Christopher Chapman – Builder | Winnipeg Assassins Rugby Football Club
Chris Chapman’s participation and varied contributions to the sport of rugby span a period of over 44 years and continues beyond this very day. Player, administrator, coach, Chris has pretty much done it all, involved in many areas in any one given year.
The son of United Kingdom parents, Chris needed no prompting taking up the sport in 1981, at the age of 12, in grade 7, at Churchill High School where he played from 1984 to 1986. In 1984 he started practicing with the Assassins Rugby Football Club (ARFC), playing for the club between 1985 and 1998, the Wimbledon Old Boys in 2001 and 2002, and again with the ARFC in 2003, 2004, 2017 and 2018. During those years he was selected to the Manitoba Provincial U-19 boys’ team in 1987 and years later, in 1998, was selected to the Manitoba Buffalo where he occupied, according to him, the vaunted position of bench warmer.
On the side lines (or is that on the bench), Chris enjoyed a long and prolific coaching career on many fronts. At the high school level, he coached the boys at Churchill High School from 1988 to 1991; from 1994 to 1999 the boys and girls at Glenlawn Collegiate and the girls again in 2001; Dakota High School boys from 2003 to 2007; the Swift Current High School girls in 2008 and 2009; the College Jeanne Sauve girls in 2015 and 2016; and from 2017 to 2023 back again at Dakota Collegiate for both the girls and boys programs. At the club level, Chris served as an assistant coach for the ARFC men’s team in 1995 and 1996; coach of the ARFC’s Colts and Women’s teams from 1995 to 1997; the women’s team again in 2006, resulting in a Women’s Division Provincial Championship; from 2011 to 2015 he served as coach for the Niverville Rugby Football Club, in 2012 the ARFC men’s team, in 2014 the U of M Wombats women’s team, and the ARFC women’s team in 2015. Beginning in 2014 and continuing on to 2023, Chris served as coach for the South End Rugby Football Club. At the provincial level, Chris coached the Manitoba U19 boys’ team from 1994 to 1997; the Manitoba Sr. Women’s team in 2013 and 2014; and from 2017 to 2022, coach of the Manitoba Provincial 7’s girls’ team. On the administrative side of the pitch, Chris has functioned in many capacities. From 1988 to 1993 he occupied several positions on the executive of the ARFC, culminating as club President in 1993 and 1998.
In 1993 he served as Rugby Manitoba’s Schools Coordinator, and from 2014 to 2018, Director of Youth Rugby. In 2009 he was a Level 1 certified referee, and from 2016 to 2018 worked as Vice-president Finance for Maple
Grove Rugby Park. From 2016 to 2020 Chris was a member of the Rugby Canada National Rookie Rugby Committee; from 2016 to 2023 involved with Unified Ultimate Rugby; from 2018 to 2023 served as a member of the Friends of Rugby Committee; and from 2019 to 2022 served as an NCCP and World Rugby Educator.
All of these aforementioned labours were not to go un-noticed.
In 2015, Chris was honoured with a Sport Manitoba Coaching Excellence award, a Louis Riel School Division Coaching Excellence Award and a Rugby Manitoba President’s Award. In 2019 he was the recipient of the
Rugby Manitoba Volunteer Award and in 2020 the Sport Manitoba Volunteer of the Year Award. And now, today, deservedly inducted as an Honoured Member of the Manitoba Rugby Hall of Fame.