Posted on December 14, 2012 by tjfreebo

Stags Christmas @ Village Brewery

Front Row: Dave Lougheed, Jim Fry, ‘the Scrounge’, Dean Kittleson, Gavan Gillespie. Middle Row: Decklun McBride, Luigi Giancarlo, Norm Wong, Ray Rocheleau, Harry Irving, John Pearce, Sean Gibson. Back Row: Bruce Kaufman, Mitch McLeod, Mike Brummitt, Scott Appleby, Chris Storey, Jayme Ulicny, Casey Perron, Gord Forbes, Dex Nelson, Todd Freeborn (Dinos President), Will Cuthbert, Matt Pronk, Travis Goodbrand, Tyler MacDonald, Mike Hurd.

Front Row: Dave Lougheed, Jim Fry, ‘the Scrounge’, Dean Kittleson, Gavan Gillespie.
Middle Row: Decklun McBride, Luigi Giancarlo, Norm Wong, Ray Rocheleau, Harry Irving, John Pearce, Sean Gibson.
Back Row: Bruce Kaufman, Mitch McLeod, Mike Brummitt, Scott Appleby, Chris Storey, Jayme Ulicny, Casey Perron, Gord Forbes, Dex Nelson, Todd Freeborn (Dinos President), Will Cuthbert, Matt Pronk, Travis Goodbrand, Tyler MacDonald, Mike Hurd.

The last event for 2012 was held last night at the Village Brewery in SE Calgary and by all accounts it was a very good evening. This was the first of what I hope is many functions with Village as we work on a sponsorship relationship with them and the Stags / Dinos. They are just one year old and already have established themselves in many pubs around Calgary…..and based upon consumption last night, their beer is good quality!

The Stags were well represented by all decades of the program, 10 from the 60 – 70s, 3 from the 80s and 14 from the Dinos era starting in 2000. Of course there was one participant who transcends most of the life of the club, the ‘Scrounge of the Island’, Colin Lumby! Under the club’s constitution Colin is the only official life time member having played, coached, managed, mentored and just been an all round supporter of the program through the last 5-1/2 decades. Initially the Stags from the different eras caught up with one another and recounted bygone days both on & off the pitch and in various drinking establishments and then as the evening progressed era to era introductions occurred and lo and behold the dates were different but the storylines were the same!! One of the common factors between all the eras was on display for all to reminisce about… the venerable Brown Jug!!

The feeling around the room by the end of the night was “when is the next one?”. Be assured we will have another and as always I am hoping for more of the alumni to come out. Look for updates in the new year and with that thought, Merry Christmas and all the best in 2013!

-Dean

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Posted on November 26, 2012 by tjfreebo

2012 Hindson Cup Online

The professionally edited film of the 2012 Hindson Cup between the UC Dinos and UBCO Heat is now available online below:

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Posted on October 29, 2012 by tjfreebo

2012 Silent Auction

This years silent auction is going to be held on Saturday, November 10, 2012 at Cowboys Night Club (421 12th Ave. S.E.) from 5 P.M. to 8 P.M with a social to follow. This fundraiser is a huge opportunity for the club to raise funds to offset the costs for tours, equipment, and kit which are currently all covered by our student-athletes out of pocket.

We are still accepting items for the auction and more information can be obtained by contacting the organizing members below:

Rayner Hart – raynerhart AT gmail.com
Elliot Clease – egclease AT gmail.com
Anders Berg – atberg AT ucalgary.ca

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Posted on October 28, 2012 by tjfreebo

2012 Hindson Cup

The final objective for 2012 was successfully achieved! The Dinos travelled by bus to Kelowna for the second annual Hindson Cup.  The Dinos reached the final by knocking off Washington State University (24-0) and then Mt. Royal University (20-0) in the seeding rounds.  In the final they met the host squad UBC Okanagan.  In last year’s final UBCO came from behind and in the last 5 minutes and snatched victory with a try.  The boys who played in that game were keen to erase that memory.  This year’s game was another nail-biter with UBCO holding the advantage most of the game, however the Dinos, in the dying seconds of the game Wes Lee scored the winning points.  Dinos 14 UBCO 13!!!

All in all just a great 2012 season for the Dinos and the start of 2013 bodes well for the rest of the year.  The boys will be off to Scotland during reading week in February.  Two of our coaches are from Scotland and will be arranging three fixtures as well as a Six Nations game at Murrayfield.  Upon their return preparations will be made for the 3rd annual University 7s in Victoria March 1-3.  No rest for the weary!!!

Of more immediate importance is the upcoming Silent Auction to be held at Cowboys Nightclub located on the north side of the Stampede grounds.  I am encouraging local alumni to get out and help the Dinos raise much needed funds for the upcoming competitions and for the administration of the program going forward.  As a self funded program on campus all costs are borne by the players.  Some of these costs are taken for granted but in the end take a big bite out of the club coffers……all referees and athletic therapist costs, field rental, medical kit supplies, balls, and team strip.  The auction portion of the evening runs from 5pm – 8pm.  Come out and meet the Dinos and help keep the program strong!!

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Posted on October 23, 2012 by tjfreebo

2012 Brian/Joah Memorial Game

Well for all you Stags who forgot what playing rugby is like in the northern hemisphere late in the year…

The ref (in orange) wasn’t too thrilled about going ahead with the 1st game, but in fact by half time the snow had stopped, the wind had died down and it wasn’t all that bad, if you were playing!!  Standing on the sidelines was teeth chattering!!  We had a few alumni on the sidelines, from the early days Adrian Smith & John Pearce and then from the 2000 + era Decklun McBride, Mitch McLeod, Andy Gossen, Zac Borrows (also coaching), and Bayne Pettinger.

The rugby on the day was all well played despite the weather.  The Dino Gold, made up of our newer younger players, played Mt Royal in probably the worst of the conditions and lost 19 – 10.  The coaches were particularly happy with the game as it was one of the first opportunities to see all the newer players in game situation other than intrasquad.  The second game was our annual Brian / Joah Memorial game with the Dino Red squad squaring off against Brian’s club team, the Saracens.  This was a fast paced game which was fairly even until the second half and then the Saracens pulled away to a 46 – 22 win.  Having just finished a successful club season it was apparent that the Saracens have been together for awhile whereas our red squad has only had a couple of games and limited practice time.  Of note for this game were Brian’s parents in attendance on the sidelines and cheering both teams on.  The final game was our Dino Black squad vs a Calgary Barbarian team.  This is the second year for this game and gives our top squad a chance to play a high level game prior to departing to Kelowna for the Hindson Cup.  Watching this game one could see the speed of play and the skill level was a notch up and it was very entertaining.  Although the snow stayed away, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped during this game, but only the spectators noticed.  The final score in this game was 15 – 15 and Dinos play bodes well for the Hindson Cup.  Last year we lost by 5 points in the last 5 minutes of the inaugural game so there is some unfinished business to attend to.

Our final objective of the season, the Hindson Cup, takes place in Kelowna October 26 – 28.  All games will be played on Saturday the 27th with the venue being the Apple Bowl in Parkinson Recreation Park off of Burtch Road, just in case there are any alumni interested.  Participants this year are Washington State University, Mt Royal University, the University of Calgary and the host UBC Okanagan campus.

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Posted on October 19, 2012 by tjfreebo

2012 CanWest Champions

This past weekend the Dinos participated in the 2012 Canwests tournament hosted by University of Lethbridge.  The boys carpooled down early on Friday with our first game scheduled for 2:30 versus ULeth.  No surprise to anyone the wind was howling from the west which affected both teams in a somewhat scrappy game.  The Dinos controlled possession and field position much better than ULeth but scoring was at a premium.  The Dinos prevailed 17 to 5, then headed out for a team dinner and an early night as there would be 3 games to play on Saturday.  All the preliminary games consisted of 20 minute halves and the consolation & final were to be 40 minute halves.  First up on Saturday was our nemesis from the north, UA, and even though windy it was substantially less than Friday.  The boys started slowly but pulled away in the second half with a 27 to 0 scoreline.  With just over an hour break we were back on the pitch for our game against MRU and like the earlier game it took awhile for the boys to find their rhythm plus the coaches were freely substituting players to ensure fresh legs for the later game.  Final score matched the UA game, Dinos 27 MRU 0.  We now had a couple of hours to recoup before playing in the final against the hosts…..the boys all wanted to put on a better showing than the Friday game.  They didn’t disappoint as they came out firing and went on to claim the hardware in a 31 to 5 victory.  As noted in my last update this takes care of our goal number 2 and now it is on to the Hindson Cup in a couple of weeks in Kelowna.

This weekend, October 20, we have a full day of rugby to add to our preparation for Kelowna.  All games are at the university Field 7 with Dinos Gold playing MRU at 11am, Dinos Red playing the Saracens in the annual Brian / Joah Memorial game at 12:30pm and the Dinos Black warm up for the Hindson Cup vs a Calgary Barbarian team made up of young players from the Canucks, Hornets, Irish & Saints clubs. KO at 2:15pm.  It would be great to have a big contingent of alumni out to watch and cheer the boys on.

Again, the following weekend travel to Kelowna where they will play in the second annual Hindson Cup.  Teams participating this year will be UC, MRU, Washington State and the host UBC Okanagan team.  Unless mother nature maintains a mild fall that will be our last rugby before the Dinos begin preparations for a tour to Scotland in February 2013 and then the 3rd annual University 7s in Victoria, March 1 – 3, 2013.

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Posted on September 21, 2012 by tjfreebo

Metro Press


A little support from our local Metro daily in an article regarding what sports to watch with the NHL lockout.

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Posted on August 28, 2012 by tjfreebo

New Player Orientation

This year we will be hosting a new player orientation on Wednesday, September 5th from 6 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. at Field 7 (across from parking lot 10) for all new players interested in playing Dino’s Rugby this season.

This session will allow new players to meet the coaching staff and a few of the senior players in a more casual atmosphere than the typical chaos of the first practice when 70+ players are out.  All new players are invited to come, the session will include a light session (so bring your kit) followed by a quick pint at the Den.

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Posted on August 23, 2012 by tjfreebo

2012 Registration

We will be holding registration for all players the nights of September 4, 5, and 6 in Kinesiology A Room 120 (KNA 120) from 5 pm to 8 pm each night.
We need all player to come and get their forms filled out as well as to pay their annual dues at Campus Rec, by getting this done early you will not have to worry about it once practices start up the following week.

Remember, if you aren’t registered and haven’t paid your dues you will not be eligible to play this season.

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Posted on August 18, 2012 by tjfreebo

2012-2013 Season

With the end of August approaching, the 2012/2013 Dino’s season is just around the corner with fall classes beginning in September.  We have another amazing season scheduled with some amazing games and road trips to look forward too this year.  From the beginning of September to the end of October we will have upward of 10 games against the universities in Alberta as well as a few Calgary club teams.  We have road trips this year to Edmonton, Lethbridge, and Kelowna and many a social all throughout.

Thee tentative schedule so that everyone can start booking off work for this year is:

  • Sept. 15: UofC (Black) vs. UofL and UofC (Red) vs. Alumni in Calgary
  • Sept. 22: UofC (Black) vs. UofA and UofC (Red) vs. TBD in Edmonton
  • Sept. 29: UofC (Black) vs. MRU and UofC (Red) vs. UBCO in Calgary
  • Oct. 12-14: CanWests in Lethbridge
  • Oct. 20: UofC (Black) vs. Barbarians and UofC (Red) vs. Saracens in Calgary
  • Oct. 26-28: Hindson cup in Kelowna
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