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Congratulations.
You have just been selected to represent your country on a national
team at a world championship tournament.
Now, please, pay up.
That's exactly what is happening to Canadian athletes chosen to
play for national women's rugby teams and one of them, Cindy Nelles,
lives right here in Belleville.
Nelles, who is a three-year Ontario provincial junior team veteran,
made her debut for Canada at the U20 Nations Cup held recently in
Santa Barbara, California, where the Canadians finished third in the
four-team tournament with a 2-and-2 record. Nelles scored the lone
Canadian try in a 15-5 loss to arch-rival USA.
In order to wear the maple leaf and play for her country, after a
lengthy and rigorous trial process, Nelles -- and her teammates --
had to fork over more than $4,000 apiece.
Fortunately for Nelles, she had tremendous support from family and
friends to help her cover the costs of attending the Canadian team's
week-long, lead-up training camp on Vancouver Island and the four
matches in California. Before she left, her supporters threw her a
fundraising barbecue bash that netted about half of the cash she
needed to go west, said Nelles, while individual sponsors also came
forward with various donations.
According to Nelles, some players aren't so lucky. For those with
summer jobs and heading into their second or third year of
university, it is impossible to leave work for national team
commitments without being properly compensated.
Recently, three members of the Canadian senior women's national
team refused to pay the almost $3,000 required to play for their
country at an upcoming tournament in Oakville. In a story by Toronto
Star reporter Mary Ormsby, one of the Canadian players who is
boycotting the tourney, 31-year-old teacher Brooke Hilditch of
Mississauga -- an eight-year veteran of the national team -- called
the fee "a slap in the face."
Hilditch said she could afford the fee but is taking a stand
because she's concerned that soon the women's national team program
will attract only players with the money to play and that some very
talented athletes who can't find the cash will fall through the
cracks.
"It's definitely a problem," said Nelles. "It's a big factor in
women's sports."
Less so for men. Because this is a World Cup year, Canada's senior
men's team is being fully funded by the International Rugby Board at
the upcoming global competition in New Zealand.
According to the Star story, the Canadian men are working with a
$1.8 million budget and the IRB -- which generates about $500
million from the World Cup every four years -- will pay Team
Canada's bills during the squad's six weeks in New Zealand. (Rugby
Canada covers all national women's team expenses during a female
World Cup year.)
So what's the answer?
Attract more girls to rugby, says Nelles. The Canadian Soccer
Assocition has more than 350,000 girls and women registered to play
across the nation while 60 per cent of Rugby Canada's total
registration of 21,500 are men.
Perhaps Rugby Canada could also do a better job promoting the
women's game and its star athletes to large corporations and
businesses that might be prompted to pay to have some of these
strong female role models endorse their product or service.
The reality, though, is that there are only so many government and
corporate dollars available and a lot of sports associations holding
out their hands. In a hockey-mad country like Canada, women's rugby
ranks extremely low on the athletic food chain.
Until the situation improves, some of our best athletes -- like
Nelles -- will rely on part-time jobs, understanding bosses, family
members, friends and local sponsors to help them pay the price for
playing for their country.
And making us proud.
CZECH POINTS ... Nelles, who graduated from St. Theresa Secondary
School in the spring as the Titans senior female athlete of the
year, called her U20 Team Canada experience "phenomenal" and is
eager to get back on the field later this month when she plays for
the U18 Ontario squad at the Nationals in Calgary. "I learned so
much," said Nelles. "My teammates and coaches were fantastic. I
think Canada has great potential to be a really great team. We
definitely have a shot to be a contender, for sure." Nelles started
all four matches against England, the U.S. and South Africa (twice),
seeing action mostly in the second row. And was her try against the
Americans an exciting, field-length dash with several broken
tackles? "I wish," she said. "The States had won a ruck but had
sloppy ball and were passing it back. One of my teammates charged
forward and knocked the ball out of their hands and I dove on it."
CREDIT: PAUL SVOBODA
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc. Aug 3, 2011