Twin Elm Rugby Park - A Call to the “New” Generation

For those of you who are unaware of the behind-the-scenes activities of our

clubs most important asset, here is an “insiders” look at the scene.

I sit in the Twin Elm bar area, surrounded by a handful of extremely committed individuals. The total years of experience of sitting on boards in this room is astounding. Also, despite their continued presence, the feeling in the room is that rather than being relied upon to secure the future of Twin Elm, the group would rather be able to enjoy and take pride in a fully functional facility that they’ve worked so hard to build. Literally.

It is common to hear grumblings about Twin Elm. We’ve all heard the groans about the long drive across the city, the gate fee, and the facility itself. If every person who had input, provided it in a pro-active way, perhaps there would be just a little bit more clarity in our vision. Instead, the same people who built it, struggle to “read the minds” of all of its stakeholders.

I think it is a commentary on the generations that follow TERPs founders, that we go through life with a real sense of entitlement. We tend to think things simply happen – despite the fact that very few of us are actually there making them happen.Until we increase our numbers and our visibility within the sporting community, we cannot expect much assistance from the city – especially considering that at present, as far as the City of Ottawa is concerned, the sport we treasure is only lumped as 2700 athletes categorized as “Other,” versus 150,000 soccer participants. Never mind that we have players at all age grades representing our country on the International stage – when is the last time you saw anything at all concerning rugby in the local papers, or on television.

We sit here trying to fine-point our vision for the future of this rugby facility. No matter what direction is taken, we will need fresh ideas, and energetic volunteers to see it through.