Reborn, Renewed, Revisioned

Rugby League British Columbia – Reborn, Renewed, Revisioned

Respect, Lead, Build, Collaborate, Achieve

Vancouver, BC, Release: Monday, August 3rd, 2020. For Immediate Release

Rugby League British Columbia ("RLBC"), formerly British Columbia Rugby League, announced today a major re-branding to reflect the organizations' evolution and identity. Launch Video

On its inception, the governing body for the promotion of rugby league in the province was restricted from opportunities available to promote the sport as a consequence of its official society name and documents This limited our options for growth. The Board of Directors have envisioned the growth of the sport in the province to include sourcing funding opportunities available to it through private and public funds. The work required a significant overhaul of the society's constating documents.

Paul Fogerty, President of RLBC, said, “Rugby League has grown significantly over the past nine years in British Columbia with a lot of dedication, hard work and commitment and the board would like to acknowledge all those previously involved to get the sport to where it is today - the largest domestic Rugby League competition in Canada. We want to build on this foundation and grow the game further.”

“This year, prior to Covid-19, we had introduced another men’s team in Whistler, increasing our footprint of the sport in the province, along with the introduction of a structured women’s competition with two teams competing through the season to make this more accessible for women and help grow and stabilize the competition in BC. At the same time, we are looking at developing youth programs and grow the existing High School competition that saw its inaugural season 2019.”

“This rebrand is just the start, and we still have a lot to do. But, with the support of our member clubs, the Canada Rugby League Association and the hard work of our directors and volunteers with a clear vision and strategic plan for the next three years, we are proud to have transformed the organization both from an administrative position, to allow us pursue funding opportunities, and a creative position, to align our brands and enable us grow the game, and build our future. We hope we have paved the way for more opportunities to promote the sport in British Columbia.” added Fogerty.

Shaun Driver, the Secretary of the RLBC spearheaded the restructuring efforts and said, "In order to truly grow Rugby League in the province, having the resources to do that is essential. That required modernizing our bylaws, reviewing our purposes, and ensuring the work satisfied requirements of numerous organizations to demonstrate we have the infrastructure in place to develop League in the province. We have recently been able to submit applications for grants that were previously unavailable to us and hope to be successful so we can use those resources to do more. It's exciting that the overhaul to the structure of the society is coming to a close and we can now re-focus on implementing our strategic goals."

"This was more than just a change in name. This was a reformulation of how we operate. The additional bonus was that it required a rebrand and repurposing down to our names and logo. We were exceptionally fortunate to find a Rugby League fan based in Australia willing to provide assistance with the rebrand. Matthew Haines, of Matt Haines Sport (https://matthainessport.com/), stepped up to provide exciting new logos for the organization and kit designs. The work he did was exceptional and, fortunately, he appreciated our position as a primarily member funded organization. He created stylish and bold work-product that was affordable and that we can be proud of for RLBC and our representative teams."

The rebranding includes a top-to-bottom redesign of the society's logos, fonts, graphics, communications, and correspondence. The society's assets include simplified and stylish logos that incorporate the province's colours for the society, the men's team (Bulldogs) and the women's team (Storm).

In addition to the rebrand, we are also delighted to announce the creation and launch of the Masters (35+) Representative team - the Silver Foxes. The decision to add a Masters program was determined on review of the True Sport Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) Matrix, which is a key component of Canadian Sport for Life (“CS4L”). The model assists in developing guidelines for ethical and physical literacy for athletes and citizens of all ages. The creation of a Masters Programs fills a void and helps engage and grow a community of adult players to remain involved and passionate for the game and also allows a pathway for current players to continue enjoying and playing the sport they love and maintain lifelong wellness. We hope to see annual games against other provincial master teams and to pursue other international opportunities.

Moving forward, new social media accounts are being established so that our members, fans, and sponsors can be found as follows:

Website: http://www.rugbyleaguebc.ca

Instagram: rugbyleaguebc

Twitter: @rugbyleaguebc

Facebook: Rugby League BC

YouTube: RLBC - Rugby League British Columbia

LinkedIn: Rugby League BC

Paul Fogerty concluded, "Our next steps are to collaborate with our partners to achieve additional revenue streams. We can now move forward and focus on development of the sport and the organization. Our goal to be an accredited sport by 2023 can only be achieved by increasing our membership, starting from grass roots and the youth up to the masters level for both the men and women.

We are looking forward to a great year for Rugby League in 2021 internationally with the Rugby League World Cup taking place in England. With the Canada Women's team, the Ravens qualified and ranked #5 in the world it is a great time to engage with the game and get involved.”

Contact Info:

Name: Scott Brown, Communications

Organization: Rugby League British Columbia

E-mail: scott.brown@rugbyleaguebc.ca