Abbotsford’s Lucie Romeo wants to go to New Zealand this December to represent B.C. on the rugby pitch, and the 14-year-old is seeking help from the community.
Romeo has received the nod to join the BC Elite 7s rugby team that will be competing at the World School Sevens event on Dec. 13 and 14.
She has launched a GoFundMe page for people to donate to send her on the journey to New Zealand.
Romeo states on the page that this will be a big deal for her career.
“Going to New Zealand is more than just a trip for me,” she wrote. “Being a part of this team provides me the opportunity to be trained by top coaches and play with high-level athletes. It will also allow me to compete against other high-level athletes. All of which will help me along my journey of becoming a high-calibre athlete that will represent Canada.”
Players on the BC Elite 7s team represent the very best in young Rugby Sevens talent in the province.
Romeo has had a sparkling youth rugby career, starring for the W.A. Fraser Falcons and also with the Abbotsford Rugby Football Club. She was named the top female athlete at her school for the past six years. She helped the Falcons win a Fraser Valley title in 2018, and last summer represented B.C. at the U16 Western Championships.
More recently, Romeo was invited to the RBC Training Ground National Final, which is the last stop on the Canadian Olympic Committee’s search for national Olympic talent.
The World School Sevens, established in 2016, is a tournament known for featuring some of the best young talents in the world. In just three short years, 20 players who have participated in the tournament have gone on to represent their countries at the highest level of rugby.
This is the first time ever that a Canadian side will compete at the event in the girls division.
As of earlier this week, the page had raised over $1,800 towards its goal of $2,500.
Go to gofundme.com/f/local-athlete for more info.
Romeo isn’t the only local rugby talent heading to New Zealand with the team, as Abbotsford rugby talents Kira Peary and Madison Makara were also named to the team.
Peary and Makara both also play with ARFC.