46 teams from across Ontario will grace the fields of Palgrave Park during the third annual Caledon Cavaliers Rugby Festival | Caledon Citizen

June 27, 2024 · 0 comments

By Jim Stewart

The Caledon Cavaliers’ third annual Rugby Festival provided plenty of excitement at Palgrave Park on Saturday.

46 teams ranging from U6 to U12 took to the rain-softened fields of Palgrave.

Michele Iacovelli, president of the Caledon Cavaliers Rugby Football Club, was thrilled: “We have nine clubs from across Ontario joining us. The Markham Canadian Irish, Burlington Centaurs, Georgian Bay Titans, Toronto City Rugby Club, Toronto Nomads, Toronto Dragons, Fergus Highlanders, Barrie Rugby Clubs and Caledon Cavaliers have sent teams to compete here today.”

Colorful team tents dotted the sidelines of the fields and Iacovelli expressed his satisfaction with the growth of the Cavaliers program in one year.

“Each age group in our program now has 3-4 coaches. Young volunteers from the community have increased the coaching ranks and are helping out. They have shown great support for the program in terms of organizing events, playing for the Cavaliers, and refereeing games. We are now putting new youth referees on the U12 fields.”

The fields were awash with the smell of hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill and the spun cotton candy gave a carnival feel to the green space. Great tunes filled the airwaves of the pavilion as club volunteers grilled breakfast and lunch for the more than 500 participants and visitors. The pavilion also served as home base for four Caledon councilors who showed their support for the event.

Ward 3 Councilman Doug Maskell, Ward 5 Councilman Tony Rosa, Ward 6 Councilman Cosimo Napoli, and Wards 4, 5 and 6 Councilman Mario Russo cheered on the hundreds of participants at Palgrave.

Councilman Russo said he was pleased with the growth of the event.

“Welcoming so many clubs to Caledon and seeing the level of commitment from the players is great to see here today. It is great to see this facility being used so widely.”

Councilman Maskell agreed with his colleague, noting that the best part of the event “is the burgers and, more importantly, seeing the growth of the third annual festival.”

Councillor Rosa added that the festival “rejuvenates the level of participation in rugby in secondary schools, including Humberview, which was a rugby powerhouse not so long ago.”

The sports enthusiast complimented the style of rugby presented to the younger participants.

“I like that the flags are carried by the younger players. It ensures that they are ready for full contact later – just as hockey only introduces full contact later in a player’s development.”

Councilors cheered for the event’s showcase match on Saturday: an early afternoon match between the U16 Cavaliers and the Georgian Bay Titans. Unfortunately, the energetic Caledon team lost 33-0 to the mighty visitors from Collingwood. However, the U14 Cavaliers fared better at the weekend with a 21-14 win over the Burlington Centaurs and a 28-7 victory over the Ajax Wanderers.

The U14 Cavaliers lost their third game of the weekend 28-0 to the Fergus Highlanders to end an otherwise triumphant summer weekend for Caledon Rugby Football Club at Palgrave Park.