Women’s rugby team and the first annual Dinos Pride Fest enjoy a win
By Tori Taylor, September 19 2019 —
This year marked the first Dinos Pride Fest for the University of Calgary. It was hosted on Sept 14 and unfolded in a positive array of smiling faces and rainbows. The event showcased two great Dinos games. The field hockey team ran up against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in the morning and the women’s rugby team took on the University of Alberta Pandas in the afternoon.
Photo by Mariah Wilson
Much like the traditional Dinos Kickoff, the university put on music, face painting, a photo-booth, food trucks and outdoor games for the first annual Pride Fest. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to enjoy Pride celebrations and cheer on the Dinos.
The Dinos women’s rugby team opened their season at home against the Pandas and played a competitively redeeming game after an unfortunate loss in B.C. over the second weekend in September. Dinos had been on a 10 game dominant streak, since 2014, along the west coast but recently lost to the Victoria Vikes.
Photo by Mariah Wilson
This Saturday’s rugby game was nothing but positive attitudes and strength as they dominated the field and moved the ball with speed. The first half soared by and the Dinos kept a 12–0 lead steady until half-time.
“The big thing we worked on coming into today was our start,” said Dinos head coach Simon Chi. “I thought we did a good job of that but might have run out of steam in the second half. We are playing in the toughest conference in Canada. Week in and week out there are no easy games and the game can change in a half.”
Photo by Mariah Wilson
The second half showcased more of a defensive endeavour and less of an offensive surge. The Pandas took control of the ball for the last 40 minutes but the Dinos held on.
The game ended with a Dinos win of 19–12 and the success of a merry university event. If you weren’t able to attend, then you can look forward to next year’s Dino Pride Fest — a supportive combination of enthusiastic sport and inclusive team spirit.