Karla Telidetzki has had a very successful season with the Varsity Blues women’s rugby team. Named a CIS all-Canadian and the OUA Russell division’s most valuable player, both for the second consecutive season, Telidetzki accounted for over half of Toronto’s offence, ranking seventh in the OUA with eight tries for 40 points in five games this season. To add to her list of accomplishments she will be representing Canada in women’s rugby sevens at the 2013 Summer Universiade.
The second year master’s student has been a student athlete her entire university career, beginning at the University of Alberta. “It was a bit of an adjustment to figure out a new schedule when I moved to my second degree, particularly when I had a fairly long commute to attend U of T practice,” she recounts.
Telidetzki believes that it is important and healthy to take breaks from schoolwork, and training has given her the perfect outlet to do this. Since making the move to graduate school, the Computational Aerodynamics student has not only made her way to graduating this year, but has also proven herself a formidable athlete, capable of representing Canada for the second time at the FISU championship.
Historically, Canada has enjoyed success in rugby at the FISU World University Championship, a biennial competition that started in 1963, with rugby sevens added in 2004 . After leading team Canada to a sixth-place finish at the 2012 FISU Games, Telidetzki is ready to tackle the competition this summer.
“Having competed in a previous FISU competition, I have an idea of what the tournament will be like in terms of competition and scheduling,” she said. “We obviously want to win, but beyond that we all want to develop as young rugby players, and in particular as rugby sevens players, as most of us play 15s the majority of the time.”
Beyond playing at last year’s Games, the Edmonton native is no stranger to international competition. In the past year alone, Telidetzki has played in competitive rugby sevens tournaments in Tobago and Las Vegas, where she competed against national teams. This invaluable experience has further developed her skills as a player, enabling her to move around in the back line, playing both full back and outside centre.
Telidetzki has also represented Canada on two other occasions, at the North American Caribbean Rugby Association sevens tournament in Barbados in 2011, and at last year’s FISU Rugby sevens competition in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France.
“Both have been an honour,” she said, and this year’s competition is no different. “The Universiade is about more than just rugby, and will bring athletes from all over the world to compete in many different sports. This is the first year for rugby sevens in this competition, and I am excited to take part in the inaugural competition.”
The women’s rugby sevens inaugural tournament is set for July 14 to 17 in Kazan. Canada has remained in good standing with the tournament, winning the first two in 2004 in Beijing, China, and 2006 in Rome, Italy. In 2008, they finished second in Cordoba, Spain, fourth in 2010 in Porto, Portugal, and sixth in 2012 in Brive, France.
In Kazan, Canada will compete in the preliminary round in Pool A against tournament host Russia, Japan on July 14, and France and Ukraine on July 15, . Reigning FISU champion Great Britain will compete in Pool B along with Italy, Belgium, Brazil, the United States, and China.
There is a five year limit on CIS eligibility for women’s rugby, which Telidetzki has just finished with the Blues. “My two years playing rugby for the University of Toronto have been amazing and I have been given phenomenal opportunities as a result of coming here. I will always be very grateful for that.”
