Second division men’s rugby kicks off today at 1 p.m. at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.
The seconds of St. Albert and the Strathcona Druids are both 1-3 as the bottom two teams in the Edmonton Rugby Union standings. The seconds are coming off a 23-21 home-field thriller over the Fort McMurray Knights (2-1), as standoff Frank Lucas successfully converted a long penalty kick on the last play to win the game.
The men’s and women’s first division teams are in action today in Calgary. The 2008 and 2009 Alberta Cup pennant winners and provincial finalists tackle the Canucks (2-1) at Calgary Rugby Park. The Alberta premier women play the 2009 provincial champion Irish (1-0-1) at their home field. Game times are 3:30 p.m.
Last weekend the firsts improved to 2-1 with a 56-22 thumping of the visiting Calgary Saints (1-3) as fullback Aaron Takel scored one try and kicked seven conversions. The women’s first 15 suffered their fourth straight loss and third by a shutout 65-0 against the Druids (2-1) at Ellerslie Rugby Park.
Friday night in the men’s third division, St. Albert (1-4) hosted the Pirates (2-2) but the score was unavailable at presstime.
The 27th annual Tigers Baseball Association tournament is the main event this weekend at Legion Memorial Park.
The eight-team draw opened Friday night and wraps up Sunday with the semifinals at noon and the final at 3 p.m.
Up for grabs is $150 for every round-robin victory, as well as $800 for the tournament winner and $400 to the loser of the final.
Round robin action continues today at 10 a.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.
Competing in the Waples division are the St. Albert Tigers, Mayerthorpe Mets, Red Deer Riggers and Prince George Grays. In the Young division are the Parkland White Sox, Red Deer Stags, Calgary Redbirds and the 2009 senior AAA national champion Fort Saskatchewan Athletics.
The Tigers played the Mets on Friday but the score was unavailable. The host team is up to bat today against the Riggers at 1 p.m. and Prince George at 8 p.m.
The tournament schedule is listed in the Gazette scoreboard on page 72.
As of Monday afternoon, 327 males and females had registered online for the 19th annual St. Albert Kids of Steel Triathlon, plus the junior draft legal race. Sunday’s competition starts at 8 a.m. at Fountain Park Recreation Centre.
The entry totals include 314 individuals and 14 relay teams.
The junior event is for elite triathletes aged 16 to 19. Youth between four and 19 years old can participate in the Kids of Steel as an individual or as a team on a swim-bike-run course that varies in distance according to age group. The 2009 Kids of Steel featured 266 individuals and 25 teams in the elementary, junior and senior high school divisions.
