Queen’s to host U SPORTS 2021 Women’s Rugby and 2023 Women’s Soccer National Championships
Queen’s will welcome the best university women’s rugby athletes in the country in 2021, and has also been awarded the U SPORTS women’s soccer National Championships in 2023. The announcements come after the decisions to defer the fall 2020 championship hosts due to COVID-19 cancellations.
“Hosting a national championship is a wonderful opportunity and to announce that we have been awarded two is a tribute to our outstanding student-athletes, coaches, our entire athletics program and our University,” says Leslie Dal Cin, Executive Director, Queen’s Athletics & Recreation. “We look forward to welcoming teams from across the country to compete in what promises to be exciting tournaments.”
The women’s rugby championship will take place Wednesday, Nov. 3 – Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021. The Queen’s women’s rugby team will earn automatic entry into the tournament as hosts, though they are perennially among the best teams in the country, finishing as U SPORTS silver medalists last season at the University of Ottawa.
The women’s soccer championship will be hosted at Richardson Stadium, one of Canada’s premier soccer venues on Thursday, Nov. 9 – Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. The Gaels women’s soccer team has been a U SPORTS top 10 team and perennial national contenders, and finished conference play with an undefeated record (12-0-2) in 2018.
Queen’s is no stranger to hosting national championships. The university was home to the men’s volleyball championships in 2012, women’s rugby championships in 2015, women’s hockey championships in 2017, back to back cross country championships in 2019 and 2020, and was set to host women’s rugby in 2020 but on June 8, U SPORTS announced the cancellation of all fall championships due to COVID-19.
The events, which will occur in partnership with Tourism Kingston, will also bring many visitors to the city, including family members, friends and fans of the visiting teams.
“Queen’s University is a lead partner for sport tourism in Kingston. Tourism Kingston is working hard to support Queen’s to secure events such as these, which are a vital part of our post-COVID-19 recovery plan,” said Megan Knott, Executive Director, Tourism Kingston.