CLOVERDALE - For the third consecutive year, players for the Surrey Beavers Rugby Club will be wearing bright pink jerseys, shorts and socks in an October home match.
The club is hosting Ruck for a Cure again, a campaign to raise awareness for breast cancer and $10,000 for research.
In the previous two years, the Beavers have raised around $20,000 by auctioning the pink jerseys, among other prizes.
Derek Finlayson, an executive member
and former Division 1 player, said the team would be auctioning 18 jerseys this year, three more than in years past.
He added there are silent auction items in addition to the jerseys, but that approximately 95 per cent of the raised funds came from the jersey auction.
Nick Bruce, the Division 1 player who came up with Ruck for a Cure, said he'd seen this concept done elsewhere in professional sports and wanted the Surrey club to attempt a similar campaign.
"I figured we could incorporate that into our yearly schedule," Bruce said. "No one really goes through life without being affected in some way, shape or form by
cancer, myself included."
The Surrey Beavers were the first Lower Mainland team to wear pink during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but other teams have joined the campaign.
The Beavers' Division 1 and 2 teams will play against Langley Rugby Club, while the Division 3 team will be up against Kelowna RFC.
All matches will be played at Sullivan Heights Park on Saturday (Oct. 25) with the games starting at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. rain or shine.
After the matches, the fundraiser and auction will take place at the Beavers' clubhouse at 17395 57th Ave.