Moving to Canada from Bangladesh was a challenging experience for Margan Ripa four years ago. Programs such as the four-day sports camphosted by the Regina Open Door Society and Ehrlo Sport Venture this week have helped her transition into life in Canada.
“When we first entered into Canada, my parents went to the Open Door Society and they helped out generously, it was so amazing,” said Ripa. “My parents encouraged me to come here and meet other people and so through this program, I’ve gained a lot of friends.”
The camp has been hosted by the Open Door Society since 2016 and sees newcomers learn the basics of popular Canadian sports over the course of the week.
The goal is to use sport to help newcomers become a part of the community.
“Not only will they learn about Canadian culture, but they will also learn about values such as sportsmanship, cooperation and discipline,” said Roberto Misterio, Youth Program Coordinator of the Regina Open Door Society.
On Wednesday, about 50 kids, mostly new to Canada, learned about rugby from players and coaches with the Regina Rugby Club. There were a lot of smiles throughout the camp as the kids learned how to pass, tackle and more.
Ripa said it was good to experience a new sport like rugby.
“You have to use a lot of your physical strength, but it’s worth it for us girls to kick that stuff up and then show us that we can do everything that we commit to,” she said.
Julianna Cornish, President of the Regina Rogues Women Rugby Club, was one of the coaches for the day. She said the newcomers picked up the sport quickly.
“They were a little hesitant to play rugby and weren’t really interested, but once we got the bags out and showed them what a real tackle looks like than they were all invested and wanting to play,” said Cornish.
In addition to rugby, the kids are learning baseball, hockey, football and basketball this week.
