26 platforms. One clear choice: Why Rugby Canada chose PlayHQ

Rugby Canada leads the sport across the country. Behind every game sits the work its services team manages: registration, insurance, sanctioning, compliance and governance. The national body finished 2025 with about 46,000 registered participants, and the numbers keep climbing. Centralised processes had served Rugby Canada well for years, but their data still needed processing and cleaning before it could answer the questions that matter most. Where are people playing? Are they coming back? Where is the game growing?

Finding the right partner took time. Over more than a year, Rugby Canada looked at up to 26 platforms and narrowed the field to about five. The team weighed two things: whether a platform could meet their real administrative needs, and whether participants would have a great experience. PlayHQ stood out by miles on both. Just as important were the people. Everyone at PlayHQ comes from sport and knows what life looks like at club level. Rather than recreate existing processes, PlayHQ set out to improve them, turning five steps into one.

Today, registration, travel to play, clearance and sanctioning all sit together in one integrated platform. For participants, the experience is seamless. For administrators, the workload is lighter. One club administrator found a task that once took 12 clicks now takes just one, and couldn't quite believe they'd done it right.

Data is now a top priority in Rugby Canada's strategic plan. Ashley Lewis, Managing Director of Services, opens her dashboard every morning to see what's happening across the sport. A few clicks show who's playing, where they are, who needs support and where the team can step in to keep people in the game. That visibility is new for Rugby Canada, and it shapes everyday decisions across the organisation. With PlayHQ alongside them, Rugby Canada is moving faster on the path to growth. And Ashley is clear she would choose PlayHQ again, every time.