BC Rugby League Structure for 2022/23 Season – Key Dates and Competitions
The BC Rugby season is just over 3 weeks away and we’ll take a look at some key dates and changes. The BCRU haven’t filled in their fixtures page yet so always check there for any last minute changes.
Premier
The Premier league kicks off on October 29th, it’s an 11 week regular season with the playoffs starting April 15th and ending on April 29th. There will be 12 teams; 2 universities UBC, UVic; 8 Canadian clubs JBAA, CW, Westshore, Burnaby, Capilano, Ravens, Rowers, Meraloma; 1 USA club Seattle; and 1 Rugby Canada academy Pacific Pride.
During the fall, September 10th to October 22nd, the Premier teams will play regional games. The Island clubs will compete for the Barnard Cup, the Mainland clubs will compete for the Mainland Cup and the “Academy” teams, UBC, UVic, Pride (+ TWU) will compete in their own competition (possibly Coastal Cup??).
The Canadian University championships start November 29th and are hosted by UBC so some of the matches in the “Academy” division will count as qualifiers. UBC as host are automatically qualified.
The Premier playoffs start April 15th with #1 and #2 getting byes to the semis and 3v6 and 4v5 in the QF. The Pride are not eligible for the playoffs.
Premier Reserves
Similar to the Premier it will be regional for 6 weeks then 11 weeks of league play. Some of the regional games for the Island clubs will count towards the Times Cup which also includes Division One sides Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Cowichan.
Division One
The Division One league has a 17 week season. The league consists of Island teams Cowichan, Port Alberni, Nanaimo and Mainland teams Abbotsford, Bayside, Kelowna, Langley, Surrey and TWU. At the end of the season there will be a crossover weekend with the Premier Reserve to determine the quarter-finals. The format will be #1 Div 1 vs #8 Reserve, etc. The quarter-finals start on April 15th. TWU are not eligible for the playoffs.
Division Two
Division Two features an 18 week league with 10 teams – Squamish, Kamloops, Kats, Scribes, SFU, United, Burnaby, Caps, Lomas, UBC. The quarter-finals are April 15th with the 1st and 2nd teams getting a bye to the semis, and #3 v #6 and #4 v #5 in the QF.
Division Three
Div 3 is an 18 week league with 17 teams – CW, UVic, Nanaimo, Comox, Abbotsford, Bayside, Kelowna, Langley, Surrey, Squamish, Kamloops, Scribes, SFU, Brit-Lions, Chilliwack, Richmond, Rogues. The quarter-finals are April 15th following a 1v8, 2v7, etc format. CW and UVic are not eligible for the playoffs.
Women Premier
There is no Women’s Premier in the fall, we’re assuming it will be a spring only league. The women’s competition schedules have only gone as far as the fall, and they’re all marked as development. They’ll likely determine the strength of teams and issue a spring format and schedule from that.
Women Mainland Division One
There are 7 development weeks. Teams include Burnaby, Capilano, Kamloops, Meraloma, UBC. They start with a Jamboree weekend on September 10th at Burnaby and finish with a 1v2 for the Cup on November 19th.
Women Mainland Division Two
There are 7 development weeks. Teams include Abbotsford, Bayside, Langley, Rowers, Scribes, SFU. They start with a Jamboree weekend on September 10th at Abbotsford and finish with a 1v2 for the Cup on November 19th.
Women Mainland Division Three
There are 7 development weeks. Teams include Bayside, Capilano, Chilliwack, Kelowna, Richmond, United. They start with a Jamboree weekend on September 10th at Bayside and finish with a 1v2 for the Cup on November 19th.
Women Island Division One
There are 7 development weeks. Teams include Comox, Cowichan, CW1, CW2, James Bay, Nanaimo, Westshore. They start with a Jamboree weekend on September 10th at location TBD and finish with a 1v2 for the Cup on November 19th.
Key Dates
There will be no rugby on the following weekends Labour Day (Sep 3), Thanksgiving (Oct 8), Family Day (Feb 18), Canada 7s (Mar 4) and Easter (Apr 8).
McKechnie Cup
The historic regional competition that traditionally has included the Island, Mainland and Fraser Valley will take place in November/December over 3 consecutive weekends. Nov 26th, Dec 3rd and Dec 10th have been set aside for McKechnie Cup play, there’s also the U20 version, the Dunbar Keg, which will take place alongside the senior competition.
BC Bears
The provincial team has scheduled 3 weekends in January to face MLR teams. January 14th @ Seattle, January 21st @ LA and a home match on January 28th vs San Diego have been scheduled.