Clearwater Cup
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About
Clearwater Cup is an annual Rugby Sevens tournament held each spring in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It currently offers competition for High School Rugby programs in Senior Boys, Senior Girls (for grades 10-12), Junior Boys, and Junior Girls divisions (for grade 10s and developing grade 11s only). It is a showcase for up-and-coming student-athletes in Calgary, surrounding communities, and teams from further afield. Most importantly, Clearwater Cup is a coming together of Rugby enthusiasts to celebrate our game in the spirit of good character, spirit, and sportsmanship. It has grown in recent years and, with 72 High School Teams participating, it is the one of the largest High School Sevens Rugby Tournaments in Canada!
History and Rationale
The Clearwater Cup High School Rugby Tournament was originally conceived in partnership with The Calgary Senior High School Athletic Association, The Calgary Rugby Union, and The Calgary Booster Club. Initially created as a full fifteen-a-side Rugby Union competition with a scholarship component, the Clearwater Cup was reformed as a Rugby Sevens event to satisfy the growing demand for this open, quick-paced style of play, to foster a "festival" atmosphere for Calgary High School Rugby, and to anticipate the increased profile of Rugby returning as an official Olympic sport (after 92 years of dormancy) for the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2016. Interrupted in 2020 and 2021 by the world wide pandemic, Clearwater Cup is back to full strength and better than ever!
The Clearwater of Calgary and Acknowledgment of the Land
As an homage to Colonal McLeod's earliest impression of the local geography, the founders of this Rugby tournament sought to evoke a piece of local heritage in naming this event. The word "Calgary" (imported from Scottish Gaelic) is thought to have originally meant "clear running water". McLeod recognized the importance of this area, and saw in it a resemblance to the Isle of Mull in Scotland. Of course, the confluence of the Elbow and Bow Rivers (Moh-kins-tsis and Makhabn, respectively, in the Blackfoot language) has been used as a meeting place for thousands of years.
"Clearwater Cup" is meant, then, to underscore an appreciation for the beauty, geography, and a connection to the land, from multiple histories. Clearwater Cup tournament organizers acknowledge the traditional territories and oral practices of the Blackfoot Confederacy of Nations, which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, and the Kainai. We also acknowledge the Tsuut'ina and Stoney Nakoda First Nations, the Metis Nation (Region 3), and all people who make their homes in the Treaty 7 Region of Southern Alberta.