A battle is brewing over the fate of rugby in Nova Scotia schools after the governing body for the province’s high school athletics announced it’s cancelling the program.

The Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation sent notices to high school principals Thursday, announcing the sport would be cancelled immediately in all schools.

The NSSAF cited insurance costs and safety concerns as the reasons behind the ban.

“After a thorough review of incident report data provided by the School Insurance Program, the Board has decided to take this action,” said the NSSAF in its statement.

“Student safety remains the top priority of the Federation.”

Officials with Rugby Nova Scotia say thousands of students, parents, coaches, and match officials will be affected by the shutdown.

“Obviously, we are very disappointed with the decision and have requested a meeting with the NSSAF to better understand the reasoning behind their decision,” said Rugby Nova Scotia in a statement.

“Both Rugby Nova Scotia and Rugby Canada are committed to providing a safe and enjoyable experience for all participants and we will work together to find an appropriate solution to the current situation.”

 

Students push back against decision

High school students across the province are speaking out against the decision.

Dozens of angry students chanted “let us play!” as they gathered at a protest in downtown Halifax on Friday.

In Cape Breton, students at Glace Bay High School protested in the hallways of the school.

“It’s definitely a dangerous sport. I’m not going to say it’s not a hard sport, but we have a lot of safety regulations for that,” said Grade 12 student Megan Walsh. “It’s not just a sport, you run through people and plow over, there’s a much more skilled level there.”

“We were devastated. There were a lot of tears today, through the whole school. There were girls and guys crying,” said Grade 12 student John Robinson. “We have a petition made already and we’re trying to get the ball rolling on a rec league or a backup.”

As of 12:30 p.m. Friday, more than 19,000 people had signed an online petition urging the NSSAF to reverse its decision.

 

N.S. education minister calls on NSSAF to reverse decision

Nova Scotia Education Minister Zach Churchill issued this statement late Friday afternoon.

"In making the decision to abruptly end high school rugby, the NSSAF contravened the terms and conditions of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in that it neglected to inform the department of its intent to communicate it’s decision on May 2, 2019., and furthermore, made the decision without appropriate consultation with school communities.

Further, the provincial Medical Officer of Health, along with other respected physicians, have expressed strong concerns about the decision, and they’ve cited Canada-wide data.

Given the perspective offered by the province’s Medical Officer of Health, I have called on NSSAF to reinstate rugby for all high schools immediately for the duration of the season.

I have also asked the NSSAF to work with the department to assemble a panel of subject matter experts to thoroughly review and assess available research on safety in sports for school sports across Nova Scotia."

 

International student injured during rugby match

Meanwhile, the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education confirms an international student who attends Sydney Academy was injured during a rugby match Wednesday.

There is no official word on whether the decision to cancel rugby at Nova Scotia high schools was prompted by the incident.

Players told CTV Atlantic that the student was airlifted to hospital in Halifax, but is doing well.