs
Sara Luffman | Belleville Bulldogs
Kate McNaughton | Aurora Barbarians
Taylor McKnight | Aurora Barbarians
Reese Morgan | Aurora Barbarians
Guinevere O’Hara | Toronto City Youth
Kennedy Pryce | Balmy Beach
Riley Rewakoski | Oshawa Vikings
Aleisha Rose | Belleville Bulldogs
Victoria Stanley | Aurora Barbarians
Olivia Taylor | Ajax Wanderers
Madi Thompson | Oshawa Vikings
Reese Wakeford | Oshawa Vikings
Sierra Wood | Belleville Bulldogs
Halle Woodcock | Belleville Bulldogs
Sydney Woodcock | Belleville Bulldogs
West
Abby Auger | Guelph Rugby
Emily Cooper | Guelph Rugby
Grace Dale | North Halton
Kirsten Hahn | Canada Misfits RFC
Adelaide Holmes | Fergus Highlanders
Grace Jacklyn | Brantford Harlequins
Mikaela Mendoza | Brantford Harlequins
Taylor Pate | Brantford Harlequins
Emmie Pierce | Guelph Rugby
Madelyn Ryan | Brantford Harlequins
Vanessa Skypas | North Halton
Jordan Smith| Georgian Bay Titans
Kyla Twinem | Norfolk Harvesters
Olivia Van Wart| Brantford Harlequins
Annalise Wey | Brantford Harlequins
2020-2021 Rugby Canada Development Academy Staff
Program Staff
Sandro Fiorino – Program Lead
Kris Robertson – Strength & Conditioning Lead
Amy Stefaniuk – Athletic Therapist Lead
Dr. Sommer Christie – Mental Performance
Kevin Iwasa-Madge – Registered Dietitian
Paul Connelly – Rugby Ontario High Performance Manager
Sean Medeiros – Rugby Ontario High Performance Coordinator
Regional Staff
Colette McAuley – RCDA West Coach
Sonny Raina – RCDA East Coach
Ian Fitzgerald – Rugby Ontario West Coach
Jeremy Cairnie – Rugby Ontario Central Coach
Adam Blandford – Strength & Conditioning East Coach
