Salmon Arm Jewels Rugby 7's Capture 4th at Provincials
This year's Jewels went undefeated in regular season, in Zone playoffs and captured the Okanagan Valley Championship title on May 19, 2026. They are coached by local Yeti Rugby player Michelle Hoekstra, and Jayson Ursulak also a local Yeti rugby player.
Returning to the field in a different role, now as a coach, Ally Ursulak was a key player for the two previous 7th place Provincial standings in ‘25 and ’24 and had the opportunity this year to coach and mentor former teammates and two sisters Emma and Joanna Ursulak.
This team was built on trust, skill, practice and a little bit of singing and dancing! They were known for belting out Justin Bieber's “Baby” on the sidelines before games and many other songs during road trips. Teacher sponsor Alysse Hambleton noted the team cheer before taking the field was so loud and so memorable that it would regularly give spectators goosebumps.
The Salmon Arm Jewels Rugby 7's team captured fourth at Rugby 7's Provincials in Abbotsford on May 28-29, 2026. First day at Provincials had another undefeated set of games with 39-0, 39-0 and 35-5 for SAS! First game on day 2 was a success sending the SAS Jewels to the semifinals for the first time in history.
The Jewels finished 4th out of 78 teams across British Columbia, setting a historical record provincial placement for either Girls or Boys Rugby in the community of Salmon Arm.
During the Jewels run for a Provincial title, Athletic Director Tekki Brown Hryniw and Vice Principal Kris Hryniw helped organize various student videos featuring rousing support and clips from games to encourage the team and show how much the school was behind them.
We are all incredibly proud of this solid team built with strong senior players and a group of sturdy juniors ready to step in next year! We look forward to what this amazing group of individuals can build together next season!
