The Tokyo Olympics are now underway, and there’s a Camosun College connection to the games. Canada has sent 370 athletes to try to improve upon the 22 medals that were brought home from the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and among Canada’s medal favourites are the women’s rugby sevens team, who call Victoria their permanent home. The highly touted squad has a number of first-time Olympians, including Pamphinette Buisa and Camosun student Julia Greenshields.
Greenshields, 29, hopes to graduate from the college’s Bachelor of Sport and Fitness Leadership program in 2024 but wants to continue to play rugby so she may have to lengthen her stay at Camosun to make time for both.
Originally scheduled to open on July 24, 2020, the Olympics were put on hold as the world went into COVID lockdown, which, according to Greenshields, is the reason she applied to Camosun.
“When the Olympics were postponed I decided to take a summer course and I really enjoyed it so I decided to continue with it in the fall,” says Greenshields. “I really value education and I thought I should get back on track so that I’ve got a plan for when I retire from rugby.”
Greenshields says that throughout her rugby career, she’s always enjoyed the strength and conditioning aspect of the game and sees her education opening doors as a result.
“I would love to become a strength and conditioning coach, perhaps for another rugby team in the future as rugby continues to grow and develop on the island,” says Greenshields. “I’d love to work with youth athletes and help develop their rugby game.”
According to Buisa, she and her teammates come from all over Canada but all live here in Victoria to train five days a week in preparation to compete on the world stage.
“I’m super excited,” says Buisa. “It’s always been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I’ve always wanted this and to see that it’s finally a reality is such an honour. I’m just so proud of my team, and my coaching staff, and the community I’m immersed in. I’ve received so much support. Now I’m eager to play and show the world what we got—show what we’ve been working for the past five years now.”
Greenshields says that being named to the Olympic team is a huge honour, but stresses that she is in Japan to win.
“We are currently ranked third,” says Greenshields. “At the last Olympics, back in 2016, we took bronze. Before the COVID pandemic cleared our schedule, and took our ability to train and compete internationally, we were doing really well on the world series tours with silvers and bronze. I have all the confidence in the world that we can take gold.”
Equally optimistic about Team Canada’s prospects, Buisa says that on the field this will look like any other tournament, but considering the historical significance there will be so many people watching around the world.
“I know they worked so hard just to allow the games to be safe,” says Buisa. “It’s gonna be cool to see it all come together. I think it’s going to be very interesting because there aren’t going to be any crowds. It’s definitely going to be a different feel but I know that I’ll be able to feel all the positive vibes coming from the family and community back home.”
The Tokyo Olympics will be a unique experience for fans and athletes alike because of the strict COVID safety protocols.
“After we play we have to come back home to Canada,” Buisa says. “We won’t have the full Olympic experience. Typically it’s like a month you can stay in the Olympic village but once we’re finished playing we actually have to leave the village. Basically we go to work and then come back home.”
The women’s rugby tournament gets underway on Wednesday, July 28 as Canada faces off against Brazil in the pool round; the gold medal match takes place on Saturday, July 31.
“For those who don’t know, rugby sevens games are only 14 minutes long,” says Greenshields. “It’s seven versus seven for two seven-minute halves. It’s upbeat, it’s exciting, there’s big hits, there’s lots of speed. You can’t blink or you’ll miss something. I strongly encourage everyone to tune in to these games because it’s going to be really exciting.”
For better or for worse, people will be talking about these Olympic games for decades to come. Buisa says that the games are being played in a very difficult time and she’s honoured to be a part of it.
“The point of the games is to bring people together and bring pride, honour, and camaraderie, and that’s really important right now,” says Buisa. “Both my parents are from the Democratic Republic of Congo and they have sacrificed a lot for me to be here. Now I’m able to elevate my community and we can all say that we did it, because it’s a community success.”