Lethbridge Rugby Club alumni gather to reappreciate the game

By Lethbridge Herald on July 17, 2023.

Herald Photo by Justin Seward Lethbridge Rugby Club's Annika Kordellas tries to break through a Calgary Saracens tackle during a game on alumni day at the Lethbridge Rugby Club on Saturday. LRC won 59-50.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

The Lethbridge Rugby Club celebrated 51 years on Saturday with alumni weekend.

Alumni could reminisce about their time with the club as well as  enjoy two games played by the current LRC teams on the field.

“I think there might be a couple hundred people here, maybe,” said Ryan McKeown, LRC player/coach.

There was a majority in-town alumni in attendance.

“So a lot of the in town alumni come, but not a lot of the out of town guys show up,” said McKeown.

“So, the numbers aren’t as big as they could be. But again it’s our alumni coming out and just reappreciating rugby for what it is. And they all have a good time in the sun, have some drinks, and socialize ,and talk about the good times and the bad times.”

“It’s always important to remember the guys that built our club,” said McKeown.

“So (that) our younger guys can appreciate (the club). Our club is here because our older members built it from the ground up and it’s our job to keep it running. And our new guys, they (are) going to need to take the torch eventually and start keeping it going and all that kind of stuff.”

The LRC teams split the games for the crowd, where the men lost their game to the Calgary Saints and the women beat the Calgary Saracens 59-50.