Canada women’s Sevens get full-time home

from IRB.com:

Canada’s women’s Sevens team has been given the best possible chance to build on its impressive 2012/13 season with the creation of a new full-time centralised squad for 2013/14, and a fully-funded training base.

Last season the Canadians finished third in the inaugural IRB Women’s Sevens World Series behind New Zealand and England, and capped a strong season by reaching the final of the Rugby World Cup Sevens, eventually losing out to the kiwis but taking a deserved silver medal.

With the support of Sport Canada’s Athlete Assistance Program (AAP) and Own the Podium, John Tait’s squad will now benefit from an array of support structures based of out Langford’s Canadian Rugby Centre of Excellence and Canadian Sport Centre Pacific.

Alongside the men’s Sevens team, the squad will enjoy a full-time training environment including support through world class coaching, nutrition, medical, strength and conditioning, video analysis and sport psychology.

The centralized athletes are allocated Sport Canada AAP cards, whereby each carded player receives financial support to enable them to commit to the daily training environment necessary for them to be competitive on the world stage. Carded players will also receive tuition support to attend post-secondary education throughout the year or after their rugby careers have finished.

National Senior Women’s carded athletes:
Elissa Alarie, (Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Rugby Club) Trois-Rivieres, QC
Emily Belchos, (Markham Irish RFC) Barrie, ON
Nikki Case, (York Lions) Toronto, ON
Hannah Darling, (Peterborough Pagans RFC) Warsaw, ON
Jessica Dovanne, (Velox RFC) Victoria, BC
Arielle Dubissette-Borrice, (Toronto Scottish RFC) Toronto, ON
Bianca Farella, (Town of Mount Royal RFC) Montreal, QC
Paige Farries, (Druid RFC) Red Deer, AB
Megan Gibbs, (Markham Irish RFC) Barrie, ON
Julia Greenshields, (Sarnia Saints) Sarnia, ON
Magali Harvey, (Club de Rugby Quebec) Quebec City, QC
Sara Kaljuvee, (Toronto Scottish RFC) Pickering, ON
Jennifer Kish, (Edmonton Rockers RFC) Edmonton, AB (Captain)
Ghislaine Landry, (Toronto Scottish RFC) Toronto, ON
Mandy Marchak, (Capilano RFC) Winnipeg, MB
Kayla Moleschi, (Williams Lake Rustlers) Williams Lake, BC
Jess Neilson, (Carson Graham Secondary School) North Vancouver, BC
Karen Paquin, (Club de Rugby Quebec) Quebec City, QC
Nadia Popov, (Aurora Barbarians) Newmarket, ON
Frederique Rajotte, (Markam Irish RFC) Markham, ON
Kelly Russell, (Toronto Nomads) Bolton, ON
Ashley Steacy, (Lethbridge Rugby Club) Lethbridge, AB
Brittany Waters, (Meraloma Athletic Club) Vancouver, BC
Charity Williams, (Markam Irish RFC) Toronto, ON