VANCOUVER – It's finally just about time to begin the 2025 CGIS U SPORTS Women's Rugby Championship Presented by Rec Room, where the top eight teams in Canada will battle it out for the right to hoist the national championship trophy.
 
With 11 hard-hitting matches spread across Wednesday, October 29, Friday, October 31 and Sunday, November 2, Thunderbird Stadium will play host to each and every minute of the tournament. The action begins at 11:00 a.m. each of the three days, with the final matches on Wednesday and Friday beginning at 6:30 p.m. (all times PT). The medallists will be decided on Sunday with the battle for bronze at 1:30 p.m. and the gold medal match at 4:00 p.m.
 
The defending champion UBC Thunderbirds (4-3) enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed, in a very deep field that features the gold and silver medallists from each of the four U SPORTS conferences.


 
Four teams enter Wednesday's action undefeated, with the STFX X-Women sporting the "weakest" record of the conference champs at 6-0-1. The AUS title-holders are the No. 4 seed and will square off against the No. 5 Guelph Gryphons (6-2) in the opening round.
 
The Victoria Vikes (7-0) are the top overall seed after winning their first Canada West title since 2015, and will face the RSEQ runners-up Ottawa Gee-Gees (6-2) in the 1v8 matchup. The No. 2 Queen's Gaels (8-0) are coming off their third OUA banner in the last four years, and are set for battle against the No. 7 Acadia Axewomen (5-2-1), the AUS silver medallists.
 
The Thunderbirds will face the third team with a perfect record to this point, the RSEQ champs Laval Rouge et Or (8-0). Earning the No. 3 seed for the tournament, Laval are aiming to win what would be their fourth national championship in the last six seasons, while the T-Birds have the chance to become just the second team in the last 15 years to win back-to-back U SPORTS banners.
 
Perhaps fittingly, these two sides met in the national quarter-finals just two seasons ago when the Rouge et Or hosted the tournament. On that day it was Laval who prevailed with a nail-biting 7-5 victory. The tries were scored by UBC's Adia Pye and Laval's Léa Ouellet, both of whom remain key players on their respective teams this season, with Pye tied for first in the country in tries scored (16) along with STFX's Jessie Penney.


 
The T-Birds and Rouge et Or do battle at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday night. That's the final game of the quarter-final round.
 
CLICK HERE to get tickets. There are a limited number of tournament passes that give access to every match. There are also day passes which are valid for every match on any one of the three days. Tournament passes cost $50. The cost for day passes is as follows:
 
·         Adult: $20 
·         Concession & Alumni (UNA, UBC Staff & Faculty, Seniors 65+): $17 
·         UBC Student / Youth (13–18): $7.50 
·         Child (12 & under): $5 
 
Group discounts are available for youth teams, women's sport groups, and local rugby clubs purchasing 10 or more passes.

The full schedule for the opening round of the 2025 CGIS U SPORTS Women's Rugby Championship Presented by Rec Room is below. All four matches are on Wednesday, October 29.
 
·         11:00 a.m. – Victoria Vikes vs Ottawa Gee-Gees
·         1:30 p.m. – STFX X-Women vs Guelph Gryphons
·         4:00 p.m. – Queen's Gaels vs Acadia Axewomen
·         6:30 p.m. – Laval Rouge et Or vs UBC Thunderbirds