Mya Kaleba's year of winning rugby titles continued in July.
The UBC Thunderbirds player – who won Canadian U-Sports Women's Rugby 15s national championship in the fall of 2024, and followed that with a Western Canadian U-Sports Women's Rugby 7s title in the spring of 2025 – helped the B.C. Bears win the Canadian U19 rugby championship in Calgary.
Kaleba and Team BC went undefeated, blanking Team Atlantic 19-0, scoring a 25-5 win over the Alberta Wolfpack, and blanked Rugby Quebec 34-0 to reach the gold-medal game.
B.C. fell behind in the championship, 10-0, but rallied to defeat the Rugby Ontario Blues 17-10.
The Bears had not won a game since the women’s competition was first introduced in 2023, but produced four fantastic performances under head coach Jake Thiel and assistant coaches Jordan McLeod and Jenna Elidoros.
Kaleba, working at Predator Ridge Resort for the rest of summer before returning to school, was also named to the Canadian Women's U20 team that played two matches in June in Ireland, splitting their results.
The B.C. Bears U19 Men’s team, meanwhile, fell 25-21 to their Rugby Ontario counterparts in an exhilarating final encounter as the Eastern province secured back-to-back championship triumphs.
B.C. settled for silver for a second straight year.
The 2025 Canadian Rugby U19 Championships were hosted by Rugby Alberta at Calgary Rugby Club.
SARATOGA CUP IN SALMON ARM
The line-up for the 2025 Saratoga Cup presented by Hideaway Public House has been confirmed following the conclusion of the BC Rugby’s Central Interior, Okanagan and Kootenay Cup Divisions.
The four-team provincial men's 15s C Division championship will be contested by four teams.
The Okanagan champion Vernon Jackals will meet Cranbrook's Rocky Mountain Rogues, the Kootenay Division champions, in a semifinal Saturday, Aug. 9, at 10:30 a.m.
The winner will face the victor of the second semifinal at 1:30 p.m. when the host Salmon Arm Yeti meet the defending Saratoga Cup champion Terrace Northmen.
The two winners meet for the provincial title Sunday, Aug. 9, at 1:30 p.m. The two losers will play for bronze Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
The Rogues defeated the Jackals 31-10 in the 2023 Saratoga Cup final in Cranbrook.
Vernon knocked off the hometown Yeti in the Okanagan final.
BC Rugby is delighted to confirm six women’s teams will compete for the 2025 Women’s Saratoga Cup.
Teams confirmed include:
• Yeti Rugby Club (Salmon Arm);
• Penticton Harlequins;
• Terrace Northmen;
• Trail RFC;
• Elk Valley RFC;
• Rocky Mountain Rogues.
The host Yeti Rugby Club will feature alongside the defending champions, Terrace Northmen RFC, who celebrated the 2024 Championship victory on home soil last year. Penticton Harlequins will compete for the second successive year, while newcomers Trail RFC will make its Women’s Saratoga Cup debut alongside fellow Kootenay squads, Rocky Mountain Rogues and Elk Valley RFC.
All games in both provincials will be played at Salmon Arm's Little Mountain Sports Complex.
