Barbara Mervin

Barbara Mervin was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and moved to Peterborough in 1984.
Growing up, she was a competitive gymnast at Kawartha Gymnastics. After seeing rugby
played by the boys at Adam Scott CVI, she decided to give it a go and joined the
Peterborough Pagans Rugby Club from 1998 to 2005 and was a player/coach in 2005. She
went on to play for the University of Western Ontario, earning a B.A. in Art History, and
winning USPORT 2002 Rookie of the Year; 2003,2004,2005 All-Canadian, and 2005 MVP
and National University Rugby Championships in 2004 and 2005. Barbara was a U23
Canadian team member from 2002-2004, a Senior Canadian 15s team member from 2005-
2017, and a Canadian 7s team member from 2008-2013. Mervin has played in 38
international 15s games and seven international 7s tournaments for Team Canada. In
world championship competition, the 15s team placed 6 th in 2010, 2 nd in 2014 and 5 th in
2017. The Sevens team placed 1 st in tournaments in Vegas in 2011 and 2012, Dubai in
2011, and Hong Kong in 2012. Barbara won national championships in Ontario in 2002
and 2005, and three in British Columbia. She moved to British Columbia and has continued
to be involved in rugby as a head coach and assistant coach with the following
organizations: BC Grassroots Rugby, University of Victoria, Westshore Rugby Club, and
Shawnigan Lake School. She served and continues to serve Rugby Canada in many different
capacities: Player’s Association, Club Rugby National Board of Directors, and Canadian
Rugby Foundation Scholarship Award Committee. She has received a great deal of
recognition for her contribution to the sport of rugby: the 2015 Gillian Florence Award –
Rugby Canada Player’s Player Award, 2020 Inductee Rugby Canada Hall of Fame, and 2021
Inductee University of Western Hall of Fame. Barbara completed the fashion design
program at Pacific Design College, and in 2012, she founded her line of rugby activewear
explicitly made for girls and produced in Canada – APTOELLA/RUGBY APPAREL.