McGill women’s rugby team fighting to stay alive following cuts
Posted January 12, 2026 4:58 pm.
Last Updated January 12, 2026 5:43 pm.
Rugby players are known for their resilience and putting up a fight – and the ones at McGill University are sure showing it.
After being cut from the university’s athletics department last year, the McGill women’s rugby team is fighting tooth and nail to stay alive and preserve the 50-year legacy of the program.
“We’re all on our own,” said student-athlete Alicia Gilmour. “We don’t have anything else from McGill, so getting as much as possible, to support as much as possible, to give us more chance to get back our varsity status is crucial.”
Last November, the McGill Athletics department announced it would be eliminating competitive clubs and varsity teams from 15 sports after this season because of ongoing challenges due to budget constraints, facility space and human resources capacity.
The women’s rugby team, the Martlets, was one of those teams.
In true rugby fashion, the student-athletes took the hit and got right back up. They’re now in the midst of an online fundraising drive to stay on the pitch to field a competitive varsity-level team for the 2026 season.
“We’re going to use that as a bargaining position to show that we can hopefully bring us back to the varsity position because that would be our ideal spot where we’d get to play on our own fields again and play against the same universities again,” Gilmour said. “However, if that does not work, then we will use that money to support us as a club. We wouldn’t be able to play the same higher-level universities, but we’d still be able to play and grow our strengths.”
“Despite our team getting cut, we still have stayed together with this fundraising,” added teammate Kipling Szasz. “We still do events together and we’re all committed to getting us reinstated.”
Current players and alumni have been working hard behind the scenes. The GoFundMe has raised nearly $57,000 from its updated $75,000 goal. The fundraiser’s initial goal, $35,000, was nearly entirely raised on the campaign’s first day.
The fundraiser will be closing on Sunday.
“We really just wanted to make sure that they can continue to enjoy the same McGill women’s rugby experience that we all had that really shaped who we are as people and really enriched our university experience,” said Jessica Wong, a former player who co-organized the fundraiser.
The funds raised are to support a number of essentials required to maintain a varsity program such as coaching staff, travel expenses and training resources, as well as to have access to facilities and fields.
“Worst case scenario, if we ended up as a club, we would have to scramble to find fields and scramble to find teams to play against and not have that same high level that we’re used to,” Gilmour said. “I’m still confident that we will be able to grow from there and then one day return as a varsity team.”
“Women’s rugby is having a massive moment in terms of the Canadian national team and the McGill Martlets women’s rugby program has a huge legacy of supporting student athletes and sending athletes to the national teams. So we’re just really hoping to make sure we can see that continue in the future,” added Wong, who played for the Martlets from 2009 to 2013.
“I think all of us on the team, we love rugby so much,” Szasz said. “Like that’s the thing about varsity athletes, they’re performing sports that they love and that’s why they’re committed at the varsity level. So I’m confident regardless of whatever level we’re playing at, we’re all going to be playing together.”
