Keyara Wardley grew up in the quiet, small town of Vulcan in southern Alberta, the “Official Star Trek Capital of Canada.”
If you grew up in a small town, you know it’s easy to dream of a big life, but it feels impossible to achieve.
However, Wardley, a young athlete with big ambitions, knew she wanted to make it to the Olympics after watching Team Canada win a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
Wardley, now 24, was part of Team Canada’s women’s rugby sevens team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
She helped take Canada to the gold medal match, but the journey there wasn’t easy.
Team Canada was ranked fifth but surprised everyone by beating the second-ranked Australian team 21-12 in the semifinals.
They went on to win a silver medal after a tough match against New Zealand, the defending champions, which ended in a 19-12 loss.
“It’s been shocking, especially coming from Vulcan and playing in front of not many people at home and then being on the world stage. It’s almost as if you get stage fright, but it’s also exciting and fun to play in front of that many people,” Wardley told the Calgary Herald.
Her road to Paris had many obstacles. Over the past three years, Wardley has faced significant challenges, including a fractured hip during the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
She also had a major knee surgery, called anterior cruciate ligament surgery, which required nine months of recovery. Still, Wardley wanted to prove to herself that she could return to the Olympics.
Returning To The Pitch
Wardley, who plays as a center or wing, faced Fiji in her return match, the same team Canada played against when she got injured in Tokyo.
However, she had another setback before the Paris Games—a minor knee and calf injury—which limited her playtime.
“That was a pretty amazing moment, just knowing that I worked so hard to get there and prove that injuries are just a short-term thing,” said Wardley.
Unfortunately, Wardley faced another injury that ruled her out of Team Canada’s quarter-final match against France, but the team went on to win 19-14 anyways.
Still, Wardley fought through and managed to play in the semifinal and final games.
After their victory against Australia, Wardley and her teammates celebrated their silver medal win, marking Canada’s women’s rugby sevens team’s best-ever Olympic performance.
“It was a surreal moment. I still have goosebumps talking about it,” said Wardley.
After the Olympics, Wardley returned to her hometown of Vulcan, where about 2,000 people celebrated her achievement.
“We’re very blessed to have somebody that can carry on the torch for our community,” said Vulcan’s Mayor Tom Grant.
A parade was held in her honour, and around 350 to 400 people, including many kids, showed up to meet her.
Wardley hopes to inspire local kids to chase their dreams, whether in rugby or any other sport. “It’s such a full-circle moment because I never really had that growing up,” she reflected.
Wardley didn’t initially see herself as a rugby player as a child. Lise Wylie’s mom remembers, “She wanted to play Team Canada volleyball.”
But fate had other plans for Wardley, and her path led her to rugby, where she has become a celebrated athlete.
Rugby Role Model
Rugby is traditionally viewed as a male-dominated sport, but its identity is rapidly changing. It started in England in the mid-19th century.
Elite private schools would play rugby to build Christian character in the “gentlemen” who played. Now, the male-only traditions are being challenged by women playing rugby in increasing numbers.
It isn’t just female players wanting to get involved. According to Rugby Canada, registration of women players, coaches, and referees increased by over 20 percent from 2017 to 2018.
Women’s rugby sevens played at the Olympics for the first time at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. Registration grew by almost 30 percent leading up to the Games.
Rugby’s growth isn’t limited to Canada. Over the last 20 years, the number of women competing in the rugby sevens format in Japan has grown from 2,000 to 5,000.
The number of women’s rugby fans is also increasing. Last year, a record-setting 10,092 fans attended the Canadian women’s rugby team’s match against the New Zealand Black Ferns.
That number was blown out of the water at the Paris Games. On the first day, women’s rugby saw about 67,000 fans in attendance at the Stade de France, setting a new record for women’s rugby.
Canadian women’s rugby athletes are inspiring the next generation to participate in the sport, shattering the belief that rugby is a male-only sport.
We have our province’s talented athletes to thank for inspiring youth across Canada to pick up the sport, including Edmonton’s Fancy Bermudez, Calgary’s Piper Logan, Canmore’s Krissy Scurfield, and, of course, Vulcan’s Keyara Wardley.
With increasing participation, record-breaking fan attendance, and role models like Wardley paving the way, the future of women’s rugby in Canada and around the world looks incredibly bright.
