Local duo working for Team Canada at Rugby World Cup

""It's pretty unbelievable," said Carla Brash, who is taking time off from her job as a certified athletic therapist with the Kingston Athletic Therapy Centre to work as an athletic therapist with Team Canada."
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"But last week, Canada opened with a 25-20 win over Tonga in Whangarei, opening the eyes of New Zealand fans in the process.

"Oh my goodness, it was unreal," Brash said of the upset in front of a sellout crowd of close to 18,000 at the Northland Events Centre.

Canadian flanker Adam Kleeberger, who has a bigger, bushier beard than ex-Kingston Kimco Voyageurs assistant coach Peter Goulet sported in the 2009 RBC Cup run, also has become a mini-celebrity in New Zealand.

"They're selling fake beards," Brash said. "They are sold out everywhere. ... He's had that beard going for seven or eight months."

Brash has worked for rugby teams for the past nine years, leading to a call from the national program four years ago.

In November, she found out she was heading to the biggest stage in the sport. The journey started with a two-week training camp in Australia.

"It's been a goal of mine to make it here," she said. "It's a huge accomplishment for me."

While it sounds like a dream trip, there has been precious little down time — Brash has fit in some deep-sea fishing (one Canadian player actually caught a shark, she says) and a wine tour.

On her first day off of the tournament earlier this week, Brash said she simply stayed in her room and watched TV.

"There are lots of bumps and bruises and things like that," Brash said of the daily grind of working for a rugby team. "It's such a physical sport that you treat them every day, sometimes twice a day.""

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Kingston athletic therapist travels to Rugby World Cup

"This year, there is a Kingston connection to the Rugby World Cup. Carla Brash, Certified Athletic Therapist at the Kingston Athletic Therapy Centre, has been working with the national team for the past four years, travelling everywhere from Fiji to New Zealand to Belgium, as well as all over Canada and the U.S. Brash is responsible for the assessment and treatment of acute injuries, as well as pre-game taping and strapping, immediate on-field First Aid and post-event recovery and treatments.

"There is a lot of work to do and most days are 12-14-hour days, however, it is a very rewarding job when all your hard work pays off and we qualify for the Rugby World Cup," says Brash.

Over the years, she has developed a real love for the game of rugby and remarks that she has been working up to this tournament since the first game she ever covered eight years ago."

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Clock ticking on Ottawa weightlifter’s Olympic dream

"Winners’ circle: Brogan Engbers of Cumberland and Dontaye Whittaker of Ottawa helped the Eastern Canada youth soccer team defeat Western Canada 2-0 last weekend in Toronto, and will represent Canada at the 2011 Danone Nations Cup Oct. 6-9 in Madrid ... Eganville’s Carla Brash, who works at the Kingston Athletic Therapy Centre in Kingston, is the head therapist for the Canadian men’s team at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, which is Sept. 9 to Oct. 23 in New Zealand ... Ottawa River Runners’s Michael Tayler won the K1 senior men’s title at the Canadian downriver and slalom canoe and kayak championships in Chilliwack, B.C. Katrina Van Wijk was second in the women’s K1, while Julian Potvin-Bernal took the men’s C1 championship ahead of brothers Liam and Cam Smedley. Cam Smedley and Ben Hayward took the C2 final. Aleisha Grieve was second and Alex McGee placed third in the women’s C1."

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Two new appointments in RC high performance

"Rugby Canada is pleased to announce a pair of appointments that further strengthen the various high performance programs across the country. Kim Oslund takes on the role of Manager of Health Services, while Sandro Fiorino becomes assistant coach for the women's sevens and fifteen's programs.

KIM OSLUND

Kim has been appointed Manager of Health Services to Rugby Canada national teams. Her position requires her to perform the role that Isabel Grondin undertook in the past and to give our health program extensive new direction for the future.

Kim is a resident of Victoria and will operate out of the newly established Canadian Rugby Centre of Excellence in Langford, BC. Her major task in the immediate future is to establish the Sport Medicine laboratory that will be a component of the Centre of Excellence.

Her role will require her to manage programs, educate our athletes and offer on-going professional clinical support to our national squads.

The position that Kim is accepting is a newly created position and what has become immediately evident is that Kim has vision for the services that this program must deliver and she has also provided Rugby Canada with many significant and innovative ideas and concepts that will now be adopted by Rugby Canada."

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Rugby players invade Sills Park for 2011 OFSAA AA boys championships

"Bryan Dunham, head athletic therapist at Loyalist College, is working the OFSAA tournament to make sure players get proper treatment the second they need it. He said the well-groomed fields make his job easier.

"A lot of what you see in rugby is basic bumps and bruises," he said. "Because of the level of play of these kids, and the quality of the facilities, it decreases the chances of serious injury. The surfaces are softer to land on, the grass is good, and it's not that concrete-like surface with dirt patches.""

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Job Opportunity: Rugby Canada - Health Services Coordinator

The Health Services Coordinator is responsible for managing the medical, athletic therapy and anti-doping education relevant to all of Rugby Canada’s High Performance programs. The role includes all organizational and administrative matters associated with these activities as well as a selection of day to day operations. It includes, but is not limited to, performing as a practitioner, the recruitment of staff, health and medical staff monitoring, the preparation of daily agendas, the maintenance of a selection of data bases and the documentation of reports.

A major component of this role is to act as the athletic therapist for the National Women’s team and the National Women’s Sevens team as well as providing administrative and medical support services for all other Rugby Canada national programs.

Applications due Monday, May 23, 2011

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2011 Guadalajara Pan American Games Athletic Therapists Appointments

Congratulations to the Canadian Athletic Therapists appointed to the Health & Science team at the 2011 Guadalajara Pan American Games:

  Khatija Westbrook
  Alicia Crelinsten
  Isabel Grondin - Rugby
  Gianni Marianni - Athletics

Alternates (to replace or to be added if accreditation becomes available):

  Christina Grace

Job Opportunity: Etobicoke RFC

A new rugby club will launch their inaugural season this year.  The Etobicoke RFC plans on fielding a U16 and U18 team in the TRU, while holding exhibition fixtures for a senior team.  This is a good opportunity for someone who would like to become their head therapist to offer their services.

Anyone interested in participating in this rugby club as a player, coach, or supporter is encouraged to contact us or come to an organizational meeting planned for:
    
    Wednesday January 27, 2010  -  7:00PM

    Location:   Etobicoke Olympium, 590 Rathburn Road
                     Committee Room B  (Upstairs)

Mike Dwhytie
Coach, Martingrove C.I. Rugby
 905-842-2942 or mikedwhytie@etobicokerugby.net