A Newfoundland rugby player won’t be joining his teammates in Italy for the World University Games next month, because of a clerical mistake.
In May, Tony Pomroy was selected for a coveted position on Canada’s rugby 7s squad for the 2019 Summer Universiade (FISU) or World University Games in Naples, Italy in the beginning of July.
“It was a really big event four years ago,” he told NTV on Tuesday. “There was like 13,000 athletes there so it was a pretty big event. It would have been awesome to go to…”
The 24-year-old Memorial University student said he received an acceptance email and replied to confirm his place on the team. When he didn’t hear back from Rugby Canada, Pomroy sent several multiple follow-up emails asking what other paperwork he need to fill out before the games.
The Conception Bay South resident said he didn’t receive a response until last week, when Rugby Canada sent him a disappointing email.
“[I] found out that I wasn’t going, so that sucked,” he recalled.
Pomroy said he was told by Rugby Canada that his confirmation email had been missed and it wasn’t forwarded up the chain in the organization, which is why they gave his position to another player.
“[It’s] not my error and I’m the one paying for it,” Pomroy said.
The coach of the team and the president of Rugby Canada both apologized to Pomroy and attempted to find a way to add him to the team, but the deadline to submit his documents to the World University Games had already passed.
In an emailed statement, the CEO of Rugby Canada said “due to a clerical error that occurred during the registration process” FISU informed them that Pomroy would not be eligible to play in the games.
“Rugby Canada has apologized to Mr. Pomroy for the error, and know how disappointing it is for him to not have the opportunity to be part of the Canadian delegation representing Canadian University Sport,” Allen Vansen said.
“The situation is very regrettable, and one that we have been working hard at the highest levels to rectify in collaboration with the Newfoundland and Labrador Rugby Union.”
Vansen went on to say that Rugby Canada is “exhausting every measure possible” on Pomroy’s behalf.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow for Pomroy who graduates from Memorial University in August, meaning he’ll be ineligible to play in the next World University Games.
“My competitive career, kind of competitive for this type of stuff, is probably coming to an end soon and that was probably my last chance of doing something I think is really cool,” he said.
Despite the disappointment, Pomroy said he’s trying to remain positive.
“It’s a sting and it’s a hit to the chin, but I guess the way I got to look at it is accidents happen. I’m not a perfect player on the field and stuff so I can’t expect everyone to do everything perfectly. It happens, but it definitely does sting,” he told CTV News Channel on Thursday.
