Dreams are what great things are made from and thanks to many people's visions of what could be, the Capilano RFC was formed in 1969. The Capilano Rugby Football Club is the product of the amalgamation of two rugby clubs - the North Shore All-Blacks and the West Vancouver Barbarians. The predecessors of the Caps had been in existence since the 1930's. From its humble beginnings of playing on "borrowed" fields and using a small 2nd floor warehouse space at the bottom of Lonsdale as a club house, the club took steps to move forward and secure permanent grounds with an adjoining clubhouse. In 1982 a deal was struck with West Vancouver to designate Klahanie Park the home of North Shore Rugby. Klahanie in the local First Nation's dialect means, "Welcome". Although the facilities are still not completely finished, the clubs facilities have become the park of choice for hosting major games in British Columbia. In the past few years Klahanie has been used for a variety of BC Rep., Canada Junior and other feature matches. Test sides from Canada, Japan, United States, Hong Kong, England, etc. have all used its grounds and clubhouse for training. To celebrate the 75th Anniversary of rugby on the North Shore, the Club is poised to take the necessary steps to improve upon the facilities with such projects as doubling the size of the clubhouse; which will include more change rooms, a weight room, two new washrooms, a new entrance, kitchen, lounge with a fireplace, children's play area and more! Already the club offers a daycare during most games inside the clubhouse enabling parents to watch the games or play in them while their children are well looked after and entertained.In the 1990's the Capilanos focused their attention on growing the player development base from within. Unlike other clubs in BC that rely on recruiting players from other clubs and or areas, our players help coach students at almost every rugby-playing high school on the North Shore and encourage them to come down to the club and play in what has now become the strongest junior program within Canada. For instance, the under-19 men's team has been in the provincial final eight of the last nine years. This past year we had over 250 under-12's take the field along with two under-14's, two under-16 and two under-18 teams. The payoff is beginning to show with seven Capilano's playing for young Canada in the last few years alone, four club players having attended the Pacific Pride program and 14 members of the Premier Men's squad having moved up through our youth programs. Over the last 8 years, the Capilano RFC has had more sides in the playoffs than any other club in BC!The 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 seasons saw the Premier Men take the league championships and the playoff championships with the Premier Women also being crowned WCWRA playoff champions in 2003-2004. Make your way down to the club and
Help us make a run at the 2009-2010 championships!
The Capilano Rugby Football Club is one of the largest and most successful Rugby clubs in North America and in 2008/09 season will run 3 senior men’s; 2 senior women’s; U20, U19, U17, U16, U15, U14, U13 boys; mini-rugby and over 40’s teams.
A few of the faces that keep the wheels turning... new players and supporters always welcome!
A Brief History of The Capilano Rugby Football Club
CAPILANO RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB
Creating the Legacy of Rugby Excellence
This page was last updated: October 28, 2010
We're looking for feedback on the website!. Please email us your thoughts and suggestions.
