The HEAT Rugby has been working hard to establish a solid program. For three years, the HEAT has made an appearance at Rugby Nationals, an incredible feat as they are often the smallest program participating. Two years in a row, the HEAT has walked away with Prairie U championships after facing off with the University of Alberta’s Golden Bears. Their success has been a long time coming, and they are heading to their 3rd straight Nationals Competition in Langley, B.C., where they start the tournament playing against the number one team in the league.
Prop and Rugby Team Captain, Evan Vodarek, is a 3rd year Health and Exercise student at UBCO and is incredibly proud of the work the team has put in this season, getting themselves to Nationals once more. He thanks the coaches, the sponsors, and his teammates, particularly the rookies, for pushing the team harder and setting them up with a solid foundation for the next few seasons and hopefully to continue making appearances at National Conferences.
Evan emphasizes that the brisk, six-week season makes every game make or break for the team so losses greatly impact them no matter how good their winning streak is. This season the Rugby team lost only one game, their season opener, but Evan hints that there were many factors playing into that loss. The team had suffered the passing of one of their former teammates, and with an influx of rookies, everyone was caught by surprise.
However, it did not take long after that for the team to get into their groove, Evan says. He praises their assistant coach for helping them through the various obstacles of the season. The coach's mantra, “Go Forward” helped the team come together after their loss and work towards an otherwise winning season. He elaborates that as well as the ability to put the past behind them, “Go Forward" helps the team with their strategy during the games.
“Everything we do, we just have to move forward. When we are on defence, we have to make sure we are pushing the other team back and our offence is just always marching down towards the goal.”
As well as the coaches, Evan praises his teammates for coming in clutch time and time again to win match after match. In particular, he wants to applaud Hooker Pat Williams, Back Everett Pinkoski, Fly-Half Malachi Freh, and rookie of the year, Lock Alex Dymock, for their effort this season. Evan does recognize, however, that each win is a team effort and wouldn’t be possible without every moving part.
Evan mentions how impressive the program has been the last few years. As one of the smallest in the league, it’s amazing having made the National championships for three years straight. He admits that while it was nerve-wracking to have so many teammates last year graduate and move on, the rookies quickly showed their desire to burn blue. He is proud of the program and excited to see what Nationals will bring this time around.
While the stage is set for a much bigger game in Langley, Evan is confident that the strategy will not change. He guarantees that as long as the guys can play the game like they have been doing all season long, they are sure to go far in the competition. He stresses that it’d mean everything to win, in order to show all their sponsors and their student body what it means to back the HEAT. He is sure that Nationals will be a new challenge, especially as they are set to face the number one seed, but feels as though they are ready to come through and dominate the competition.
Evan’s confidence in the team’s skills speaks to the level of their ability to come together and play the game they love, and as excited as they are for the tournament, they have one last obstacle to face before getting to play. The men’s Rugby team must raise $40 000 in order to make it to Langley. While this is a tall order, they have no choice but to rely on help from the community to allow them to participate, being self-funded.
If you’d like to help them make it to Langley to play in their Nationals tournament, you can donate with the link below or in the bio of their Instagram bio @ubcomrugby
