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CALGARY \u2013 Two members of the University of Calgary Dinos women’s rugby team earned Canada West honours Sunday, with Jai LaBelle<\/a> named the recipient of the Student-Athlete Community Service Award and Kenzie McEachern-Shields<\/a> selected to the Canada West All-Star Team.<\/p>\n LaBelle, a fifth-year scrum-half, now moves on as the CW nominee for the U SPORTS Student-Athlete Community Service Award, while McEachern-Shields earns all-star recognition for the first time in her career.<\/p>\n A Calgary product studying in the Faculty of Arts, LaBelle also competes for the Dinos wrestling team and has been a prominent advocate for growing rugby and wrestling among Indigenous youth. Last year, she coached with Brave Rugby, a group that organized a youth rugby sevens team of Indigenous players from across Alberta, and travelled to Lac La Biche and other remote communities to introduce the sport. She has also coached wrestling at Branton Junior High School in Calgary and with the Dynomites Junior Dinos wrestling club.<\/p>\n Away from sport, LaBelle has worked to educate and promote Indigenous culture in the Calgary area. She has taught ribbon skirt, shirt and bag making at local schools and performed cultural and dance demonstrations at community events. She also volunteers at Bar JO Ranch, where she saddles horses, leads trail rides and supports day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n On the pitch, she made four appearances for the Dinos this season before an injury kept her out of the final two games. She scored the opening try in Calgary’s dramatic 17-13 win over Alberta at the end of September.<\/p>\n “Jai’s commitment to rugby and wrestling, specifically introducing sport to Indigenous youth, is a lifelong passion shared by her and her family,” said Dinos head coach Simon Chi<\/a>. “While many individuals support causes they care about, Jai goes a step further by actively educating and enriching Indigenous communities. She does not do this for accolades; she does it because it is fundamentally who she is as a person.”<\/p>\n McEachern-Shields, a fourth-year Arts student from St. Albert, Alta., earned the honour in her first season in the back row after three years at centre. Playing at No. 8, she scored tries against Alberta in Week 2 and Lethbridge in Week 6.<\/p>\n The 2024-25 Academic All-Canadian also started in the 17-13 last-gasp win over the Pandas in the return fixture, the program’s first 15s victory since 2022, and was a key piece of the Dinos lineup in both attack and defence.<\/p>\n 2026 CANADA WEST AWARDS ALL-STARS -UC-<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\nMost Valuable Player \u2013 Maddy Grant (Victoria)
\nRookie of the Year \u2013 Teni Epemolu (UBC)
\nStudent-Athlete Community Service Award \u2013 Jai LaBelle<\/a> (Calgary)<\/p>\n
\nProp \u2013 Emily Stewart (Lethbridge)
\nProp \u2013 Stella Henry (Alberta)
\nHooker \u2013 Kendra Cousineau (Victoria)
\nLock \u2013 Anya Prokopich (UBC)
\nLock \u2013 Piper Walsh (Victoria)
\nBack row \u2013 Emily Findlay (Victoria)
\nBack row \u2013 Charli Helland (Lethbridge)
\nBack row \u2013 Kenzie McEachern-Shields<\/a> (Calgary)
\nScrum-half \u2013 Sarah Tehrani (UBC)
\nFly-half \u2013 Lana Dueck (UBC)
\nCentre \u2013 Maggie MacKinnon (Victoria)
\nCentre \u2013 Maddy Grant (Victoria)
\nBack three \u2013 Shondreya Smardon (Victoria)
\nBack three \u2013 Olivia Newsome (Victoria)
\nBack three \u2013 Zina Umeh (Lethbridge)<\/p>\n