Rugby Ontario & CIMORONI – Marketing Partnership
We’re excited to announce that CIMORONI has officially joined the Rugby Ontario team to elevate our brand and take our digital marketing to the next level!
From social media strategy to on-site content creation, email marketing, and website communications, CIMORONI will be handling all things digital for Rugby Ontario. Their expertise will help us showcase the incredible clubs, athletes, coaches, match officials and events that make up our community while enhancing the overall Rugby Ontario experience.
Stay tuned for exciting updates as we work together to grow the game of rugby in Ontario!
Annual Awards 2024: Nomination Submissions Now Open!
The Rugby Ontario Hall of Fame & Awards Committee is pleased to announce the Call for Nominations for the Annual Provincial Awards. Nominees are any individuals (players, coaches, match officials and volunteers) and teams who have had achievements worthy of recognition and who have exerted a distinctive, positive influence on the sport of rugby in Ontario.
If you believe you know of a deserving candidate who displays these qualities, we encourage you to submit a nomination by filling out a respective form with the necessary information. In addition to completing a nomination form, nominators may supplement their nomination with letters of endorsement and documentary evidence (e.g. articles, links to materials, newspaper clippings). The deadline to submit an Annual Awards nomination is October 6th at 11:59pm ET (submissions received after this date will not be considered).
What are the classes for nomination?
There are 4 classes of Annual Awards:
- Club Individual Awards:
- Club Player of the Year – Male / Female *
- Club Coach of the Year – Male / Female *
- Volunteer of the Year *
- Club of the Year Awards:
- Minor Program *
- Junior Male / Female *
- Provincial Player of the Year:
- Junior – Male / Female
- Senior – Male / Female
- Match Official of the Year:
- Junior Match Official
- Senior Match Official
* A new Evaluation Rubric is included in the Nomination Criteria document for these award categories. We encourage all applicants to carefully review the selection criteria in advance of preparing a nomination and supporting materials.
Who can nominate?
Each Annual Award category provides guidelines on who is eligible to submit a nomination. Please refer to the Nominations Criteria document for each type of award that can be found on our website. In all cases, nominations must originate from individuals or member clubs / branches that are in good standing with Rugby Ontario.
Where do I submit a nomination?
Please complete and submit using one of the four (4) Rugby Ontario Annual Awards Nomination Forms that can be found on our website, and be sure select the appropriate award type on the form. Should you have any technical difficulties, please send an email to awards@rugbyontario.com.
***Hall of Fame Nominations – Extended!***
Rugby Ontario is still seeking nominations for the Hall of Fame Class of 2024. To submit your nomination please fill out either of the applicable forms – Builders or Players/Coaches/Officials/Teams. Should you have any technical difficulties, please send an email to awards@rugbyontario.com. The deadline to submit a Hall of Fame nomination is September 15th at 11:59pm ET (submissions received after this date will not be considered).
Further Information
The Hall of Fame & Awards Banquet will take place on Saturday, November 23rd, 2024 at the Maple Banquet Hall in Mississauga, ON (location). More information about the event, including the launch of ticket and table sales, will be released in the coming weeks.
More detailed information on the Annual Awards nomination process, including the Annual Awards Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria, is available on the Rugby Ontario website. If there are any questions with regards to the Annual Awards selection process, please do not hesitate to contact Myles Spencer, CEO of Rugby Ontario (mspencer@rugbyontario.com).
We look forward to hearing from you!
Rugby Ontario welcomes VEO as official video provider
June 5th, 2024 (Whitby, ON) – Rugby Ontario is pleased to announce VEO as its official video partner. VEO is a leading sports technology company using its game-changing video technology, and robust suite of tools integrated under a single platform, to support the development of teams, players, coaches and officials. The partnership will improve access to video technology for member clubs, branches and affiliated programs of Rugby Ontario to capture, stream, analyze, and promote the sport of rugby in Ontario.
With an ever-increasing demand for video capture and streaming capabilities, this collaboration will drive benefits to the broader rugby community in Ontario, offering best-in-class cameras, video technology and resources to our members at discounted prices. VEO will become the official league exchange platform for Rugby Ontario, which will offer even further opportunities to support player and game analysis, coach and match official development, talent identification and broadcast. VEO’s quality products also serve to enhance the use of video for marketing and promotional use, allowing its users to create compelling content and revenue streams.
“We are very excited to announce this collaborative partnership with VEO,” said Myles Spencer, CEO, Rugby Ontario. “VEO’s mission is to make sports technology accessible to all, which is perfectly aligned to Rugby Ontario’s vision of ‘Rugby for All’. This partnership will bring value to our clubs across the province and support meaningful development opportunities and access to innovative video technology.”
Through this Rugby Ontario | VEO collaboration, exclusive offers are now available to Rugby Ontario members. This offer is eligible with the purchase of a one or two-year subscription at the team, club, or enterprise level. For more information on how to receive a discount code, please click here.
“We are extremely excited to partner with Rugby Ontario to make our easy-to-use capture and video analysis platform accessible to member organizations and support the development of players, coaches and officials,” said Tobias Maertzke, US Central & Canada Market Manager, Veo Technologies.
Rugby Ontario Congratulates Mo Chaudhry On Olympic Selection
Rugby Ontario is delighted to congratulate local referee Talal (Moe) Chaudhry on his selection in the squad of 23 match officials that will take charge of the rugby sevens competitions at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in France from 24-30 July.
Chaudhry, a native of Mississauga, Ont., has worked as both referee and assistant referee on the international front as well as the HSBC SVNS, formerly known as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. He also officiates Major League Rugby games as well as Ontario club and university rugby.
Rugby Ontario CEO Myles Spencer said: “We are proud that Moe has been selected to referee at the highest level of the sevens game and arguably the biggest sporting event of all, the Olympic Games. His selection is well deserved and is a testament to his hard work and dedication over many years, starting on the rugby fields of this province. On behalf of the Rugby Ontario Board, our Match Officials Committee, RO staff and everyone involved in this great game across the province, I would like to congratulate him on this achievement and wish him every success at the Games in Paris.”
Chaudhry said: “It is a massive thrill for me to have been selected for the Olympics and the realization of a dream. Of course, I have put in a lot of effort to get this far but I did not do it alone. Ever since I started refereeing in Ontario, I have been supported by many coaches and other match officials who have given me the tools, the opportunities and the encouragement to succeed. My hope now is that I can go to Paris and make them proud with my performances on that stage.”
The squad features match officials from 16 countries with Chaudhry the sole representative from Canada, although another Ontarian, Maggie Cogger-Orr, is also there. Cogger-Orr is originally from Markham, Ont, but will represent her adopted country, New Zealand, where she now lives and works.
The two Canadians have been chosen to officiate Olympic women’s play, which runs from 28-30 July at Stade de France, which was also the venue for the final of the Rugby World Cup 2023.
World Rugby High Performance Sevens Referee Manager Paddy O’Brien said: “I am very excited to be managing a hugely experienced and talented group of match officials to Paris 2024. To have so many countries represented as well as knowing every region is involved gives our management team a huge amount of satisfaction and is testament to the pathways we have had in place over the past four years. All those selected have worked extremely hard to ensure that when we arrive in Paris, we will have officials able to referee and officiate to the level required for such a special event.”
The officials were selected following a comprehensive review of performances across the HSBC SVNS 2024 series.