March 2011

On Saturday the 24th of April 2010, 12 teams representing 9 schools came together for a day of remembrance and rugby. The 12 school boy rugby teams in Bogota inaugurated the annual Alex Bjoroy Memorial Rugby Tournament in order to pay tribute to an ex CGB player who tragically died in the Air France crash on 1st June, 2009. Alex was an avid rugby player during his time at CGB and the players and coaches wanted to do something to honour the memory of this special young man.

The tournament was the first of its kind in Colombia and commenced with a minute’s silence in respect of Alex. It was a rugby 7s tournament that was divided into three divisions. These were the Under 19 A and B, and the Under 13. In the A division there were four schools represented: Colegio Gran Bretaña, Gimnasio Moderno, Liceo Cervantes and Colegio Nueva Granada. In the B division there were 5 teams: Colegio Gran Bretaña, Colegio Nueva Granada, Colegio Los Alcaparros and two teams comprised of students from a number of schools that do not have their own rugby programme. In the Under 13 Division there were three teams representing the Reyes Catolicos School and Colegio Gran Bretaña.

The boys all showed spirited play throughout the day impressing the guest referees, coaches and spectators. However, in the end there could be only one winner of each division. The results of the Alex Bjoroy Memorial Rugby Tournament were:

A special trophy was given to the player from each division that best demonstrated the ideals of good sportsmanship, teamwork and a high level of play, all highly prized attributes of a good rugby player. This award was determined by the referees and coaches of all the teams represented. The winners from CGB were Lautaro Vieiro and Stephen Swain. All teams and players were presented with their medals, shields and trophies by our special surprise guest of honour, Matias Corral, a former Puma and Rugby World Cup 1995 player from Argentina.

All in all, the day was a complete success. All of the players were given the opportunity to spend the day playing a game they love and in the memory of a young man that had such a passion for the sport. The organisers and coaches would like to thank all of the players, referees, sponsors and people that gave up so much time to help make this a fantastic day. We look forward to the event next year.