Excalibur Rugby is the name of the men's rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 team at Trent University

Trent University

Trent University is a liberal arts and science-oriented institution located along the Otonabee River in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.The enabling legislation is the Trent University Act, 1962-63. The University was founded through the efforts of a citizens' committee interested in creating a...

 in Peterborough, Ontario

Peterborough, Ontario

Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...

. The team's motto is Commitment, Intensity, Desire which is expressed in Latin on the team's crest.

History

Formed in 1964, Excalibur Rugby has been able to maintain a strong tradition of competition and camaraderie. Originally founded by a small number of rugby enthusiasts, Excalibur Rugby expanded over the years to include both a first and second side, while competing as a varsity

Varsity team

In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...

 rugby team in the OUA

Ontario University Athletics

Ontario University Athletics is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, and releases about those programs and events to the public...

http://www.oua.ca/ and as a social club known as Trent Rugby Football Club (TRFC). Despite its strong history of development and maintenance of a second team composed of up and coming rookies, developing players and rugby fans, Excalibur Rugby made the move to carry only one team for the 2005 season.

Charitable involvement

Over the years the members of Excalibur Rugby have been involved with a number of charitable organizations in and around Peterborough. Players from Excalibur Rugby have worked to support the Peterborough Regional Health Center, the United Way

United Way of Canada

United Way of Canada is the national organization for the 117 autonomous, volunteer-based United Ways across Canada. United Way campaigns raise money for local groups that address community issues and problems, and the national organization provides leadership, services and coordination to the...

, Kawartha Food Share and other various charities such as the Terry Fox

Terry Fox

Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox , was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research...

 Foundation.

Tournaments and tours

Each November Excalibur Rugby hosts an annual rugby union tournament known as the Bronze Touque tournament. Originally open to any team interested in competing which saw in its inaugural year teams from Ottawa University, Queens Law School and the Cobourg Saxons club team compete with Excalibur Rugby for the coveted trophy. By 2005 the Bronze Touque tournament has developed into a sanctioned OUA off season event with participation by various varsity teams.

Bi-annually members of Excalibur Rugby spend their spring reading break travelling to various schools across North America in a week long tour. In February 2005 Excalibur Rugby toured the Eastern United States playing Penn State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

.