Andrea loves sports, but she had always shied away from rugby until she transferred to an independent school for Grade 12. With a heavy emphasis on extracurricular activities, her new school mandates that students select a different after-school sport for the fall, winter and spring sessions. Encouraged to try something new for spring, Andrea tackled rugby.
“Never in my life would I have tried it. I was afraid I might get hurt,” she says. “But when all your friends are playing and they tell you how fun it is and how great the tournaments are, you want to try it too.”
Andrea not only survived the season physically unscathed, she actually enjoyed adding the sport to her usual regimen of soccer and basketball—playing for all three teams last year at Stanstead College, an independent boarding and day school in Stanstead, Quebec. The best part, she says, were the friends she made in the process.
“I didn’t know anyone when I came to the school, but since sports were such a big part, it brought us together,” Andrea says. “Being part of a team and sharing a common goal gives us a sense of pride in the school and ourselves.”
