The British Columbia Men's Premier League is a provincial

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

competition currently contested by twelve clubs in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, Canada and one in the U.S. state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. The BC Premier League is organized by the

British Columbia Rugby Union The British Columbia Rugby Union (BCRU) is the provincial administrative body for rugby union in British Columbia, Canada. The BCRU consists of nine sub-unions and 65 clubs. It was originally organized in New Westminster in 1889 where Alfred St. G ...

. The league currently consists of teams from the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and Washington state. Clubs play each other twice throughout the regular season. The top six teams are then seeded and qualify for two rounds of playoffs. The top two teams from the semi-finals then face each other at the BC Rugby Club Finals in May.

History

The teams compete for the prestigious Rounsefell Cup. The trophy was donated by F.W. Rounsefell, a Vancouver insurance broker and financier and former British Columbia rugby star. The Rounsefell Cup was first awarded to the Central Athletic Club in March 1922. The cup has been competed for annually ever since.

2018–19 Premier League Teams

Past Champions

*1922 - Central Athletic Club *1923 - Vancouver Rowing Club *1924 - UBC Thunderbirds *1925 - James Bay Athletic Association *1926 - Ex King George *1927 - Ex King George *1928 - Ex King George *1929 - Meraloma Athletic Club *1930 - UBC Thunderbirds *1931 - Ex King George & The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) *1932 - ''Not contested'' *1933 - North Shore All Blacks *1934 - North Shore All Blacks *1935 - North Shore All Blacks *1936 - Vancouver Rowing Club & The 5th Regiment *1937 - North Shore All Blacks *1938 - James Bay Athletic Association *1939 - Meraloma Athletic Club & JBAA *1940 - James Bay Athletic Association *1941 - Meraloma Athletic Club *1942 - Ex Lord Byng *1943 - Royal Canadian Naval College *1944 - Army Victoria *1945 - UBC Thunderbirds *1946 - James Bay Athletic Association *1947 - UBC Thunderbirds *1948 - North Shore All Blacks *1949 - Ex South Burnaby *1950 - Ex Britannia (Brit Lions Rugby Club) *1951 - Vindex RFC *1952 - Vindex RFC *1953 - Vindex RFC *1954 - Meraloma Athletic Club *1955 - North Shore All Blacks *1956 - Kats Rugby Club *1957 - Kats Rugby Club *1958 - Kats Rugby Club *1959 - Kats Rugby Club *1960 - Oak Bay Wanderers *1961 - Kats Rugby Club *1962 - Kats Rugby Club & Oak Bay Wanderers *1963 - Kats Rugby Club & JBAA *1964 - Kats Rugby Club *1965 - Meraloma Athletic Club *1966 - Kats Rugby Club *1967 - Meraloma Athletic Club *1968 - Kats Rugby Club *1969 - Kats Rugby Club *1970 - Kats Rugby Club *1971 - University of Victoria Vikes *1972 - Meraloma Athletic Club *1973 - Meraloma Athletic Club *1974 - James Bay Athletic Association *1975 - James Bay Athletic Association *1976 - James Bay Athletic Association *1977 - James Bay Athletic Association *1978 - James Bay Athletic Association *1979 - James Bay Athletic Association *1980 - James Bay Athletic Association *1981 - UBC Old Boys Ravens *1982 - James Bay Athletic Association *1983 - Meraloma Athletic Club *1984 - Ex Britannia (Brit Lions Rugby Club) *1985 - UBC Old Boys Ravens *1986 - Meraloma Athletic Club *1987 - Meraloma Athletic Club *1988 - Meraloma Athletic Club *1989 - James Bay Athletic Association *1990 - UBC Old Boys Ravens *1991 - UBC Old Boys Ravens *1992 - James Bay Athletic Association *1993 - James Bay Athletic Association *1994 - UBC Old Boys Ravens *1995 - Vancouver Rowing Club *1996 - James Bay Athletic Association *1997 - Cowichan RFC *1998 - Cowichan RFC *1999 - James Bay Athletic Association *2000 - Castaway Wanderers RFC *2001 - Castaway Wanderers RFC *2002 - Castaway Wanderers RFC *2003 - University of Victoria Vikes *2004 - Capilano RFC *2005 - Capilano RFC *2006 - James Bay Athletic Association *2007 - James Bay Athletic Association *2008 - James Bay Athletic Association *2009 - Meraloma Athletic Club *2010 - University of Victoria Vikes *2011 - Castaway Wanderers RFC *2012 - Capilano RFC *2013 - James Bay Athletic Association *2014 - James Bay Athletic Association *2015 - UBC Thunderbirds *2016 - UBC Thunderbirds *2017 - UBC Thunderbirds *2018 - UBC Old Boys Ravens *2019 - UBC Old Boys Ravens *2020 - ''Not contested due to COVID-19'' *2021 - ''Not contested due to COVID-19'' *2022 - UBC Thunderbirds *2023 - UBC Thunderbirds

Awards

Player of the Year

References

External links

Rugby CanadaBritish Columbia Rugby Union
{{Canada Rugby Rugby union leagues in Canada Rugby union in British Columbia

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...