William C. “Bill” Webster was a lifetime BBC member, and inductee of the BBC Sports Hall of Fame. Bill passed away on November 3, 2006. His legacy continues as a generous endowment to support the development of young Balmy Beach Club athletes.

Each year, the Webster Fund awards a male and female junior rugby player based on their performance as well as their dedication to the sport of rugby and community.

The Balmy Beach RFC would like to thank the Webster Fund and Bill’s son-in-law Stuart Statton for their continued support of youth athletes at the BBC!

Below you will find the past recipients of the Bill Webster Award.

2023

This was Carolyn Gill’s first season with the Balmy Beach and she quickly established herself as a leader and dynamic presence on the field. As part of the U16 Girls rugby team, Carolyn was frequently selected to captain the 15’s and 7’s sides and won the U16 MVP Award.

She was the leading try scorer and her offensive success was matched by her fierce defense. Her competitive spirit, coupled with a commitment to giving her best effort, makes her a standout performer in every game. She has also helped build a positive culture that will help our program continue to grow.

Carolyn is extremely active in sports and volunteering in the community. Outside of rugby, she plays field hockey, indoor soccer, lacrosse, and ice hockey. Outside of sports, she gives to her community through volunteering at Michael Garron Hospital and the Salvation Army Toy drive. Carolyn’s dedication to both sports and community service make her an ideal recipient of the Webster Award.

Romano Pizzuti is a talented rugby player who comes from a rugby family! His older brothers also played at for the Balmy Beach as youths and are now on the men’s team.

Romano always has a wonderful attitude in training and is well liked by his team mates and his coaches. He is supportive with his team mates and treats everyone with the highest amount of respect. He also displays great listening skills and is a very humble young man.

2023 was a breakout year for Romano and he had an excellent performance as a prop on the U18 team. In a key game at the end of the season, Romano’s heroic crashes with the ball on attack sealed the win at the end of the game against the Toronto Dragons.

In addition to playing at Balmy Beach, Romano has also participated in the Ontario Junior Blues program.

2014

Waleed Popal attended Cedarbrae C.I and is now studying Kinesiology (B.Sc) at York University where he is also on the York rugby club. He has been playing with the BBC since grade 10, 2012.

My favorite memory of rugby would probably be this year when we had the division semi finals. That was my best performance as I scored a try running through three or four players into the try zone. I made big hits that game. As well as breaking through the defensive line a few times. It happened a day after my days of fasting was over so I was still in the habit of not eating till sunset. So I believe that was a big accomplishment for me. We won 31-3 that game too heading towards the finals. I received 3 MVP forward awards from my high school. I won the male athlete of the year award in gr.10 for my school. This year I won the players player award for the BBC U18 club this year. Other than rugby, I can play soccer, basketball, Volleyball, and a little football. I will be joining the Men’s league next year playing for BBC trying to get a spot at the academy squad. My coaches in high school, the beach club, and even my teammates call me a quiet leader. I’m not the one always talking during team huddles but on the field I’m always the first one to hit the rucks and always the first one to go for the hits on the big forwards. I guess they call me a superstar in high school.

Kaitlin attended Sir Oliver Mowat for high school and is now attending Humber College where she is a student in the community and Justice Service’s program as her long term goal is to become a police officer.

Kaitlin started playing rugby in high school in grade 9 and played for all 4 years, as well as all 4 years with the Balmy Beach. In high school she received the Rugby MVP in grade 10 and 11 and was the captain of her high school team for grade 10, 11 and 12 as well as the Captain of the U18 team for The Beach this year.

Her greatest rugby experience happened when her high school team went to Japan for a 7s worldwide tournament while representing Canada and meeting new people and makingnew friends. She will be returning to play for the BBC women next year.

In addition to rugby, Kaitlin also played lacrosse as a goalie and went to OFSAA. She has also been doing karate for 10 years and is close to receiving herblack belt.

2013

Karissa Kopingon is a recent graduate of Laurier CI where in addition to being Athletic Council President, she was captain of both the 7’s and 15’s senior girls rugby teams.

Karissa started playing rugby at high school in 2009 and has played for the BBC U18 squad for the past two summers. In addition to her skills as a player the U18 coaches have relied on Karissa as a leader and guide to younger members of the program. In addition to playing with our U18 team she has played “up” with the women’s team on numerous occasions and is currently playing with the BBC’s women’s 7 team.

Karissa is planning on a post secondary education and is currently working to save funds for her tuition.

Michael Hebert is a graduate of David & Mary Thomson CI and started playing rugby in grade 9.

He fell in love with the sport and started playing with BBC the summer of his grade 9 year. His love of the sport and athletic skills were noticed during his high school and BBC play and he was selected at 14 to play for the Ontario Blues. Since his first experience with the Blues he has gone on to play four consecutive years representing Ontario at U15, U16, and U17 & U18.

Michael stated that; “rugby has provided me with the opportunity to tour much of Canada with trips to across Ontario as well as to Quebec Newfoundland, Alberta and BC.” In addition to moving on to play for BBC at the senior Men’s level Michael is hopeful to play for the Ontario U19 squad next summer.

Currently, Michael is attending George Brown College where he is studying Mechanical Engineering.