The countryB次元官网网址檚 top rugby players will soon be training year-round at City Centre Park.

Langford has partnered with Rugby Canada to becomes the national headquarters for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 menB次元官网网址檚 and womenB次元官网网址檚 rugby teams as they prepare for world and Olympic competition.

Trevor Arnold, director of rugby based out of Rugby CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Victoria office, said the organization was looking to move its teams to coastal B.C. to avoid winter conditions getting in the way of practice.

B次元官网网址淭he rest of the world has gone very professional in rugby and we made the decision that if Canada is going to keep pace, we need to be training 12 months of the year,B次元官网网址� Arnold said. B次元官网网址淟angford stepped up and said we could go there, and weB次元官网网址檙e very excited about it.B次元官网网址�

City Centre ParkB次元官网网址檚 turf field is already sanctioned for International Rugby Board games, such as when Team Russia met the B.C. Bears in 2009. Arnold expects there will be many more international teams visiting Langford in the years to come. Invitations are already in the mail to bring in teams touring January to April 2012.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e never had a place to hold invitationals in Canada. ItB次元官网网址檚 important for improving the team. WeB次元官网网址檒l want as many games as possible,B次元官网网址� Arnold said.

Canadian athletes will begin arriving in January, including 40 men and 25 women from senior and under-20 teams, and their support staff.

TheyB次元官网网址檒l make use of existing training facilities in Eagle Ridge arena, which is being renovated to add a high tech scrummaging zone and clinic for sports medicine.

A new building on Glen Lake Road will become Rugby CanadaB次元官网网址檚 headquarters. Administrative and business offices from Victoria and Toronto will be centralized there.

Initially athletes will be billeted in the community, and eventually they will move into a 70-bed athletes residence that will be incorporated into the Westhills development.

Collectively, the offices, residence and training facility will be called Canadian Rugby Centre of Excellence. Langford Mayor Stew Young said details of where exactly everything will go are still being worked out.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got lots of space to work with,B次元官网网址� Young said, noting that he doesnB次元官网网址檛 expect any teams will need to be bumped out of Eagle Ridge or turf field facilities to make room for Rugby Canada.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 good for all the athletes to have a variety of sports going on, and especially having elite athletes will bring in sponsorship money to improve the facilities for everyone.B次元官网网址�

Currently the Westshore Rebels junior football and Highlanders professional womenB次元官网网址檚 soccer teams use the turf, and thereB次元官网网址檚 a deal with school district to allow future high school students to use it after a new school is built at the Glen Lake site to replace Belmont secondary.

Young said the deal is a great economic opportunity for the city overall. He expects it wonB次元官网网址檛 be long before a big funder such as Rogers wants to take over the naming rights for the Bear Mountain stadium, as it starts to attract larger crowds.

B次元官网网址淲e built really good sports facilities to attract attention, and weB次元官网网址檙e starting to see that now,B次元官网网址� Young said.

B次元官网网址淎ll the athletes and their trainers and everyone who comes to see them play, theyB次元官网网址檙e bringing more people and more business here, which is good for everyone who lives here.B次元官网网址�

news@goldstreamgazette.com