{"id":9949,"date":"2025-08-06T16:11:46","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T15:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kukrisports.com\/ca\/?p=9949"},"modified":"2025-08-06T16:11:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T15:11:46","slug":"kukri-sports-oshawa-vikings-inclusivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kukrisports.com\/ca\/news\/kukri-sports-oshawa-vikings-inclusivity\/","title":{"rendered":"Kukri Sports and Oshawa Vikings Champion Inclusivity at IMART World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kukri Sports proudly celebrates the historic achievements of our partner, Oshawa Vikings Rugby Club, following their inspiring journey at the 2025 IMART World Cup in Spain.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With over 1,190 players, 32 teams and more than 70 matches, the tournament stood out as a global celebration of inclusivity, resilience and the unifying spirit of mixed ability rugby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Players of all backgrounds, abilities and experiences were able to compete and share the field, break down barriers and celebrate community through the enjoyment of sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oshawa Vikings, our partner based in North America, made history as they fielded both men\u2019s and women\u2019s squads in the tournament, with the women\u2019s team making a groundbreaking semi-final appearance and the men\u2019s team battling through to narrowly miss out on the silver plate semi-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Kit That Unites & Empowers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As official kit partner, Kukri proudly supported the Vikings with custom-designed kits that embodied their values and identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The jerseys were tailored for all body types, with seamless adaptations for visually-impaired players, ensuring everyone felt like a part of the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laura Rouse, a key member of the women\u2019s team who competed in her first international tournament, said, \u201cI truly felt like an athlete wearing very comfortable kit, but the real honour came with the show of the Canadian flags.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey were easily identified by other teams, and our kit was so highly-sought after the tournament by other players.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingrid Schurr, who played a key part in adapting the designs to be inclusive for all her teammates, said, \u201cThe kit united us as a whole team and in my case the vision impaired features helped me track better on the field.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey were also built in so it just looked like a cool design, as opposed to a vision impaired add on. That made me feel fully included.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than a Tournament<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Oshawa Vikings, the impact of the tournament goes far beyond the scoreboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Heather Bews reflected, \u201cThis tournament proved that rugby is a sport for anyone \u2013 regardless of labels, ability or experience.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt gave me a sense of belonging and showed the world that with the support and opportunity, everyone is capable of greatness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highlights from the tournament were as varied as the players themselves. For some, it was the joy of helping a player score their first-every try. For others, it was about family pride \u2013 like Will Smith Sr., who scored a try off an offload from his son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was everything. A testament to the unifying nature of mixed ability sport in one moment.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s team player, Britni Czop, shared her story, \u201cI\u2019ve been playing rugby for over ten years and have to say, the fourth game will forever be my favourite game I have played.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were up in points and as a team we helped one of the abilities players on the other team score her first try. We pretended to get hit by her and yet she just kept going with the biggest smile and scored her first try,\u201d <\/em>she recounted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there was a dry eye, and it was a perfect example as to why we play mixed ability rugby for those incredible moments.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driving Inclusion Forward<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kukri\u2019s involvement with the Oshawa Vikings reflects our broader commitment to championing inclusivity in all sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We believe every athlete deserves to feel valued, seen, supported and empowered in their sport and the kit they wear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIMART has expanded our global rugby connections. We\u2019re committed to sharing this experience to help grow mixed ability rugby in Canada,\u201d <\/em>said Head Coach John Watkins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From grassroots beginnings to global representation, Kukri is honoured to support the teams, players and movements that are shaping the future of sport, for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more about Oshawa Vikings<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kukri Sports proudly celebrates the historic achievements of our partner, Oshawa Vikings Rugby Club, following their inspiring journey at the 2025 IMART World Cup in Spain. With over 1,190 players, 32 teams and more than 70 matches, the tournament stood out as a global celebration of inclusivity, resilience and the unifying spirit of mixed ability […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":9951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nKukri Sports and Oshawa Vikings Champion Inclusivity at IMART World Cup<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Oshawa Vikings made history as they fielded both men's and women's squads in the tournament. 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